You really will work yourself hard trying to break the hide if you aren't able to shave it thinner. It can also be too thick of a hide for the tan to penetrate totally... Usually elk hides are ok and penetrate fine, but to try to break a full thickness hide by hand... more power to ya....I have the equipment in my shop to shave the hide, tan and oil it and go forth from there... On a moose hide I got, I sent it to the tannery and spent the 200 bucks or so. That was CHEAP in comparison.
If you want to do it just to do it, thats fine. By the time you buy all the chemicals and take hours to do it all, you won't be "saving" anything substantial dollar wise though...
