Folding salted skins...

[joeym]

At what point do you fold your skins for shipping to a tannery?   I have several elk flatskins and capes.  Once they have stopped sweating and are in a "doughy" stage, I an rolling them up and placing them in front of a fan in my arid basement.  Is there a "too early" point in folding or rolling skins.  My problem is that I often get them too dry and hard to properly compress for shipping.

[Kerby Ross]

Joey, I let them hang after salting for a few days (it's way drier out here in Arizona) and then I fold them into a box that I will use for shipping.  Definitely fold them into your box before they get stiff.

Kerby...

[Kraig]

Joey, Temp. and humidity will be the biggest factor in drying time. My process is salt, fold length wise skin to skin and hang over night. Next AM re-salt and hang open. With Elk I will usually leave like this for 48 hrs. As the brisket area starts to dry I will start folding. I fold length wise first then do an accordion  type fold. Folding in this manner will allow air to reach all portions of the hide better and you can also unfold it a little to check for moisture. I place on a wire rack so that air can get to it better. I will check daily over the next 3 days and if needed I will unfold as much as needed to get air to any wet areas. Test fit into your box before it dries to much.
In a nut shell you can start folding as soon as the cape quits dripping moisture but be sure to check daily for a few days to ensure that moisture is not pooling inside of a fold.

[kirk33]

as soon as they stop sweating when they are still pliable

[FIELD2FOREVER]

What Tannery are you using Kraig?