I got a salt dried cape today and rehydrated it in a salt water solution. Alot of blood came out of the cape although it looked as though there was no blood in it. I went ahead and washed it lightly in coold water, but when I put it in the pickle, it still turned the pickle a pinkish color. the color then faded pretty quick to a tannish brown. I am maintaining the pickle at a 2.0 and it is at a little less than room temp, about 68 degrees. Will the blood cause any problems in the pickle? Will there be any staining?
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But I doubt it just blood alone. It's normal for you to see a lot of blood and dirt when rehydrating a hide. After it's rehydrated it's a common practice and you should rinse the hide to make sure whatever you soaked it in gets rinsed out. This way it's more of a cleaned hide going in the pickle.
As long as you keep your pickle at 2.0 and it doesn't raise a lot or you have a hard time controling the Ph it'll all work out fine. Just by what you saying here sounds like it will be just fine. Always keep an eye on your pickle for the first day and a half.
Thanks Frank! I did rinse the hide out before the pickle. it must have been residual, stuck in the fur. Thanks For your help!
i tan e'thing in krowtann and never wash b4 going into pickle - I have put some pretty bloody coyotes in there but they ALWAYS have come out fine - i wash bllood out after neutralizing