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Have a tanning recipe for rabbits using 2 parts salt 1 part salpeter and 2 parts alum. any information i can get on saltpeter or where can i get it.
Thankyou
try the Army.
Thats what saltpeter really is.
SaltPeter the common name is known to chemists as:
POTASSIUM NITRATE
It is a strong oxidizing agent, I've never heard of a tanning
solution made from it.
Is the basis for Black powder - I think you add Charcoal and Sulfur and you basically have it. I also don't think it would work as a tanning agent. Alum tanning by itself is also not a method I would use, though it does appear in older literature.
I have been using salt alum tan in the UK for around 12 years now and never had a problem with anything slipping You mix 2Lb salt with 2Lb alum into 2 gallons of water If you boil a pint or so of water first to disolve the salt alum then add the rest of the cold water to make up to the 2 gallon. rough skin the animal saplit lips eyes ect and chuck it in I have skins in there now that have been in for years with no detrement to their quality.
Evidently you like in an area that is not real humid.
Try sending one of those hides to a warm, humid area and they will suck
water like a sponge.