I am having a problem getting axis deer hides soft, I am using a formic acid tan.dropping my ph to 2.5 and salt to 40%. I am shaving the hides down till thay are about 1/8 thick. then a kwik rinse with bakeing soda and water. I then oil them with pro oil and role them up for a day or two. I then unrole them and reoil and then let them dry. when dry i put them in mt tumbler for two to three days. then i run then thu my slapper and brake them . after a day thay seem to get stiff again. what am i doing wrong.I have even gone back and reoilled,tumbled,and slapped them two or three times. Anyone know what i am doing wrong.
What kind of tan are you using? It sounds like your just using a tanning oil. That doesn't tan a hide. You need to tan it first with a quality tan. There are many out there from Knobloch's and Rittel's. Get a hold of them and they can give you much more advice on rug making.
Martin......
The hide will break down better if you tumble before it has completely dried out...........i only tumble for 30 minutes and they are soft as can be............