Awesome site guys. I am going to start doing my own hides this year. I have found several recipes and most of the home based ones use a product called Alum. I found it at the grocery store being sold in ounce jars. What kind of Alum should I use and where can I find the stuff in Bulk? I am not going to be doing capes, just tanning hides with fur on and off. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Do you have to salt the hide if you put the hide into the alum mixture within a few days after the kill? Or is it a critical step? I don't want to do this half ass so I have plenty of will and time to do it right. I have numerous questions but my biggest concern is where to find the darn ALum! Thanks in advance for your time and help.
Return to Tanning Category Menu
Alum, Aluminum Sulphate from Rittels Tanning supply or Van Dykes. Get some pH paper when you order.
Alum, Aluminum Sulphate from Rittels Tanning supply or Van Dykes. Get some pH paper when you order.
Also at the bottum of the tanning area is a archieve filled with five years of tanning advice and problem solving.
Thanks for the response, I will spend some time going over the archives. What is the PH paper for and what kind of ALum should I get as I see there are a variety of differnt kinds? I will be tanning whitetail and mule deer hide. Again, thanks.
I hope you'll understand when I tell you that your aren't nearly ready enough to start tanning anything yet. The pH papers insure that proper acidity is maintained during the process. I'd suggest you contact Bruce Rittel (click on the hyperlink) and get his information packet. Tanning, while certainly not brain surgery or rocket science) is something that has to be understood completely before any kind of success should be expected. And by the way, alum ISN'T the best choice of tanning agents on today's market.
I hear you George. The problem is that I have a green hide at home sitting int the garage (it has been 30's and 40's here) SO if igure I need to do something quick before I lose it. It does sound like I need to salt it twice in a 48hour period to help it dry out though. So you think I would be better off going with something else besides Alum? I don't want to drop a fortune on this deal, I just want to learn a forgotten art. Everbody just pays someone else to do it now, I want to learn how. SO here I am.
George is right there are a lot of new synthetic tans out there and some that have found favor recently that are 50 years old. Try the alum and the pickle its very cheap for a beginner and other than the salt is biodegradable, yes it is used to acidify lawns and ad iron to the dirt.
Aluminum Sulphate // Buy it at a local farm store!
Much cheaper than Rittel supplies.And you get it asap!