I started the tanning process on mule deer cape last night by relaxing in Rittles ultra soft. I used regular tap water with the ultra soft and bactracide added to it.
This morning I rinsed hide and placed in pickle (safty acid).
Before rinsing I noticed hair on top of the water, not that much but more than I exspected.
Hide is now in the pickle and I still have hair floating on top.
Hav't noticed any balding as of yet.
I was wondering is something to worry about or is this normal?
The cape was shipped from Montana already salt dried.
Thanks in advance
Skinner
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Skinner,
I've tanned a few deer hides and I always have hair floating on the top. If you notice your cape is probably floating in the pickle and doesn't sink to the bottom. That is because of the hair on the hide. If any hair is broke off during shipping it will float to the top. It should be fine. I'm not for sure exactly how much hair you are talking about is floating so I can't give you a definate answer.
Another thing you can do is on the back of the cape. On a part of the cape you will cut off after mounting pull on a few hairs and see if they are lose. If they aren't than I wouldn't worry to much. If the hair is a little lose you might be able to save it just be careful with the cape throught the rest of the process and after it is tanned let it dry completely this should set the hair. Hope this helps. MichelleW
To long in the relaxer can loosen hair folicles, keep a close check on your pH 3.0 or less!
One bit of advise is that when you use Rittel's ultra-soft, it is recomended that you use no bacteriacide in it. There is no need to add this and it may cause some havic but from reading your post it didn't. Some hair is always normal in the pickle.
There is always hair that is loose from skinning and cutting the hair, or the bullet hole. Keep your Ph at 2.0 or lower with saftee-acid. I like to keep mine at 1.5 and never had any problems with any hide.
Also getting a salted hide from anyone can be tough cause there are times that we have no real idea on how the cape was handled. So just pickle it for the three days and give it a good check. You could also check now and see if it's slipping. Don't pull or tug on the hair just a brush of the hand will let you know if it's bad. Most folks think that when they pull on a hide and they see hair they think is slipping when it's not. You go bald from pulling on your hair, I know LOL.