After flipping through many catalogs I have settled on the following procedure to try on my next deer hide. This will be my second attempt at making a soft pliable deer "pelt" per say. I am going to salt and flesh the hide. When dried I will soak it in warm water to soften it and then put it in oxalic acid, salt, and water. After about 4 to 5 days I'll gently pull the hide out (as I imagine the hair will be starting to slip right?), rinse it in water (dunk it) to get the acid out of the skin and then dry it out tillit is just damp. I'll then put it in Tannit AGS for however long the directions say and then remove, rinse, dry till damp and then rub in some protal tanning oil and work it till it is soft as I want it. The pickle bath isn't going to bleach or damage the deer hair will it?
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If you go from your pickle (oxalic acid, salt, and water) into water..the hide is going to acid swell. I have used many different types of tanning processes trying to find the best ones to suit my situations. Get you some Krowtann 2000 and tanning oil and you will find that makeing a nice soft hide is easier and more error proof. I am assuming that you don't do this for a living so take my advice and call Ozark Woods. They will gladly discuss what you will need and how to use Krowtann to give you what you are looking for.
So instead of water I should raise the PH of the pickle solution to about 4 and then add the tanning agent?