I tried to tan my first 2 deer capes this year and had problems with the hair slipping in the brisket on both. I am sure that it is something I have done (not fleshing enough for the salt to penetrate the hide enough?), but while flipping through the McKenzies cat. tonight the ad for Saftee acid said do not freeze. Oh no, mine was partially frozen a couple times this winter. I just wondered if this has any affect on the performance? The ph stayed in the correct range while pickiling and seemed to work but what do I know. Just wondering. Thanks for any help.
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You need to do some brushing up on basic chemistry here. First of all, if your shop is that cold, the salt is NOT WORKING. Salt won't work well in subfreezing temperatures either. It has nothing to do with "shaving". Salt will leech out the water from almost any thickness as long as it CAN work. That's why the old method of "double salting" is so common though usually unnecessary in moderater to warm temperatures. I don't know how many of you work without any heat in your shops and you're just going to have to change your methods or your work location. Simple as that. Today, MANY if not most of our products are "freeze sensitive" and that means constant and continuously, not just while you are working there. In a pickle bath, salt will not stay dissolved if the temperatures get near freezing and below.
Did the saftee-acid freeze while in the bottle in storage?
Believe it or not, I learned not to pickle in temps. below 55 degrees on this site. The pickiling on the temps was done in the house in a controlled enviroment. I had the pickle stored in the building to keep my 3 yr old little girl away from it (John C. posts from the past about dangers of taxi materials). I have read posts and archives for the last 7 months and have learned an unbelievable amount of info from this site and I am very appreciative for everyones time and effort. I was just wondering if a partially frozen stored acid might be a small part of the slippage problem I was having (other than not knowing much about what I am doing :) Thanks
Scott
if your hide is throughly pickeled. you CAn keep in outside temps offreezing and below. i just today unloaded a barrel of pickel. been outside for 2 winters now. not one grain of salt "dropped out" idonotunderstand these experts saying you cannot pickel in cold weather. if the skins are throughly pickeled the solution seems fine here. im not proclaiming to be all knowing. but run a tannery doing 1000's of fur pelts per year.
thanks. best ofluck to all
eric
guess I should have said that I had the acid in its container stored in the building and not the mixed pickle bath, the pickliling was done in controlled temps