Does acid bate need to be added each time a new skin is added to the pickle or is it good for several uses?
I have been adding some extra each time, because I keep forgetting to ask. I really like it, but it is a little expensive just to throw away due to ignorance.
Thanks
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Think of the Acid Bate as dormant enzymes that when added to your pickle they become alive because they thrive in an acid enviroment and seek out food (undissolvable fats in the fibers). Once they have attacked and eaten the food, and there's no more - they die. So to answer your question - yes - it is wise to "recharge" your pickle with the Acid Bate after each use. Just be sure to only be adding 1 Oz. of it for every 4 Gallons of your pickle.
How does acid bate help in the pickling? What exactly does it do for the skins?
By eating the otherwise undissolvable fats intertwined in the fibers of the skin - this allows them more freedom of movement or flexibility. This is also why the skins treated this way are very much softer - with no hardened fats in the fibers.
Some skins contain a lot of this fat - and ordinary degreasers simply do not touch it! Only the dissolvable fats. Buffalo skins are such skins! Most Buffalo skin Tanners feel its almost a "must" to use Acid Bate on them for softness!