Well,
Here is what I can add to the pickle debate.
Yes, a pickle can hold a hide for an indefinite amount of time if prepared properly.
For example:
I had worked with a taxidermist many years ago in Houston that had a vat full of hides in what he called a "pickle". It was a brine that kept his hides safe from insect damage, mold, anything you could imagine in the conditions that the coastal Texas area presents year after year.
This brine had Axis deer capes, Whitetail deer capes, Javelinas, almost every type of hide that he took in. The oldest capes in the solution, by his count, had been in for five seasons. I was new to the tanning scene in 1982, so I never questioned him.
Anyone out there try to shave a five year old salt brine/pickled cape? It is one of the most unforgiving leathers and one of the most difficult to work with on the round knife. I grew to have a great disdain for the hides that were subjected to this process.
Pickles are meant to set the leather up for the tan. The sooner you can get the pickled hide fleshed and into a tan, the easier the shaving will be. (Notice I distinguish between fleshing and shaving.) Now, I am not talking about the difference between two days versus two weeks, I am talking about years here.
Some African pieces take a long time to soak in preparation for the first fleshing. They can vary in the amount of time required in the initial soak. But those are thick, flint-like, dried hides. No comparison to the North American species.
One other thing, commercial tanneries need to move hides to meet customer demand. Leaving a hide in a pickle over three days is not going to make room for the next batch to run in the peak of the season.
There may be special circumstances when hides have to be left in a pickle for an extended amount of time (bankruptcy?) but that is not a preferred method and will create a bottleneck in the tanning process. And the final product will not be top quality leather. It might satisfy the layman customer, but when compared to the optimum product, it doesn't compare.
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yes sir!
mr. patton knows his stuff.
bruce Rittel has been very articulate with his words, sentences and statements. he knows but is not likly to give away the store to people that cannot understand, david im sure a shaved hide will hold for years. so you don't have to worry about shaving later when tanning occurs.
your post is extremely accurate when you say "prepared properly"
i say. the hide must be THROUGHLY pickeled, before it can be stored indiffently. and shaving goes along way to that end.
ej
You dont even have the sense to know you just got busted again!
Pickle : To treat unhaired hides with a solution of salt and acid in order to prepare them for mineral tannage or for temporary preservation until they reach the tannery. This is a cut and paste from the American Leather Chemists Association glossary of tanning terminology. For Taxidermy purposes, hair is left on. Also, what do you think a pickle to doing to the epidermis, and hair and its roots, over long periods of time? Yall have fun, my arm is sore from beating this horse.
Off hand I'd say this isnt a "great pickle debate" but rather your Mentor needs to do a better job rehydrating "before" the Pickle! That way - the skins will suck up the Acid and Salt, plump up much better and present a better piece to shave. I know you said he only used a brine - but am I wrong assuming he "also" used an acid with it? Otherwise we're not even talking about Pickling here - but brining instead. Where did this "great pickling debate" come from?
Under the "Size of Drum"