Rittel's EZ-100 turned out hard and stiff

I just tanned my first batch of hides with Rittel’s EZ-100 and they didn’t turn out very well. I hope someone can help troubleshoot what went wrong because I’m determined to get it right.

Our batch was 13 muskrats and 2 coons, fleshed and flint dried. We used Ultra-Soft relaxer, Safetee acid pickle for 5 days, neutralized, tanned 22hrs. Kept a careful watch on the pH of both the pickle (less than 2.0) and tan (4.0-4.2). We worked hard to break them as they dried. The hides are tanned but not very soft at all, they are crinkly and noisy when you bend them. They are flexible enough you can turn them right-side out and back again, but they don’t drape well, or feel nice enough to sew with, which was my intention.

So here are some thoughts: how soft can EZ-100 make the leather? Are my expectations too high? I have heard this stuff is some of the best, and one of the tans professionals use.

Should we have stopped part way the pickling step and fleshed the saddle from the muskrats after the hair was locked in?

Did we over-work the hides breaking them, or start too early? As soon as the faces and edges started to stretch white, we started breaking them. As long as the hides started to feel a bit sticky to the touch and would stretch slightly white, we pulled a little and hung them back up. We kept at this all day, also rolling them over the sharp backside edge of the fleshing beam. This helped break up the saddle and turn the leather white. They just never got soft.

Did we over-tan, and how would I know? I was confused about the formula. ½ gal water, 3 oz. salt and ½ oz. of EZ-100. is that oz. by weight or dry volume? I assumed dry volume for those and liquid volume for the acid and Ultra-Soft. After neutralizing we very thoroughly rinsed, and mixed the tan. We weighed 9lbs of wet drained hides => 4.5gallons water, about 4 cups of salt, and 1 1/8 cups of tan. Does that sound right for 13 rats and 2 coon? I read the package instructions and also Amy’s, but they were a little different, and ounces are different by volume and weight.

After mixing the tan, the pH read 7.0 which was alarmingly high. I had already put my pickling acid away so I had to use more than a quart of white vinegar to bring it down before adding the hides.

Thanks for the help. There’s a lot of knowledge out here that helped me get this far.

 

Their first season. This is why I'm asking!

 

we rehydrated them in Ultra-soft and salt for about 24hrs, they were nice and soft when done. no hard spots.

I didn't degrease the muskrats, there just wasn't much fat there. I did take the coons out on day 3 and wash with dish soap and then returned them to the pickle. Would you shave on a muskrat?

12 or 16 or 20 or 24 hours? If it is time sensitive how do I know how when they're done? Can you tell by looking?

Is that 4 1/2 oz by weight? I'm still confused on that.

Frank, Please say that again: 1 gallon of water to an ounce of tan to 1/2 gallon of salt?

I figured when the pH started at 7.0 that my mixture was screwed up but the recipe is still unclear to me.

 

good question and sorry I forgot that. Yes, I used the oil in the EZ-100 kit, 2 parts hot tap water to 1 part oil, applied it liberally, turned them right side out and rolled up for 6hrs. Unrolled them and let the fur side dry awhile, then started drying the inside.

 

No I am not using a scale. I do have one but here's what the instructions from Tasco's says, right out of the box:

"For every 1 lb of wet drained weight, mix:
2 quarts water
1/2 oz. of EZ-100 (2 level tablespoonfuls = 1/2 oz.)
4 ozs. of salt"

9lbs wet drained weight = 18 Tablespoons which is 1 1/8 cups in 4 1/2 gallons of water. The pH was 7.0, which was crazy high but I couldn't see what I'd done wrong. Are those instructions the same ratio you would use?

I may have put in too much salt. Can that cause a problem?

Maybe we just left them in too long. The instructions says the leave in 16-20 hours. We had to run to town before 16hrs and couldn't get back until 22hrs so that's why they were in that long. Also didn't know any way to tell if they were done.

Thanks for the help, my boys are looking forward to trying again.

 

I guess we'll try again then, shaving the saddle flesh off after a couple days in the pickle. We'll tan for a lot less time too, maybe just 12 hrs.

I still can't figure out what caused the pH to be 7.0 when I mixed the tan. My water is around 7.5 or a bit higher. It's well water, a bit hard but I've seen worse. The pH of the tan should have been 4-5.

I wouldn't have thought anyone would have called muskrat skins fairly thick! I tore a hole under the throat while breaking, and it was about .010" thick there!

 

we'll try again and measure by weight. I'll weigh some tan and see how it compares to the 4T per oz. conversion. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Just one more question since I'm getting ready to start over again with more skins. Do you recommend degreasing all furbearers? I kind of thought that might be just for bears, beavers, coon, just the real greasy ones. Or should I really do that for muskrat, mink, fox, coyote too? Tonight I'll start relaxing some muskrat and mink.

Also is there much difference between Enzol B and Ultra Soft when relaxing these thin furs? What is your preference. Thanks.

 

These are all air dried. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll try to work them in.