Pickling and tanning.
I recieved my order of chemicals and supplies this week, so now I'm learning to use a pickle and tan.
The pickle is made of allum, salt and another chemical (borax maybe) mixed together in boiling water, allowed to dissolve then cooled to room temperature. From now on once I've skinned something, the skin will go into the pickle mixture for a week before being removed to be tanned. The reason a pickle is used is to tighten and harden the skin to prevent hair loss and to also degrease the flesh.
Once a week has passed the skin is removed, rinsed with cold water then put into a tanning solution for a day. The tan gives stretch back to the skin without the worry of hair becoming loose and also moth and insect proofs the skin.
I've currently got a guinea pig skin in the pickle which I'll be further defleshing tonight before it gets moved to the tanning solution tomorow. I've been told that with such a wee creature it's ok to just have it in the pickle for two days, which is fine by me because I'm dying to find out how better a pickle mixture is in comparison to borax alone
