Tanning question

[peterk123]

Trying to understated the purpose of drying or salting, since you need to rehydrate to continue with the tanning steps. Is there a purpose or is it done only when you can't proceed the picking step process immediately?

Could you just skin, flesh, pickle, etc?

 

[mjh]

You could skin and flesh and make raw hide. I've got some deer skin raw hide in the garage rafters right now. Keep the rawhide away from rodent's until you want to go further. I'm assuming your taking hair off. I've worked salted hides once that were not mine. Took a lot of water to get the salt out. I prefer to freeze hides if I have the freezer space. Thaw out and work 'em. I was given a frozen bison hide over the winter. As spring approached I got the materials to build a stronger hide stretcher and then shortly there after had my appendix removed. As the hide thawed I had no where to store it and ended up giving it away. No great loss as I was given the hide but lost opportunity of making some great leather with it.

I've heard the salted hides last a long time but I dunno....I greatly prefer frozen hides or work 'em down to rawhide as soon as yea can.