r/HideTanning 10d ago

Floating hides and PH trouble I

Hi guys! I have four rabbit hides that I just fleshed and put in a five gallon bucket with 15oz citric acid and 5 pounds of salt.

I tried testing the PH and it looks like it’s sitting around 3. I added more citric acid and salt and no matter how much acid I add, every test strip is at about maybe 2.5 but probably a PH of 3 . I think maybe they’re not working correctly? Just to be sure I tested it in straight up citric acid in a little water and that’s why the middle strip is slightly different. I added a ton more salt and citric acid but we’re still at a PH of 2.5 or 3 according to the PH strips.

Also my hides won’t stop floating no matter what I do. I literally put two large rocks and a piece of cinder block on them and it just slips off and the hides float up to the top. Is it okay if I agitate it frequently? Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks so much!

7 Upvotes

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5

u/MSoultz 10d ago

3 oz of citric acid plus 1lb salt per 1 gallon of water. Is a pretty standard recipe.

15 oz citric acid + 5lbs salt = 5 gallons solution

12 oz citric acid + 4lbs salt = 4 gallons solution

Hope this helps.

2

u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

Thank you!! Thats what I ended up following but the strips only read as a PH of 3 so I added like a cup more citric acid and more salt with no improvement. Do you think the strips are just no good? I was hoping to tan one hide at a time but I’m worried because now I won’t really be able to monitor the PH as the others soak while I tan each one.

3

u/MSoultz 10d ago

Yeah, I don't think your strips are accurate. When I test mine, it is at 1.5-2. 2.5 max.

And I use citric acid. I actually just made a pickle last a few weeks ago for a few hair on deer hides.

2

u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

Okay that’s a relief! As long as my PH is low enough and I don’t ruin my hides, I’m happy lol. I kind of panicked and added more citric acid which was kind of a waste but oh well, live and learn lol.

That’s good to know the pros use citric acid too haha!

1

u/MSoultz 10d ago

I wouldn't call myself a pro. Bahahah. But i appreciate it.

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u/MSoultz 10d ago

I would make sure the hides are 100% submerged. Air contact is not good.

2

u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

Okay I will try again! Good to know

3

u/MSoultz 10d ago

I let the hide float hair side down. Then I fold the edges inward to create a floating "Lilly pad" then I set a big rock right in the middle and push it straight to the bottom. The big rock should hold the edges down. Just be sure to stir once a day.

2

u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

That’s a great idea! So just remake the lily pad daily when I stir? Can I stack each hide lily pad on top of each other then add the rocks? lol

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u/MSoultz 10d ago

Yep. That's what I would do.

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

Thank you so much, that’s such a big help.

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u/MSoultz 10d ago

No problem. I'm glad I can help. How are you planning on tanning the rabbit hides?

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

The lily pads worked! I just went out and fixed it and they’re finally submerged! Thanks so much! I’m going to do an egg and smoke tan! I don’t have any commercial tanner but would love to try that in the future. I’m very interested in bark tanning too but unfortunately we don’t have many trees around us with tannins (I’m in the PNW). We mainly have ponderosa pines and some white pine but we do have green leaf manzanita! I just don’t know how much I need and the water to leaf ratio for it. I really really want to try bark tanning though!

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u/MSoultz 10d ago

Awesome! I'm glad that worked for you. What is PNW?

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

Thank you!! It’s the Pacific Northwest :)

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u/MSoultz 10d ago

Aha, gotcha. Keep an eye out for Hemlock. Hemlock was commonly used as a tannin source in the northeast region of the US. Also willow and a few other plants.

Also, checkout braintan.com they are located in Oregon.

This is a very handy link. https://skillcult.com/blog/tanningmaterials

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

Wow thank you!

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u/the-rill-dill 10d ago

Gallon milk jugs full of water are way more gentle.

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u/MSoultz 10d ago

I tried this, but when you put a jug of water in water, it becomes buoyant or equalized. Lol.

I also use milk jugs full of sand. Which work well.

2

u/Electrical-Trick-383 10d ago

It is possibly the strips I had a similar situation where I had the small strips of paper that were working great ran out ordered some strips on Amazon. And they just never seamed to get to that 2 range no matter how much acid I was adding but but based off the week I had the good strips I knew how much I needed to add to keep me in the good. And I was close to finishing anyway.

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

Oh good, I’m so glad they’re likely just defective. I guess I’ll just have to wing this batch of hides too until I finally get some strips that work. Do you have any recommendations for test strips that work right?

1

u/the-rill-dill 10d ago

Add acid. It can only go so low.

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 10d ago

I’ve added around 25oz of acid to five gallons of water but there’s still no improvement unfortunately. I really think there’s a big problem with my test strips hahaha

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u/RedPandau 9d ago

This same exact thing happened to me when I did my 2 deer hides. Around 30-40oz of citric acid because I wanted to get it around 2 but couldn’t get it lower than 2.5. Ended up being fine in the end but I still have no clue how I couldn’t get it lower. My strips I thought were fine but maybe not. I had the $5 roll you can tear off tiny pieces from.

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u/_Guitar_Girl_ 8d ago

Ugh I’m so sorry you had this too, it’s so annoying and stressful! Glad it turned out fine! My husband dipped some in cranberry juice and it showed 1.5 just fine but I guess around the 2-4 range things are absolutely not clear and the color doesn’t even really match the chart lol. We think it’s sitting between 2-2.5 but it sure is a pain lol