Salt Alum Preservation Method
Alright, gather round the campfire—today we’re tanning hides, not telling ghost stories. This is the alum tanning method, which is old-school, reliable, and pleasantly un-mystical once you know what’s actually going on.
First, the big idea: alum tanning is alkaline. That means the pH runs high. This isn’t an acid pickle bath and it isn’t witchcraft—it’s chemistry doing what chemistry does best: stabilizing collagen so your hide doesn’t rot, stink, or turn into heartbreak.
You’ll want a five-gallon bucket with a lid. Drill a few breathing holes in that lid, or just place it on loosely to keep out extra dirt, insects, or curious pets.
Add a 50/50 mix of salt and alum. If you use 2 lb of salt, add 2 lb of alum. If you use 5 lb of salt, add 5 lb of alum. In the video, I started with 2.5 lb of each, and I will be upping the mixture when more alum arrives to reach closer to 3–5 lb total of each per bucket.
Fine granular salt works best: pickling salt, feed-mixing salt, eating salt, even fancy sea salt. Then comes the star of the show—pickling alum. Three and a half pounds is about right, but you can use anywhere from 2–5 lb as long as the mixture stays balanced.
You’ll also want a long stick for stirring. A paint stick works. A clean branch works. Something that hasn’t recently been in contact with motor oil or existential regret. For drying later, grab a cheap sheet of plywood and a staple gun. You’re not building furniture; you’re just giving the hide something to behave against. A sharp knife, fish-skinning pliers, and a little insurance in the form of curved needles and upholstery thread are smart additions. Holes happen. Even to careful people. That’s life.
Before anything touches water, make sure your hides are clean and properly scraped. Big chunks of meat and fat are not “rustic”; they’re bacterial condos. Remove them. Your future self will thank you. If you’re unable to fully flesh right away, you can drop them in and flesh later while they’re wet, or dry them and peel the silver skin—but they are more fragile that way. I’ll be testing a pressure-washer method as soon as it warms up a bit, then returning them to a fresh pickle.
Now for the potion. Fill the bucket with water and dissolve the salt and alum. Stir until everything is well mixed. Fully submerge the hides and keep them weighted down—glass bowl, brick, rock, whatever is clean and heavy. Floating hides are not tanning; they’re just soaking with ambition.
Stir the solution daily. This is not a high-maintenance relationship—just a daily stir. The solution should smell like… basically nothing. If it starts getting funky, that’s your cue to add more alum and salt. Odor is biology trying to ruin your day. Shut it down.
You can touch the solution safely. It’s not going to melt your skin off. It will dry your hands out like you’ve been auditioning for a desert documentary, so wash up afterward and use moisturizer unless you enjoy having hands like parchment.
I leave these to sosk with frequent checks for 3 weeks the max time also colder weather retards the soak, so they will need to sit longer since I am winter soaking . The minimum time is 3 days but its better to do that in warm weather 70 deg.
Ideal temperature is 55-60 degrees.
Once the hides are fully tanned, pull them out, rinse them thoroughly, and hang them to dry. At this point they’ll feel stiff and unimpressed with you. That’s normal. Drying is not the final personality. Softening comes later.
That’s it. No smoke, no rituals, no whispered apologies to the hide gods. Just salt, alum, water, patience, and a basic respect for chemistry. Old methods endure for a reason—they work, and they don’t care how trendy you are.
1:40
1
0 comments
Salt Alum Preservation Method
powered by
skool.com/mmcbunclub-6215
Bun Club: science-based rabbit education promoting data-driven care, accurate nutrition, and verified research.
Suggested communities
Powered by