Author Topic: Oxalic acid ‘tanning’ - can I reuse mixture? (Read 26307 times)

Raspberry Pie · « **on:** October 02, 2022, 04:14:02 pm »

Hi, I’ve currently got a sheepskin on its third day in an Oxalic acid and salt bath. My second skin is still under salt, waiting to be dunked… my question is, can I reuse the Oxalic acid and salt water for the second one when I take the first out?
The water looks murky from the dirt in the first fleece, but it’s only three days old, surely the ingredients would still work?
Never done a skin before but I’d like to be thrifty if possible! Plus I’m not sure I’ve got enough Oxalic acid left without buying more…
Any advice gratefully received!

Fleecewife · « **Reply #1 on:** October 03, 2022, 12:50:14 am »

Sorry I can't help but I'm looking for someone else to know. I've not heard of this method of tanning hides.

Raspberry Pie · « **Reply #2 on:** October 03, 2022, 11:34:29 am »

I think some people use Alum instead of oxalic acid… I got the instructions from a combination of Way out West blog (smallholding in Ireland) and Yellow Birch Farm.
Salt the skin for 5 days (change the salt once if they were frozen)
Flesh it - scrape off fat and any flesh
Mix 1 cup oxalic acid and 1 kilo salt per 9 litres of warm water in a large trug, soak skin in it for 3.5 days, stirring once a day (I used this x4 in a fairly large trug)
Then rinse, and soak for an hour or so in soda crystals (1 cup per 9 litres again) to neutralise the acid
Then wash in Woolite
Dry it, on a rack / hanging - and stretch it as it dries if need be.
Rub in saddle soap and neatsfoot oil
Card the wool

It’s not proper tanning, more pickling, and apparently the skin is not very flexible or drape-y but ok for a rug.

I’ll see when it’s done I guess!

Fleecewife · « **Reply #3 on:** October 04, 2022, 12:56:11 am »

I used to salt a lot of skins and send off for tanning. Then a batch of my beautiful Jacob skins worth £60 each were stolen with a friend's high end 4x4 when he left it with the skins and keys in. No insurance payout on that one and I rather lost heart at getting skins tanned.
However, we have a large mole population which gets trapped every now and then and this method sounds worth trying for their little skins. When I salted a dozen or so one year, the rats stole them all to line their nests - comfy baby rats