How to Salt A Hide

After the hide is skinned, remove the excess fat and meat. Take special consideration to remove any excess fat or meat from the neck area. If the head is attached please remove it. Then salt the hide.
Lay the hide out flat with the hair side down. Try find a place that is not exposed to the elements, is protected from pets and other animals, and is consistently 40-70 degrees. (When the temperature drops below 40° the process begins to slow. Salt produces a little heat as it is absorbed so it is important to keep the ambient below 80° if possible. Above 80° the hair follicle can be damaged.)

Make sure there are no pieces of meat or fat over 1/4 inch thick. (The salt won't be able to penetrate.)

Cover the hide using a fine grain non-iodized salt.
(We recommend Hay & Stock Salt which is inexpensive and abundant. The iodine in iodized salt can stain the hide.)

DO NOT USE ROCK SALT. (The hide doesn't have enough moisture to break down the large crystals.)

It takes about one pound of salt per pound of hide. Don't worry, it is impossible to over-salt a hide.

Let the hide lay out flat for 4-5 days. The salt will pull the moisture from the hide as it preserves it. As the hide absorbs the salt, cover any bare spots with more salt. Be carefull when leaving the hide out in the open.


After 5 days roll up the hide, flesh side in. (The hide is not completely cured out but it is good enough for shipping. It takes 10 days to completely cure out a hide.)

When packing the hide put several newspapers on the bottom of the box to absorb any moisture that might drain from the hide during shipping.
DO NOT WRAP THE HIDE IN PLASTIC (May cause the hide to get a fungus).
WE NO LONGER ACCEPT FROZEN HIDES. They have a much higher chance of hair slippage and rarely turn out well. After being frozen for a year the hide will become freezer burned which causes the actual chemistry of the hide to change. When tanned, it may look fine, but soon the hair will begin to fall out. Sometimes a freezer burned hide can successfully be tanned for leather but we don't handle that kind of tanning process.