A rinse and a membrane

Now that the hair was off, it was time to bring the skin back to a neutral pH.  Normally, the alkalinity is rinsed out during an overnight bath in a flowing creek or river.  I originally planned to use the Shenandoah River that runs beside my grandparent's house, but by the time I finished graining, it was dark and too late for the 1hr drive to the river.  (Also too cold.)  I used the alternative method proposed by the book and placed the hide into a mildly acidic solution of 3gal warm water with 1 cup to 1 pint cider vinegar (depending on thickness of hide).  Having never worked with a hide before, I wasn't sure if mine was considered small, medium, or large, so I used a conservative amount of vinegar.

The hide-in-bucket reclaimed its spot in front of our living room fire where it sat for the night.  The next morning I checked on it like a loving parent, while still in pjs.  This time I was looking for the color to go from the tawny brown back to the bluish white, even in thick areas.  It was whiter, but not quite there, so I made a new acidic solution and kept it in the bucket for another few hours.



Here's me, once again having no clue, but trying!

 

Color a little too warm.

Now the real guessing game.  The book recommended an acidity bath after rinsing...but since I was already using an acidity bath as my rinse, I wasn't sure if I should get the hide completely neutral, or take it out when there was still very slight swelling (therefore mimicking the recommended acidity bath).  It was very nerve-wracking deciding because if the hide was still too swollen, then those areas would not receive the upcoming brains and would not ultimately soften into leather.  I made my best guess and pulled the hide out of the rinse when it seemed almost neutral.  If it really was, I have no idea. 

Membraning Remember when I was de-fleshing and I said I only needed to remove flesh that was 1/2" thick or larger?  Well, after rinsing, it was time to use the drawknife again on the flesh side of the hide to remove any fleshy bits still attached.  There was an overall membrane (loose material between the hide and flesh) that had been stained by the wood ash, making it very easy to see which areas had been removed while working.  Some of it came off easily, while other pieces were so small and resistant that I left them.

Same set up for membraning as graining.

Pulling off membrane.

The white is clean hide, the brown is stained membrane.



It took 3-4 hours to remove all the membrane.



The brown lines/strokes on the hide on the top of the beam are knife marks from when they skinned the deer.


 

My parents noticed that they were the first house on the block to have a raw hide hanging out to dry on the front porch.  You're welcome, Moffett Drive.



Raw hide! Sooo pretty.  The brown bits are tiny pieces of membrane that I couldn't get, but might be able to remove with a pumice during the last step.


Unfortunately I forgot that when I take video sideways, I don't know how to rotate.  If someone knows the secret, please share! In the meantime, feel free to watch this sideways video of membraning.

 I let the hide dry almost completely because the next step is immersion in brain soup, and I want the hide to be full of brains and not full of leftover water from rinsing.