Tanning an air dried hide ?

I have a off color coyote that after I boarded and dried decided I would just tan it for a wall hanger. When I tan a fresh hide it gets salted twice before going in the pickle bath. Can the air dried pelt go straight into the pickle or do I need to rehydrate the pelt in cold water, salt twice, then into the bath ? Does salting and air drying achieve the same results ? -Thanks

You’re going to want to relax the pelt. To do this put 2lbs of salt per gallon of water and let the pelt soak till it’s really soft and pliable.
You’ll know when it’s ready, it will be like a fresh pelt put in water.
Something with thin skin like a fox might only take a couple hours.

As soon as it’s relaxed, put it into the pickle. The sooner it gets into the pickle the better.

So, no need to salt twice before pickling.

Cave men, Indians etc. never had salt. Salt is a preservative, tanned many hides that never seen the first grain of salt.

Salt and air dried achieve SIMILAR results, not the same. Jurassic Park is right, re hydrate before going into pickle. Salted hides really should be re hydrated too, though I tend to skip it a lot also.

So air dried locks the hair like salt does ?

Yes, but the salt removes the water a lot quicker than just allowing the pelt to air dry. This means less chance of the pelt spoiling and the salt slows down any bacteria growth which causes fur to slip.

If you know you’ll be tanning a pelt, you’re better off salting it rather than air drying in the long run.

Ive tossed my dried hides straight into the pickle. I dont salt mine to dry them, they are just air dried. Never had a problem with my wall hangers

Not true, the Iroquois had plenty of salt the Onondaga tribe of the six nations were keepers of the council fire and they made their home around Onondaga Lake . The lake is a salt lake, that’s why Syracuse , NY is referred to as the Salt City.

Salt for tanning is part of the procedure for professionals to use, and will give better results for back yard tanners as well.

Yes you can tan with out it and many do, but you will notice a lot of difference if you tried salt drying your pelts for tanning. The only exception is if your prepping a pelt and flesh it, then put it in the prep brine immediately.

I do this on every pelt that goes to my tannery, it does make a difference in the pelt, especially when it comes to blocking it out for pattern work compared to a home tan.