Hide Tanning Question

[Muddy Water]

I've been working on my first deer hide with a salt/vinegar process that i've used before on squirrels. It's going to be a flat wall mount so I was just going to salt, pickle, neutralize, and oil/dry. I'm at last step and the hide stinks like wet dog mixed with salt and vinegar chips and there were some loose hairs when it first came out of the pickle. It's oiled and hanging now and some parts of it are browning/stiffening but i'm worried that my pickle wasn't strong enough and that it's going to rot on me.

Is it too late to degrease the hide and put it back into a pickle? If it's just going to be a wall hanger, will it be okay to skip the tanning solution step and just oil with neatsfoot?

 

[dpoole]

I do not know

 

[Muddy Water]

It's been up for about 4 days now. The hair won't pull unless i pluck it out so i think it was just loose from the soak. I haven't tried working it yet but I think it turned out

 

[Trapper Glatzer]

Muddy,
Time in the pickle as you know sets the hair. Time in the neutralizer also is important to kill the pickle.
I would soak the hide and allow to drip dry for one hour and work the hard spots really well over a hatchet handle in a vise or a 10 inch circular curing wheel bought at Harbor Freight. Put the blade in the vise and use the same as the hatchet edge.
When you have time, go to these videos on you tube that are done by the same guy. He is exacting in his methods and talks from 30 years experience. I took notes and went by them and my first hide came out great.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mr.+hilder's+tanning+hide+videos

Good luck,
Trapper