If you just salt it the hide can be rock hard, curled up, and greasy. Clean and pliable makes hair easier to work with and less likely to attract dermestids. Here's what I do:
1) Wash the hide in soapy water to get all the blood and grease out of it. Let it soak overnight in clean soapy water.
2) Next morning rise the hide off and
squeeze as much water as you can out of it. Don't wring the hide as it's easy to tear when wet. Blot it with a towel.
3) Tack the hide out (hair down) on a frame (or board) stretching it as much as possible without tearing it.
4) Scrape any meat and fat off the hide. It comes off pretty easy after it's water soaked. Leaving small pieces of meat and the snotty stuff is ok as it will be scraped off in step 7.
5) Salt the hide liberally. Try to keep the salt from getting on the hair side.
6) After a few days the salt will crust over and the hide will be completely dried out. In high humidity areas you might have to bring it inside.
7) Use a putty knife and scrape off the salt and the top layer of the hide. The thinner you can make it the more pliable it will be.
8) The edges will be curled and stiff so use a box cutter to cut about 1/2" around the edge of the hide. It should be like cutting through heavy paper. Just cut deep enough to get through the leather or you will wind up cutting the hair. Also cut in the direction the hair is laying or angle the cutter in that direction if cutting perpendicular to the way the hair is laying.
Most people stop at 6, but cleaning and thinning with a putty knife makes a big difference.
That's it.
I've done everything from elk, to whole deer, to muskrat this way.
Or you could just buy it at the store.
