Bating & Pickling

Bating and pickling in the leather production process

Bating and pickling are part of the leather production process. These steps take place before the hides are tanned. The processes make the hide’s fibres more receptive to tanning agents and make the hide softer. The softer you want the leather to be, the longer the bating and pickling processes must be.

The bating and pickling process

Before the invention of modern industrial chemicals, bird droppings or dog faeces were used for this step in the leather production process. Nowadays, enzymes are introduced during the bating and pickling stages which make the hide softer and more flexible. During this process, any residual epidermis, hair or pigments are removed, breaking down the skin even further. Non-collagen proteins are also removed during this step.

Sources (18th August 2022):

• http://www(.)cprac(.)org/en/static/DAOM/ing/html/exe2f1.htm
• https://www(.)leather-dictionary(.)com/index.php/Pickling
• https://www(.)leder-info(.)de/index.php/Beizen
• https://en(.)wikipedia(.)org/wiki/Leather_production_processes#Preparatory_stages