Smoke-tanned Buckskin
To ‘buck’ a hide is to put it in an alkaline solution, which has a few handy effects on the hide:
(1) It helps the grain layer separate from the dermis
(2) It loosens up (and somewhat dissolves) ground substance, helping the GS get flushed out of the hide later through scraping and rinsing
(3) It loosens the hair follicles, which lets the hair fall out.
All in all, bucking is an ally that makes scraping and softening easier + that helps get rid of any non-leather materials from a hide.
It’s possible - and in many cases, traditional - to tan hides without bucking. Other techniques for hide preparation include “retting” (controlled rot) and creek-soaking. You can also just straight up grain a medium-sized hide with no soaking at all. The fresher a hide is, the easier it is to do this.
Directions
Between 1-24 hours in advance of bucking:
Open your deer hide and shake off excess salt into a safe area/bin/household drain
Place the hide into a bin and fill with water. Let the hide drip dry after soaking.
Mix your materials kit bag of Calx with 1.5 cup of water in a large bowl (any material).
Stir until powder is fully hydrated
Recipe: 1.6 lbs of Calx per 8 gallons of water
Rub the Calx mixture using gloved hands onto the skin side of the hide
Place the hide back in the bin and fold; place a rock on top
Add 8 gallons of fresh water - no more
Let the hide buck for 7-9 days at either room temperature or in a cool place (not frozen)
Unfold + refold the hide occasionally; aim for stirring 3-5x for the duration of the bucking