Traditionally, half-sour pickles use a fairly light brine of about 3.5% salt by weight. This translates to about 2 tablespoons salt per quart of water. We made a brine with 1/2 gallon water and 5 tablespoons kosher salt. If you're using canning and pickling salt or sea salt, use slightly less--about 4 tablespoons for 1/2 gallon of water. We also like to use grape leaves in our pickles. Grape, oak, or sour cherry leaves are often used in old pickling recipes because they contain tannins that prevent the pickles from going soft.