This year, I had an abundance of cukes in the garden, so I was able to treat my pickles like a science project, trying all different recipes containing many different quantities of each ingredient.
What I had found was 2 Tbs of salt for every quart of liquid is the perfect amount ( for me), which is basically the same ratio as Steve said ( 1 tbs for 2 cups of liquid)
I do not can mine, my pickles sit on the counter for at least 3 days, and up to a week ( but since I have a weakness for pickles, usually they never last more than 4 or 5 days).
I used to add all the ingredients to the quart jar, shake things up, and hope for the best, but Ive found a better way. I now first add the garlic, dill and spices, then pack the cucumbers. I then take a separate quart container and fill it up with water and 2 Tbs of salt, mix it thoroughly to make sure all the salt has dissolved. At this point, i pout the salty brine into the quart jar, close it and wait impatiently for 3 days.
I premake the salty brine for 2 main reasons.
First, it guarantees the perfect salt/ liquid ratio every time. One of the problems is that the cucumbers vary in shapes and sizes. So if you load up the jar with cukes, then start pouring in water, vinegar then dump in the salt at the end. If the cucumber sizes allow for less liquid than is called for ( because lets say the cukes were more tighly packed ( leaving less room for the required liquid), then the salt ratio will be off.
Second, premaking the brine will allow you to make sure all the salt was dissolved. In my initial phases of making pickles ( before I used to premake the brine), if i added the salt and it didn't all dissolve, some would be sitting at the bottom of the jar. And when I would bite in to the end of the pickle that was sitting on top of the undissolved salt, it would be way too salty.
One thing I also do, is I keep some of the left over water / salt solution in the fridge. This way, when I taste a pickle at day 3, and the brine level in the jar sinks, exposing some of the other pickles to the air, I just top it off with the premade salt solution to make sure everything is covered up.
The above may help you on your next batch, but as far as this batch goes, as mentioned above ( assuming they are counter/ fridge pickles and not canned since i know nothing about canning), letting them sit for a few days in a more watered down ( less salty) brine, may reduce the salt content in the already made pickles and making the other flavors more prominent.
As far as adding additives to give he pickle more of a crunch, I had too experimented with this ( alum, oak leaves, grape leaves ..). What I found more important than these additives, was the size and shape of the cucumber itself. I use younger cukes that dont have that bloated, bulged out look to them( if that makes sense). They have much smaller, compact seeds in the center, which makes them more dense, better crisp, less likely to get that soggyness and also less likely to get that kinda ' hollowed' pickle effect in the center. Since using these shaped pickles, ive never had a crunch issue.
By no means am I an expert, but having a science background, I literally treated this pickling process like an experiment, cause I was determined to finally get it right and have it in writing so i can predictably make good pickles each time. Since late June, Ive had at least 2 jars of pickles going at any time, proably starting a new batch every 2 or 3 days. I must have made at least 30 + quarts pickles this year, almost to the point where I cant stand them anymore. Varying salt ratios, different spices ... I must say it was a great and successful experience, since i finally got it down.
Sorry for rambling on, Im just so proud for finally getting it right after 40 + years, I had to tell someone LOL