Sure sounds like they should be ok. Did you remove the blossom ends, use fresh spices, make sure your water wasn't too hard? If so then you did everything you could so if they do turn out soft then most likely cause is the cukes weren't fresh picked.

Dave

I say cooking the cucs softens them.

Did your grandmother cook the cucs in the jar. I doubt it.

Here you can find out how to naturally ferment pickles without cooking them. go to the section on pickles.

Here is a link that might be useful: fermentation forum

The OP is not making fermented pickles, it is a quick pack recipe, and they are not "cooked" just BWB canned.

Even fermented pickles, which can just as easily turn soft and mushy, have to be canned the same way once they are finished fermenting. So there is no difference in the processing.

So it only confuses things when unrelated issues are thrown into the discussion merely for the purpose of directing the OP to someone's personal blog.

Dave

Yes, not a cool move, gardendawgie....

Normally pickles are soft because they are not fresh.
Processing actually helps prevent softness since processing destroys the enzymes that cause that softness due to the food deteriorating.
Pickle Crisp really does work to keep them more firm.
I see no other reason for them to be soft other than the cukes are not fresh. Often if you chill the pickles before you eat them they are also more firm.
Yours should be fine.

Yes, I removed the blossom ends.
I bought new mustard seed, and dill weed.

Not sure on the hardness of our water though.

I thought about fermenting, but I have three kids here, and I can just see them getting into the stuff - we have a SMALL home, and no real "no access" areas. Hence, I opted to do a quick pack.