Author Topic: Making rawhide (Read 13571 times)

Stoker · « **Reply #30 on:** October 25, 2012, 07:10:39 pm »

Just out of curiosity..Was your hide fully submerged? Pappy's comment got me thinking why some came and others didn't. Had this problem with the first hide I did. Figured out I had to make a disc out of plywood drilled bunch of holes it and place it on top of the hide with a cinder block to hold the hide down. Just a Thought
Thanks Leroy

Barrage · « **Reply #31 on:** October 25, 2012, 09:48:10 pm »

Cameroo,

I wet scrapped a few hides a few years ago just by soaking them in water for a few days. It was in my basement during winter, so temp was probably around 14C or so for the soak. Plus the hides were frozen when they went into the water. Overall, they didn't scrap overly easy though, especially the buck necks. That said, they didn't take longer than what yours seem to be taking to scrap with the lye. The hides were swollen so I think they soaked long enough.

Also, the water was quite...pleasant by the time they were finished soaking. Didn't have the nasty chemicals but I imagine the bacteria were having a hayday...probably should have wore gloves, now that I think about it.

After seeing people dry scrap, it looked much cleaner and just as quick. If I ever do another, that might be the way I go.

Cameroo · « **Reply #32 on:** October 25, 2012, 11:52:25 pm »

Well, I got back to it tonight, and definitely learned a few things. There were some spots where the hairs almost fell off, and other spots where I had to put quite a bit of pressure on and ended up gouging the epidermis. I ended up leaving those spots and put the hide back in the water to see if soaking for another day helps it at all. I will probably end up having to do a dry scrape anyway, because there are spots where the finer undercoat hairs would not scrape off.

Lessons learned so far:
-I should have left it in the lye solution at least another day (which would have been 48 hours rather than 24). You shouldn't have to tug the hair off, it should come off with hardly any pressure at all.
-I should have stirred it more to ensure the whole hide was absorbing the same amount of lye (I stirred it 4 times over the first 24 hours, but didn't stir it at all over the following 2 days that it was soaking in plain water). It probably would have helped to weigh the hide down to keep it submerged (as Leroy seems to have also learned the hard way

)
-Cold weather (unheated garage with snow on the ground) doesn't seem to hinder the action of the lye (although it sure makes your fingers numb when scraping a wet hide with rubber gloves on

)

A couple questions I've been pondering - is there any benefit to removing the epidermis? Or is that just a side effect of dry-scraping?

Also, I've read that if you leave the hide a little looser on the drying rack, you will end up with a more transparent hide. Can anyone confirm this?

Quote from: Barrage on October 25, 2012, 09:48:10 pm

...It was in my basement during winter...Also, the water was quite...pleasant by the time they were finished soaking.

ha ha

I'm not sure that would go over very well at my house. I ran it by the lady of the house and she almost barfed just thinking about it! I figure she was just too sheltered as a child...

Pappy · « **Reply #33 on:** October 26, 2012, 06:16:08 am »

For raw hide maybe not on the epidermis,not sure but if you are going to hake leather[brain tan] it is a must or it will have stiff spots where it is left on,won't get soft. Never tried intentionally to leave one loose,the ones I have had that wasn't tight in the rack just came out rinkled,so I try and get them as tight as possible,usuall go around the rack at least 3 times tightening while it is still wet,
never noticed the skin be more transparent on the ones that were loose.

I would guess yours needed more time in the soak.

Pappy

Stoker · « **Reply #34 on:** October 26, 2012, 12:31:00 pm »

Quote from: Cameroo on October 25, 2012, 11:52:25 pm

Well, I got back to it tonight, and definitely learned a few things. There were some spots where the hairs almost fell off, and other spots where I had to put quite a bit of pressure on and ended up gouging the epidermis. I ended up leaving those spots and put the hide back in the water to see if soaking for another day helps it at all. I will probably end up having to do a dry scrape anyway, because there are spots where the finer undercoat hairs would not scrape off.

Lessons learned so far:
It probably would have helped to weigh the hide down to keep it submerged (as Leroy seems to have also learned the hard way )
My Dad says "Once a mistake twice a fool. That's how we learn." He always encouraged us to try things.

A couple questions I've been pondering - is there any benefit to removing the epidermis? Or is that just a side effect of dry-scraping?
I was told by a freind that you had to scrape off the epidermis to get the folicles off. After i removed the hair I racked it and than took a skinning knife and scraped the hide.

Also, I've read that if you leave the hide a little looser on the drying rack, you will end up with a more transparent hide. Can anyone confirm this.

Tighter the better

ha ha

I'm not sure that would go over very well at my house. I ran it by the lady of the house and she almost barfed just thinking about it! I figure she was just too sheltered as a child...
[/quote]
RULE 1- Mama happy everybody happy
RULE 2- Any questions see rule 1
More of Dad's wisdom
Ms Kerrie likes my hobbies as long they do not enter the home until fully finished for veiwing.
Thanks Leroy

Cameroo · « **Reply #35 on:** October 29, 2012, 06:45:35 pm »

I finally got this hide on the stretching rack the other day, and I learned something else. I had the hide draped over a 3 inch diameter PVC pipe when I was fleshing and dehairing it. The pipe was leaning up against the fence as I scrapped. I should have rounded the edges of the pipe and leaned it against something softer, because there are a few places where the pipe wore through the grain layer of the hide. Probably not a big deal, but it sure doesn't look very professional

Anyway, here are a few pics. I used hog ring staples to attach the hide to the cord. This worked pretty good because I didn't have to feed 50 feet of cord through each hole in the hide. Also, if the hide was loose in a certain spot, I just had to add another staple. I found I had to crimp the ends a bit with pliers so that they didn't just bend open when I put tension on them. The last pic is a scraper I slapped together from and old file.

I think this might end up being freeze-dried rawhide - I should have got my deer earlier in the season I guess

soy · « **Reply #36 on:** October 29, 2012, 07:03:20 pm »

Is that a 45 degree angle you have on the handle?

Cameroo · « **Reply #37 on:** October 29, 2012, 07:12:27 pm »

I didn't measure, but it's probably closer to 60 or 65. I didn't want it to be too aggressive because I'd already made a mess of hide

I should have mentioned that I only used this tool after it was on the rack, for cleaning it up and scraping off a few remaining bits of membrane on the flesh side. I used a dull drawknife over a 3" PVC pipe originally to flesh it, and a piece of wood with a crisp 90 edge on it to remove the hair (also on the 3" pipe) Sorry I didn't take pictures of that part, but my hands were a bit messy

Pappy · « **Reply #38 on:** October 30, 2012, 05:55:22 am »

That is looking good,the scraper looks a lot like the one I use.Be careful when it dries,where the holes are it will rip like a sheet of paper very easily.

Pappy

Stoker · « **Reply #39 on:** October 30, 2012, 12:34:33 pm »

Looks good Cam. I like your hog ring idea that would be a time saver. Boomstick season opens in a week have to get a hide. Between work and funerals haven't been out in a month. That's the problem with work it cuts into your free time.
Thanks Leroy

Cameroo · « **Reply #40 on:** October 30, 2012, 02:28:55 pm »

Thanks Leroy. Sorry to hear that. I guess it makes you appreciate your time out in the bush that much more though. Good luck harvesting a deer.

I'll be carefull around the holes Pappy, thanks for the tip. I was actually surprised by how tough the hide was around the holes, but that was while it was wet.

agd68 · « **Reply #41 on:** October 31, 2012, 08:25:03 am »

Dont worry about the temperature. Alot of folks "freeze dry" their hides. The biggest concern is airflow. Keep them dry and keep the air flowing and they will dry frozen or not.

Cameroo · « **Reply #42 on:** November 06, 2012, 10:09:36 pm »

Just an update - I took the hide off the rack this evening, it seems to have turned out ok. Next time things should go smoother, I learned a lot from this first go around. The lighting is horrible, but here's a picture of how it turned out.

Primitive Archer