Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Primitive Skills => Topic started by: recurve shooter on October 08, 2009, 09:48:27 am

Title: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: recurve shooter on October 08, 2009, 09:48:27 am

hi guys. between the two camps i hunt i should be able to make off with a few deer skins this year. id like to turn them into raw hide, as i assume it would be much easyer to do than tanning them. my question is, how the heck do i do it? im tierd of haveing nothing to trade, so i plan to steal all the tendons and hides i can this year. thanks for the help!  ;D

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: nugget on October 08, 2009, 09:54:38 am

It can be done a couple different ways. I wet scrape the flesh off of the inside of the hide then either wet scrape the hair or stretch and dry then scrape the hair. Once that is done and it ihas been stretched and dried properly it is rawhide.

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: recurve shooter on October 08, 2009, 09:56:04 am

ok, well there aint nuthin to that. its just how i grew up drying coon hides.

thanks for the fast replie by the way. it took ya like 6 minutes.  ;D

so ya just scrape the hair off like you do the fat and tissues on the flesh side?

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: Hillbilly on October 11, 2009, 01:17:54 pm

I flesh it good, then stretch it and let it dry and scrape the hair off. You need a sharp scraper. You can also soak the hide in an alkali solution (garden lime or hardwood ashes) for a couple days then wet-scrape it off. It comes off really easily then.

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: Stringman on October 14, 2009, 10:51:06 pm

I have a 30 gal plastic barrel that works great for that. The first time I did it I just put the hide in clean water. The second time I added several gallons of sifted hardwood ash. It seems to work quicker with the ash added. Took about 3 days and the hair started slipping. Once the hair is slipping just use a scraper and remove the hair. Careful that you don't slice the hide. It really is kinda "dumb work." It doesn't take a lot of brain power, but it might give you sore wrists by the time you're done! After it has been fleshed and de-haired stretch and tack it down to a big piece of plywood (or tie it to a willow frame.)

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: recurve shooter on October 15, 2009, 09:29:58 am

cool. if anyone will ever kill a deer down here im gunna give it a try. thanks.

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: JW_Halverson on October 16, 2009, 06:31:18 pm

I havce dry scraped one deer hide and have now taken the pledge to resist that temptation.  I ended up with two nice rips down the middle, grrrr.  But still, I will be able to back at least 5 bows with rawhide now. 

Gonna try slipping the hair on a couple of antelope hides next.

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: macbow on December 24, 2009, 12:01:49 am

I just finished researching rawhide making and also just completed one. The second one is in the lime solution now.
If you leave it in about 5 days the hair will push off with your hands.

Use about 2 litres of lime to 15 gallons of water. you can't use too much. Stirr daily and weight it down.
Clean off hair and de-flesh if needed.

Rinse for a hour or so in a bucket.

Next put a double handful of baking soda in 5 gallons of water put in hide and stir. wait 8 hours

Rinse

Now clean water 5 gallons and 1/3 cup of vinegar. 1/2 hour to over night.

Stretch in frame or cut in strips and stretch
Ron

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: II BYRDS on December 24, 2009, 09:59:25 am

i have tried it by just soaking the hide in water about four days later and still fighting with stuck hair. now adding the ash makes big diffrence if you can get over the smell. my hair side always looks good but still not getting off all membrain from the fletch side. Keep in mind i use all flint tools.  probably scared off cutting through the hide ???

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: stickbender on December 26, 2009, 07:16:43 pm

     JW, I think Antelope hide might be more work than they are worth.  They have a thick section up the middle, you know the place where the hair stands up when they are spooked.  Not a whole lot of hide there.  Maybe the sides might give you some rawhide to work with.  Give it a try, and let us know how it worked out. 8)

                                                                                    Wayne

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: bigcountry on January 14, 2010, 12:25:09 am

I use a borax mix with several gallons of water and stir regularly until the hair slips.  I then scrape and rinse several times.  Streatch and dry.

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: recurve shooter on January 14, 2010, 10:24:43 am

i got one deerhide so far, gunna try to get another, but i dont know if i will or not. i want to learn to make buckskins but i think i'll try rawhide first.

Title: Re: how do ya make rawhide?
Post by: JW_Halverson on January 14, 2010, 10:15:58 pm

I prefer the antelope hides for backing bows because the hide is so thin and lightweight.  I have used hides that I purchased from a pro braintanner in the past, but he has given up doing the antelope hides at this time. 

Macbow, what kind of lime are you referring to?  Not quicklime, right, but the "slack" lime that they used to throw down in the privy hole?