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Author Topic: how do ya make rawhide?  (Read 6613 times)

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Offline recurve shooter

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how do ya make rawhide?
« 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
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Offline nugget

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #1 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.
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Life is not a journey to the grave with the intentions of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body. But rather to slide in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming....WOW WHAT A RIDE!!

Offline recurve shooter

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #2 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?
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Offline Hillbilly

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #3 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.
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Stringman

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #4 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.)
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Offline recurve shooter

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #5 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.
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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #6 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.
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Offline macbow

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #7 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
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Ron Mackenberg   Warsaw, MO.

Offline II BYRDS

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #8 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 ???
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Offline stickbender

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #9 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
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Offline bigcountry

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #10 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.
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Westminster, MD

Offline recurve shooter

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #11 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.
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Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: how do ya make rawhide?
« Reply #12 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?
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