I've been looking for a possible core for a crop/swager stick, now that I am learning to plait leather. Someone mentioned that rawhide was probably "too real" for me (I had explained I was learning on a first project - paracord whip) but I flip-flopped, explaining I did have a sizable chunk of rawhide from an old Bard-board project who the recipient moved away befor they got to the front of the project line. I'm going to look for a pattern, thought I might share the inspiration...