Maeve Report post Posted September 18, 2009 (edited) FINALLY! All of the crisis' in my life seem to have subsided for the moment. I have the Tejas Industries rawhide flyer in my hand to order .... and I'm still as confused as ever as to which hide I should purchase. Bill Confer must be very busy lately as I can't seem to catch up with him to discuss this. So I'm turning to ya'll! What the heck to I buy?!?! There are way too many choices, weights, etc. on this flyer to just go blindly about ordering. Just so you have an idea of what kind of work I do and intend to do with this hide, I haven't cut a string over 3/32" in years. I level all of my roo hides to .8 mm. I am absolutely fanatical about leveling lately in that I even have an auto feeler gauge to set my splitter to what I like. I KNOW that rawhide and roo aren't even close to being the same animal (literally and figuratively) so I'm in a quandary. All help and suggestions gladly taken! Thanks in advance! I would like to have this ordered in a day or so before this illusion of peace and tranquility becomes unraveled in the house again! LOL! Love and Light, Maeve Edited September 18, 2009 by Maeve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LBbyJ Report post Posted September 18, 2009 Hi Maeve, glad to hear things are settling in for you. I to have the same questions about rawhide as you but your a tiny bit ahead of me on this one. I would like to work with rawhide but the time isn't there yet. Here's a inspiring piece for you though. We were at a show last week in Boise and I meet up with braider by the name of Steve Derricott. Turns out he was interviewed on Public Radio that same weekend so many people were asking about him and had a greater awareness of braiding. His story is a good one so give a listen to the interview at the link below. Boise Public Radio Page Good luck with in your quest with rawhide and let us know any tips you learn, John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted September 18, 2009 Hi Maeve, glad to hear things are settling in for you. I to have the same questions about rawhide as you but your a tiny bit ahead of me on this one. I would like to work with rawhide but the time isn't there yet. Here's a inspiring piece for you though. We were at a show last week in Boise and I meet up with braider by the name of Steve Derricott. Turns out he was interviewed on Public Radio that same weekend so many people were asking about him and had a greater awareness of braiding. His story is a good one so give a listen to the interview at the link below. Boise Public Radio Page Good luck with in your quest with rawhide and let us know any tips you learn, John Thanks for the link, John! You are SO lucky to have met this fellow. What a neat interview! I have yet to meet another braider other than through the Internet. What a lonely existence this leather braiding is in life! LOL! I only wish that I could meet someone or take some workshops. Right now all I do is teach the bit that I know to others. That is actually a HUGE help to me as I learn so much! One of my students "taught" me something the other day that will be added to the huge list of student learned things. She was using her fid in such a way that it made SO much sense to me and made me slap my forehead in one of those, "Why didn't *I* think of that!" moments! I guess experience is a great teacher too! :D But I am ALMOST (not quite) to the point of being able to travel to workshops. Soon ..... real soon. But until then, I will rely heavily on ya'll here and the experiences that I have with my students! And if "ya'll" don't chime in here really quick, I'll lose another day of no rawhide to play with before the next round of life kicks in! LOL! Love and Light, Maeve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted September 18, 2009 Maeve I've done quite a bit with strands that are 1/32 and a 1/16th and I always use calf. It's nice and thin already. I've tried splitting some thicker cow down and it has worked. But the strands are pretty weak after taking so much off. There's my .02cents worth. Good luck, Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LBbyJ Report post Posted September 18, 2009 What are you thinking of making, maybe that will help spur some conversations. I've also heard that when doing finer pieces, bracelets or intricate knots, calf skin is best. As far as workshops go, maybe this winter some of us northern climate folks should be invited down south for a braid in. Just thinking out loud. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted September 18, 2009 What are you thinking of making, maybe that will help spur some conversations. I've also heard that when doing finer pieces, bracelets or intricate knots, calf skin is best. As far as workshops go, maybe this winter some of us northern climate folks should be invited down south for a braid in. Just thinking out loud. You've got it!!! :D I think you just hit on the right person! Every year I host a Smallpipe school in which we bring a world reknown piper to my place. People fly in from all over the country (and Canada), camp in the yard, use the house and we spend a week learning smallpipes. I have also hosted 3 banjo camps! I don't see why we can't do a braiding camp too! WOO HOO!!!!! Here are some links to the smallpipe school. Not sure if I can find the banjo camp pages or not. We didn't host it last year and my memory is horrible! Sooooooooooo ....... http://people.delphiforums.com/terralyn/ Love and Light, Maeve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted September 18, 2009 Maeve I've done quite a bit with strands that are 1/32 and a 1/16th and I always use calf. It's nice and thin already. I've tried splitting some thicker cow down and it has worked. But the strands are pretty weak after taking so much off. There's my .02cents worth. Good luck, Mike Thanks, Mike! I ALMOST ordered a calf hide today. There are just SO many choices on that flyer and I probably want more than one thing! I have a LOT more questions (as I sat on the couch reading my 7 books on braiding ... only to become MORE confused!) but I can't go into it right now. Maybe later after I take my grandson and his buddy ghost hunting (don't ask! LOL!). But I'll make it a point this evening to try and jot done some things. And right now John has my mind reeling about the possibility of a braiding camp! LOL! Love and Light, Maeve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LBbyJ Report post Posted September 19, 2009 Oops, I didn't mean to cause a distraction. But I hear Florida in early February is nice. Here's a something to get you back on track. This is a bracelet Nate Wald made for me last winter. If that doesn't get wanting to "rawhide" not sure what will. John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted September 19, 2009 Oops, I didn't mean to cause a distraction. But I hear Florida in early February is nice. Here's a something to get you back on track. This is a bracelet Nate Wald made for me last winter. If that doesn't get wanting to "rawhide" not sure what will. John That bracelet is GORGEOUS and right in line with things that I want to do with rawhide. And buttons. I want to do buttons. I like small. Thanks for that inspiration, John! LOL! Yes ..... it is VERY nice in early Feb.! Perfect for braiding on all of the porches and patio! Okay ..... the boys found a ghost and are now scared out of their minds and quiet in the other room. Here are some of the questions that I had in regards to the flyer. It says on the flyer that "Dried full hide trimmed and split or dried full hide trimmed, split and shaved". Just what does all of that mean? Shaved? It also says on the circles "request thickness". Is that very specific? And to what extremes does that go? Rawhide String (mature) or rawhide lace (calf). Is that the only difference in the two as to what is string or lace? Mature of calf? I'm assuming that lace is thinner (split-wise). I'm not sure how much I want to order. I tend to be obsessive-compulsive over these things and would probably order one of each if I thought I would like it. I suppose the smart thing to do is to order strings/lace or a circle then decide what I want to do. But if I order the wrong thing and it makes me not like rawhide, then I'm doing a real disservice to myself! I'm so confused! Love and Light, Maeve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted September 21, 2009 Ordered the hides. Will be here in a couple of weeks. Now the learning curve begins. Love and Light, Maeve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
megabit Report post Posted September 22, 2009 Ordered the hides. Will be here in a couple of weeks. Now the learning curve begins. Love and Light, Maeve So what did you end up ordering? On a side note I cut the longest string without screwing it up yet for me. I didn't measure it started as a disk maybe 2 1/2 or 3 feet around. Cut it down to about 1/2 and then just a sting about 3/16ths off that. Now I need to tie some buttons on the curb strap I am working on. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted September 22, 2009 So what did you end up ordering? On a side note I cut the longest string without screwing it up yet for me. I didn't measure it started as a disk maybe 2 1/2 or 3 feet around. Cut it down to about 1/2 and then just a sting about 3/16ths off that. Now I need to tie some buttons on the curb strap I am working on. Mike Hi Mike, I bought a full cow hide and a calf hide. Nothing like jumping in with both feet! While I'm scared to death, I'm eager for them to arrive. I need to get some of these orders out so that I can "play" when the time arrives. I have some projects in mind. They might be seen as ambitious by others ...... but that is not unlike me either! LOL! Good for you on the string! So how long do you THINK it is?!?! I'm rethinking my whole string cutting operation here. I'm imagining a new set up that might be more beneficial for cutting the cow. Roo hides are so small that you can put them in your lap. It won't be the case with the cow! :D Love and Light, Maeve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
megabit Report post Posted September 23, 2009 I would say over 60 feet maybe as much as 100, but it is just a guess and I am to lazy to stretch it out and measure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted September 23, 2009 I would say over 60 feet maybe as much as 100, but it is just a guess and I am to lazy to stretch it out and measure. Well that is a fair amount! Good job! I'm still contemplating just how I am going to cut this thing. So many different ways to do it. Makes an indecisive person like me just crazy! LOL! M Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Bell Report post Posted September 23, 2009 Maeve, Depending on what you ordered the hides will come vacuum sealed and frozen. They will be a bit of a mess. The hides will vary in thickness over the hip is thicker than the belly the back is sometimes thick but a cow that walked under a flybag will have ruined its back for making lace the neck is thicker too. The hides thicken from the belly towards the spine and from the middle out to both ends basically. You will want to cut circles of relatively uniform thickness to make it easier to have your strings come out with the least amount of prep work. Some stretch the string from cowhide to remove any future stretch from the string prior to braiding with it. I have found that the very act of making the lace usually stretches it quite a bit and that is generally enough. For what it is worth I know that Nate does it this way as he is basically my mentor with braiding. Nate has also reversed/flipped his lace through the splitter and skived off the hair layer (as opposed to skiving off the flesh) and made thin lace out of cow that way. I have not tried that method yet. The other option you could have used in you area would to go to a meat processing plant like Rob described and following his instructions. When I started out I used Confer's rawhide too, EVERY braider I met told me that my work would improve if I started making my own rawhide! They were right, so I'm passing on this thought to you. One or two plastic trash cans, a 2x12x8, 2 saw horses, a sharp knife or two, a bag of lime and a frame of some sort (either a hoop -best- or a square) and you are in the rawhide making business! Hopefully you have a backyard to do this in as apartment owners frown on this sort of thing in the parking lot! On the plus side though no one in your apartment complex will tease you (to your face!) once they see you fleshing a cowhide! Vaya con Dios, Alan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted September 23, 2009 Thank you, Alan, for the very useful information! Yes .... I have property with horses, dogs and cats. And while my family and neighbors are used to me having sheep fleeces all over the yard, bagpipes playing at all hours and other such nonsense, they might REALLY object to cowhides laying around the place! That is not to mention that I have a pretty weak stomach myself and probably couldn't get within 100 yards of it! LOL! I do have all of the equipment that you mention except the bag of lime (easy enough to get) but where do I buy a strong stomach? A quick funny story here. I told my daughter that I was getting a cow and calf hide the other day. She FREAKED out on me! I calmly mentioned that what I was buying was a bi-product of her buying meat at the grocery store! I think she is going to become a vegetarian! So I don't think preparing my own is in the cards at the moment. Besides, I'm not even sure that I am going to LIKE braiding rawhide! I hope to get a positive start on it so that I don't give up immediately. Yes, I did get it from Bill Confer and I am pretty sure he is sending me dried hides. At least those were the prices he quoted to me! I was like a blathering idiot trying to ask questions of things I know nothing about. He was talking in microns, I was talking in mm. We were from two planets. Man speak, woman speak. It was downright scary. I suppose I'll know what I ordered when the truck drops it off here. Bill told me that they only sell red haired cows for braiding because the hide is more consistent and more transparent. Then I got afraid again that he was sending me a hide with the hair on! BUT ...... If it does come frozen and vacuum packed, just how do I deal with that? None of my books mention that! Bill did tell me (what a doll!) that if the hide turned opaque that it was too wet and to let it dry out a bit before working with it. Is that right? As for taking off the hair side, doesn't that compromise the integrity of the string? Looks like I will have a lot of experimenting to do when it arrives. I have one student that I can hand off a lot of these orders to so that I can play. That might be something to think about. So what are the pros and cons of cutting the strings from a circle and cutting a spiral from the circle first? In Woolery's book, he shows the different sections of the hide, the different circles to cut and the different properties of each section. Of all of the books, that is the one that grabbed my attention and seems to be the one that I will work with unless I get better advice elsewhere (hint hint). I'd show you what I want to start as a project but I'd be afraid of ya'll laughing at me! It's quite ambitious! Thanks again, Alan. I do appreciate the input. Love and Light, Maeve Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
megabit Report post Posted September 23, 2009 As for taking off the hair side, doesn't that compromise the integrity of the string? Looks like I will have a lot of experimenting to do when it arrives. I have one student that I can hand off a lot of these orders to so that I can play. That might be something to think about. What Alan is talking about there is using the hair side but just cutting it off the top instead of working your way to it from the flesh side. I hope that makes sense, I know I didn't really understand when Nate mentioned that the first time. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted September 23, 2009 What Alan is talking about there is using the hair side but just cutting it off the top instead of working your way to it from the flesh side. I hope that makes sense, I know I didn't really understand when Nate mentioned that the first time. Mike Thanks for clearing that up, Mike! That makes more sense to me! Will have to ponder that concept too! :D M Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maeve Report post Posted October 5, 2009 It's finally here. Now .................................. M Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
