Rawhide Problems

[Aggiebraider]

Howdy Everyone,

So I went to the Weaver's Sale a couple weeks ago and bought a few bleached rawhide backs and after soaking them I have been having some problems. I did screw up and I left the hides in the water barrel for too long and didnt take them out until about 24 hours later. I then let them dry for a good long while, and when there was still some moisture in them I cut them into 1/2" strands off a round and noticed there were some sections that are really squishy. I let them dry out for a few days like this and then today I went to stretch them between a couple posts, before which I rewet them for just about an hour, just so they wouldnt be too stiff to stretch on the post. The soft spots that I had noticed before soaked up so much water it was kind of ridiculous so I left them out in the sun for a bit and the normal sections dried out like I would expect, but the soft spots were still wet. So I nailed it up and tried to stretch it verrrryyyyy lightly, not pulling even hard enough to take the curls out and the strips broke at the soft spots about 10 times. Needless to say I was about to go nuts at this point. I just cant understand why some parts dry out normally and some are squishy and dont dry correctly. Because it isnt consistently like this I think the problem is in the hide, not user error, even though I had a brain fart and left it in the water so long.

I know that I shouldnt expect quite so much from a hide that I got from Weavers, but this is the first set of hides that I have cut and so I wanted to make sure there was something I could do to prevent this or fix it.

Thanks for any help or advice you can give me.

CW

[curlyjo]

Howdy Everyone,

So I went to the Weaver's Sale a couple weeks ago and bought a few bleached rawhide backs and after soaking them I have been having some problems. I did screw up and I left the hides in the water barrel for too long and didnt take them out until about 24 hours later. I then let them dry for a good long while, and when there was still some moisture in them I cut them into 1/2" strands off a round and noticed there were some sections that are really squishy. I let them dry out for a few days like this and then today I went to stretch them between a couple posts, before which I rewet them for just about an hour, just so they wouldnt be too stiff to stretch on the post. The soft spots that I had noticed before soaked up so much water it was kind of ridiculous so I left them out in the sun for a bit and the normal sections dried out like I would expect, but the soft spots were still wet. So I nailed it up and tried to stretch it verrrryyyyy lightly, not pulling even hard enough to take the curls out and the strips broke at the soft spots about 10 times. Needless to say I was about to go nuts at this point. I just cant understand why some parts dry out normally and some are squishy and dont dry correctly. Because it isnt consistently like this I think the problem is in the hide, not user error, even though I had a brain fart and left it in the water so long.

I know that I shouldnt expect quite so much from a hide that I got from Weavers, but this is the first set of hides that I have cut and so I wanted to make sure there was something I could do to prevent this or fix it.

Thanks for any help or advice you can give me.

CW

I don't think it was your problem as much as the hide you are working with. It sounds like a hide with some serious drying issues. I get my hides from Bill Confer at Tejas Ind. in Hereford Texas. I have always been able to soak them in water for several days and then cut string with even moisture. I try to only cut what I can handle at the time. 3x3 or 3x4 rounded pieces cut just over 1/4 inch to make Honda and Bosal String. He sells all weights of hides and the 30 inch rounds are almost blemish free. A little pricey but if you cut around from the outside at 1/4 inch you should get over 180 feet of string. They aren't quite thick enough for Honda string but the split bull works well for heavy string. Cow hides would work for light string and the bellies from those would make button string. Brad

[Aggiebraider]

Thanks Brad,

I assumed that it was just the hide and tonight I worked a bit preemptively and emailed Bill for a price list. I think I paid $50 for 3 bleached backs and 3 natural shoulders, so Im really not out very much. I guess I learned my lesson though.

When you are cutting from either a 1/2" or a 1/4" down into 1/8" or smaller strings, how much moisture do you want in them? My lace cutter seems to work much better when the strings are dry, but I cant keep the strings straight enough when they are completely dry to cut very consistently. Whenever I get to a curve or something it jumps all over the place and I cant get a consistent cut either beveling or splitting.

CW

[curlyjo]

Thanks Brad,

I assumed that it was just the hide and tonight I worked a bit preemptively and emailed Bill for a price list. I think I paid $50 for 3 bleached backs and 3 natural shoulders, so Im really not out very much. I guess I learned my lesson though.

When you are cutting from either a 1/2" or a 1/4" down into 1/8" or smaller strings, how much moisture do you want in them? My lace cutter seems to work much better when the strings are dry, but I cant keep the strings straight enough when they are completely dry to cut very consistently. Whenever I get to a curve or something it jumps all over the place and I cant get a consistent cut either beveling or splitting.

CW

After cutting the rough string while wet I loop them out between 2 posts about 40 ft. apart in the shade and get some of the moisture out before splitting. Then I split all to what thickness I need and do it again to get them a little drier. I then use a bench mounted gauge to pull through for width, generally taking off a little on each side til I get the right width. Let them dry some more and use another bench mount beveler to finish. It's all about the right moisture and that takes time to figure out. To dry and it wont split worth a darn , to wet and the strings curl when cutting for width. If the weather is dry you cant cut fast enough and if high humidity you better have a book to read waiting for things to dry up. Iv'e got run now but hope this helps. Brad

[Alan Bell]

I have never had to soak a hide for more than a few hours even the hide of a bull! I don't use bleached rawhide any more but when I did I would only leave it in the water for a few minutes then put it in a bag to case. Casing evens out the moisture, basically in the bag the moisture moves from the wetter portions to the drier portions. It depends on the thickness of the hide but 8 to 10 hours of casing usually works although I have done it with less. I just cut the hide of a 900-1000lb cow I skinned last winter into string. I chuncked the hide in the stock pond for a couple three hours and then into a couple garbage bags wrapped up tight for another three hours and cut my circles. Because of time constraints the circles stayed in the bag overnight and I cut them into string the next day. NO problems! If you take the rawhide straight from the water without casing you will always have problems. Hope this helps.

Vaya con Dios, Alan