Hide Off The Hoof, Now What To Do?

[ljensen]

Last weekend we were up visiting my family and they had a young calf that died. So we skinned the calf and then nailed the hide to the fence and scraped the flesh off. (Now this my first attempt at getting rawhide straight from the source, so I am just guessing on the best course of action so far). We left the hide on the fence for a day and then brought it home with us. So now I have a calf hide with the hair still on the hide. What are my options for getting the hair off and prepping the hide for cutting strings? I am not really set up yet to try soaking the hide in lime and also not sure it that will even work with a dry hide.

Any advice and suggestions will be appreciated.

[megabit]

Haven't ever processed one myself but as I recall you have 3 main choices lime, boil or scrape. Some will cut the disk into string with the hair on and then scrape it. I think I saw someone say they used clippers to get the hair off, don't recall if they said they scraped it after or not. I suppose it depends a lot on what you are going to make with it. A reata might be ok with some stubble on it where as a show quality bosal or reins wouldn't want that.

[CWR]

If you want to lime it all you need is a big plastic trash can and the lime. $20 should get you everything you need. Fill the trash cash can about 1/2 full put in your hide and a coffee can of lime. Make sure your hide is covered and wait till the hair starts slipping. Scrape it, rinse your trash can out and fill it with clean water and a gallon of vinegar. Rinse your hide off real good and try to get all the lime off both sides then put it in the vinegar water over night. Take it out and put it in your stretching frame out of the sunshine and wait till its dry.

If you want to scrape it you are still going to need to get it wet enough to stretch in a frame till its dry and tight enough that it doesn't have any wrinkles. Then scrape it with a good sharp knife going with the hair.

I never have stpripped one out and then taken the hair off but I believe RCsaddles does them that way. Maybe he will jump in.

Good luck,

CW

[Denise]

Here is a tutorial Rob Gerbitz did on the lime method:

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=3233

Here is how KAW does the hot water method:

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=8453

About midway through this topic RCSaddles describes the scraping method:

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=4290

Have fun!

[ljensen]

Thanks for the advice and for the links to those other threads. After reading about the lime again, it doesn't seem too bad.

Now for another question, where do you by lime? Is it a special order or do most stores carry it?

Thanks again.

[CWR]

Thanks for the advice and for the links to those other threads. After reading about the lime again, it doesn't seem too bad.

Now for another question, where do you by lime? Is it a special order or do most stores carry it?

Thanks again.

At the hardware store or lumber yard.

CW

[ljensen]

Thanks for all the help everyone. I finally found one store in town that carried the lime. The poor checkout girl looked a little concerned with my combination purchases of lime and a large garbage can.

[lilpep]

i have many Argentine friends who utilize a few different methods but the one that seems to be thebest is with rain water and asshes

"Para ello uso ceniza a la cual libero de toda parte gruesa que pueda dañar el cuero. Las proporciones que utilizo son mas o menos un balde y medio de 20 lts lo que mezclo con 2 baldes de agua de lluvia los pongo en un recipiente apropiado y lo revuelvo 4 o 5 veces al dia durante una semana. a la semana pongo los cueros, en las proporciones que hable alcanza para hacer 3 cueros de chivo a la vez, se revuelve misma cantidad de veces por dia para que la ceniza no decante y mueda entreverarse con el cuero, a los 2 o 3 dias ya casi esta dependera de la temperatura ambiente, cuando el pelo sale con la mano lo saco lo extiendo sobre una superficie plana y con la mano previamente calzar un par de guantes de cocina ( el primero lo hice sin nada y me quedaron destruidas) le saco los pelos, simplemente pasando la mano a contrapelo, luego los manguereo bien a presion y los coloco uno o dos dias mas en agua de lluvia, los limpio bien antes de estaquearlos y ya esta. el estaqueado lo hago sobre tablas con clavos a no mas de 4 centimetros uno de otro best is with hard wood asshes and some rain watter. basically "

what he basically mentiones is to mix two 5gal containers with one 5gl container of hardwood asshes craeting aslurry with the mixture after you flesh the hide soak it in ther for a couple of days till the hai slips by hand just pull on it then let it sit a bit more till it slps by rubbing across yur hand or with wooden wedge scrapping it off. during the whole process you stir the mixture around a few times a day to avoid separation and thats it a green way of dehairing. next just hose it down bofre dehairng and after to clean out the remaining ash and yur good. this is supposed to creat the alkaline environmet needed to lossen up the hair folicoles. hope it helps, they rave about this methode but rain water might be hard to come by. im not sure if this would work with regular tap watter? but you can also soak it in a rinnung stream or creek and by weighing it down with someroks and simple moving the rocks around so it get consistent moisture and when the hai slips by hand just scrape it off, this is how native americans did their dehairing according to some of the books i have and it worked for them. the tric is to open up the pores to let the hair foulicule come out.

lets us know how this turns out which ever way you decide to do it and pics are great also!!