2Nd Rawhide Flop

[acox4t4]

Howdy all, yep this is the rawhide rookie again. This was my second attempt at making rawhide and it looks to me like its a flop. I did the remove the fat, then put in lime water method. It was in the water for 5 days total, it started to let me pull out hair yesterday but I noticed that a slim layer was also coming off with it. Didn't know if that was suppose to happen or not so put it back in the lime water so that all the hair would come out. Well today I pulled it out and where the slim came off yesterday there were big holes and in taking off the hair today more slim came off so I'm sure this will be nothing but a holy mess. Bah !!! Any help on what I'm doing wrong would be very helpful I love feedback since I'm really wanting to braid something and this hobby is starting to get expensive without any results.

One picture is from yesterday, and the other one is today with hair all out.

Thanks Annette

[roo4u]

yup big holes thats what happened to me when i tried to make my own...now im gonna buy a hide and wont do my own again until i can get set up to cook it. mine was in to long and not only had the holes but also lost alot of the top layer where the strength is so it was useless. you can start braiding using something else..leather, paracord, different sizes of cord. check out knotheads site alot of folks braid without ever touching leather and you could learn the basics very cheaply.

[dirtclod]

I never have made any rawhide. But i seen it made in a movie about braiding and that guy cleaned, streached and dried the hide then laid the hide over a pole and scraped the hair off.

[rcjunky007]

your rawhide seems to have been left in too long and some hides will not slip very easy and some will. your mixture might be too strong as well. also thid method does not work when the weather/water is cold-ish but other than that dont quit rawhiding! you will find what works for you weather it be slipping or scraping. scraping is very natural and seems to be the best way for ME it just takes some more work. good luck!

[acox4t4]

Thanks much for the feedback, hopefully third time will be the charm. I don't know much about how to do this so thought it was probably caused by to much lime but wasn't sure. Since I've read and saw the pic's on how to make it and followed those directions by putting in a coffee can full but I don't drink coffee and I wasn't sure if they ment a small can or one of those big ones. Plus I didn't fill the trash can full of water just enough to cover the hide. Glad to hear from ya all it helps to know the reason rather then guessing. I didn't know if maybe the cow had something wrong with it, ringworm or something that caused it. So with the feedback my 3rd try will hopefully be the charm. I won't try it for awhile, I'm alittle burnt out plus need to save up some money again. But with deer season coming up soon and I go hunting, processed up 5 deer last year making Jerky, summer sausage, burger and have eaten almost all of it through-out the year so will need to go restock the freezer this year. Will maybe just wait and use them to save some money from buying another cow hide. Has anyone used much deer to braid with?? In the books I'm reading there was only one that made mention of using deer.

[Hennessy]

Thanks much for the feedback, hopefully third time will be the charm. I don't know much about how to do this so thought it was probably caused by to much lime but wasn't sure. Since I've read and saw the pic's on how to make it and followed those directions by putting in a coffee can full but I don't drink coffee and I wasn't sure if they ment a small can or one of those big ones. Plus I didn't fill the trash can full of water just enough to cover the hide. Glad to hear from ya all it helps to know the reason rather then guessing. I didn't know if maybe the cow had something wrong with it, ringworm or something that caused it. So with the feedback my 3rd try will hopefully be the charm. I won't try it for awhile, I'm alittle burnt out plus need to save up some money again. But with deer season coming up soon and I go hunting, processed up 5 deer last year making Jerky, summer sausage, burger and have eaten almost all of it through-out the year so will need to go restock the freezer this year. Will maybe just wait and use them to save some money from buying another cow hide. Has anyone used much deer to braid with?? In the books I'm reading there was only one that made mention of using deer.

an old custom tree maker told me scrape hide right after removal off animal ..find a running creek lay hide out under water,preferably on a rock base[rapid water better] weight[rocks]down hide.return every day n move rocks about.hair will slip in a few days resulting in a clean raw hide.dont drink downstream eh! failing that there are several braiders and tree makers who may share mix formula's,one did with me yrears back ,i never used it and is now lost.being able to tumble hide in a wooden container with lime solution accelerates the process[no metal containers]plastic or wood.also after lime bath and slip you have to neautralize the lime in another immersion of [forgot] then peg out for a few days for shrinkage before cutting oot yer circles

[acox4t4]

Thanks for the advice on the running water method. I'm a city slicker so don't have any place close to me to do that but if I could talk a friend into checking on it for me everyday and moving the rocks I might have a way of trying that method out. If not then my plan for try #3 is going to be to scrape off the fat, then shave the hair side and scrape. Right now I don't want to worry about the hair being seen, I want something to try out the cutter/beveler that I made and other tools that I have aquired. Plus I saw a picture of some brading with the hair shaved and I kinda liked it.

[Aggiebraider]

If you are just learning to braid I would say the best way is to step back from the route you are going now and simplify things. I would suggest getting some parachute cord or any other nylon based cord and learning the different braids and knots. Then once you progress and feel comfortable making the jump, start working with leather. Kangaroo has proven to be very nice to work with for myself, and yes it is somewhat expensive, but it works so nice that I will never go back to anything like latigo or cowhide. Rawhide is so temperamental and difficult to learn with, Im afraid youre jumping the gun just a bit. If you have already learned the basics and know how to braid fairly well, why not save the money and time and just buy rawhide already made in hides or even strings? Bill Confer ((866) 660-2830) sells rawhide and from what I have heard his is the best. He also sells precut lace in different widths to meet whatever needs you have. If you have already been braiding for a while and are trying to make the jump to rawhide, disregard what I said, I just hate to see you spend more money and struggle. I know some braiders that do GREAT work and buy all of their lace pre cut....they just feel like their time spent in making lace is worth more by just braiding and buying it premade.

Hope this helps,

CW

[rgerbitz]

Hello acox,

I started with 25 foot of string that I bought from Mike and Cindy Beaver, after that I have made all of my own hides except for some chap and roo hides that I have bought. So far I've been at this for about 4 or 5 years and feel like I am starting to make some decent rawhide. I have thrown away about as much rawhide as I have kept. Either because I screwed up the hide dehairing it, screwed up the string cutting it, or had to can some projects cause the workmanship was horrible. I have given up on using lime to remove the hair, I have only been able to get that to work out well on a few occasions. I have gone to using sodium sulfide to remove the hair (Big thanks to Rod Nikkels for that). 45 minutes and the hair is history. It's not a process you would want to do in town unless you really like pissing off the neihbors. The smell can be a bit stiff. I had a hog farmer complain about the smell!! If you would like to know more call me 815-542-6035.

Best of luck,

Rob

[Hennessy]

If you are just learning to braid I would say the best way is to step back from the route you are going now and simplify things. I would suggest getting some parachute cord or any other nylon based cord and learning the different braids and knots. Then once you progress and feel comfortable making the jump, start working with leather. Kangaroo has proven to be very nice to work with for myself, and yes it is somewhat expensive, but it works so nice that I will never go back to anything like latigo or cowhide. Rawhide is so temperamental and difficult to learn with, Im afraid youre jumping the gun just a bit. If you have already learned the basics and know how to braid fairly well, why not save the money and time and just buy rawhide already made in hides or even strings? Bill Confer ((866) 660-2830) sells rawhide and from what I have heard his is the best. He also sells precut lace in different widths to meet whatever needs you have. If you have already been braiding for a while and are trying to make the jump to rawhide, disregard what I said, I just hate to see you spend more money and struggle. I know some braiders that do GREAT work and buy all of their lace pre cut....they just feel like their time spent in making lace is worth more by just braiding and buying it premade.

Hope this helps,

CW

thats an educated way of resolveing a messy experience eh!