quik question

[roo4u]

hello rawhiders...

i have decided to jump in and attempt to make some rawhide...got a hide for $30 from the local butcher...problem is no one here carries anything called quicklime, which is what my book says to use, or even knows what it is...so my question is....

what kind of lime are you all using and where are you buying it?

the only thing ive been able to find here is garden lime, hydrated lime and something called barn lime(which i think is the same as hydrated lime). they use hydrated lime to mark baseball fields and make whitewash so i didnt think it was right.

could one of you experts out there please help. i dont want my hide to be ruined because i cant find the stuff.

thanks in advance

[rgerbitz]

Hello Tracey,

I am far from being an expert, I am currently working on my 8 or 9th hide. I have used barn lime and it seems to work just fine. The garden stores carry a lime for gardens that is the same thing but it is just ground up to a smaller particle size which I think may work a little better. I have also found that if a start out with the water being over 100 degrees and less than 140 to start out with really seems to help jump start the process. I have had to wait over a week and half for the hair to slip, and things can start getting a little rank if you have to wait that long. I hope some others weigh in on this for you, as I am still trying to work out all the bugs.

Good luck

Rob

[rcsaddles]

I do not claim to be an expert on the subject but will give you my process. I lay out a fresh hide on the ground. If the hide is not fresh, soak it in water until it is pliable. I then start in the middle of the hide and cut a strap about an inch and a quarter wide. I use a utility knife that I change the blade in about three times per hide. Once the strap is cut, I stretch it between two posts. Pull as tight as possible and then take a rope in the middle and pull to a post of anything to one side to get more stretch out if the strap.

Then I take my pocket knife, sharpen it and use it to scrape the hair off. Careful not to cut the scarf skin that holds the hair to the skin as this is where much of the strength is. There is no bad smell, only takes about an hour to scrape a strap that is over 100 feet long.

This may seem like a lot of work but the rawhide has a lot of life and works great. I have only used this method so I do not know how it compares to using lime to make the hair slip. In that process,, you are basically waiting for the epidermis to rot so the hair falls off.

In case you are wondering, look in the Bruce Grant books for a Mary Fields from Bonanza, Oregon. She is in his books making a reata. When I met her she had made 90 reatas. She taught me her way of making rawhide. Told me she could show me all the mistakes. Honestly, I have not tried any other way of working rawhide.

I hope this helps.

Via con Dios,

Joe

[deadringer]

Hi there

Hydrated lime is what I use when dehairing hides .

Cheers

Chris

Edited May 23, 2008 by deadringer

[roo4u]

hi all

i appreciate the replys. hopefully the stuff i got will do the job...