Nod4Eight Report post Posted April 8, 2011 Hi all - So I finally got one of those goat hides to work with. It's my first attempt and I feel like I'm starting in a bit of a hole. I'm not complaining since I got the hide for free, but man is it dirty! The guys dog drug it thru the dirt, supposedly didn't chew on it though. It was wadded in a ball and put in the freezer. That's how I got it and its been sitting in my freezer for a week or so and the weather finally might cooperate with me. So here's the plan so far. I put it in a large tub and its soaking now. I'm thinking its gonna take several baths to get this thing clean. Once its clean I'm going to give it a good once (or twice) over on the flesh side with a draw knife to clean that up. Then back into a lime bath. Then de-hair it and rinse it off good again. Then a short rinsing bath with a very small amount of vinegar to bring the pH back to around normal. Then into the frame I made out of 2x4s to dry in the barn so it's sheltered from all the rain we've been having. Cut it out of the frame and slice into ~1 inch strap spiraled all the way around. Then stretch... split... cut into laces for whatever project I decide to do with it (haven't thought that far ahead). A few questions - Is this thing salvagable? Has anyone worked with and recovered something this dirty? I'm mainly interested in learning this process - so if I don't turn out with braidable material I won't be too disappointed, but it would be nice to be able to use it. How does my plan look? Am I missing steps? Am I doing something I needn't do? I'll try to keep this updated as it comes along. I have been reading through old threads and you all have indirectly helped me out a bunch so far - thanks!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted April 8, 2011 What a mess! If it was me I would rinse off the flesh side and make sure it's fleshed good. I would then knock of as much of the dirt and crap as I could from the hair. I wouldn't be worried about the hair side being all that clean as you'll be getting rid of the hair anyway. That's just my opinion and how I would do it. Good luck, Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denise Report post Posted April 8, 2011 We've had hides come in from bulls looking like they have been kept in feedlot conditions in the spring. (Is there a stinky emoticon anywhere?) Like Mike says, the stuff with the hair goes away anyway. I'd be more concerned about dirt on the flesh side if they skinned it really cleanly and then it got dirt on it. That stuff sticks and shows through so it needs to be pretty clean on that side. Rod likes to dehair before he fleshes, otherwise you are fleshing something that isn't laying totally flat and you are more apt to miss spots and, worse, cut the hide when you hit a high spot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nod4Eight Report post Posted April 8, 2011 Great point Denise! That makes sense about having a smooth surface to flesh it out good. Change in plans already! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted April 8, 2011 Hi all - So I finally got one of those goat hides to work with. It's my first attempt and I feel like I'm starting in a bit of a hole. I'm not complaining since I got the hide for free, but man is it dirty! The guys dog drug it thru the dirt, supposedly didn't chew on it though. It was wadded in a ball and put in the freezer. That's how I got it and its been sitting in my freezer for a week or so and the weather finally might cooperate with me. I would complain. As a matter of fact I'd have sent the damn thing back to him at no cost. I believe if you're gonna give somethin away like that, at least it should be in decent shape and not look like that, or come like that. That would make mindful of how his commercial stuff is. The freebies speak 10,000 words and more. But I do wish you good fortune with it Nod. B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nod4Eight Report post Posted April 8, 2011 I would complain. As a matter of fact I'd have sent the damn thing back to him at no cost. I believe if you're gonna give somethin away like that, at least it should be in decent shape and not look like that, or come like that. That would make mindful of how his commercial stuff is. The freebies speak 10,000 words and more. But I do wish you good fortune with it Nod. B... Haha, he's just an ol farmer with a bunch of goats and he just happened to butcher one recently. It was partly my fault for not being able to get there for a day or two. He's not a supplier by any means. Plus he's an old timer (almost 90) and those guys are fun to talk to. My gal is gonna make some cookies for him and his wife so we can go listen to some more of his stories. Hopefully next time he butchers I can get there quicker or explain how to keep it cleaner until I can. I've got 3 or 4 places on stand by to contact me when either they butcher or an old animal dies so I'm sure this is just the first of many and I'll learn from it. Oh yeah - a stink emoticon wouldn't begin to describe this thing! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted April 8, 2011 LOL Nod. 90yrs old. Well it'd be worth the stories for sure. I agree with that one. B... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nod4Eight Report post Posted April 9, 2011 He's a hoot, like I said - I love talking to the old timers. They've got some great stories and most of the time they just want someone to listen. I wish now that I would have started recording some of my conversations with some of the old guys I've talked to over the years. I've gotten lesson in things from making ropes, to breaking horses to how to sharpen your knife. Nothing profoundly different than we do today but it's mostly in the way they share their memories so fondly. Anyway - I got that hide out and scrubbed it down real good with my hands to get the straw and dirt off the flesh side. Since it's been a frozen wad in my freezer, today was the first time I've really seen it. I think next time I'll go try to skin it myself. There are a few holes in the hide in prime places - middle of the back, shoulder etc. It's not going to make a lot of lace but hopefully I can work around the holes somehow. It's in a muddy mixture of hardwood ashes and water right now. I had that on hand and figured I would try this the old fashioned way. The hair was slipping pretty good anyways so I'm not too worried about getting all the hair off. After that it will be a chore to finish fleshing it as there are still some chunks of meat on it and plenty of loose membrane to get off it. I carefully cut some off but I definitely agree a smooth surface without hair underneath would make that an easier job. I'll try to post some more pics this weekend but for now I got a lot of work to do Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denise Report post Posted April 9, 2011 Rod prefers a bunch of flesh, etc. left on the hide. It means they haven't nicked it underneath in most cases like they do if they are trying to help you by getting it clean. And you have to go over it anyway with the draw knife. Sometimes it is a lot easier to take off a lot of junk than just that little bit that they leave on that needs to come off. Just sharpen your draw knife really well! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nod4Eight Report post Posted April 11, 2011 Update: It had been sitting in the wood ashes for a little less than a day, but a small test showed that the hair would come right off with a finger pull. I took it out of the water and found that some spots (the ones more covered with the ash) came off easier than others. I ended up putting it back in to after trying to cover more evenly with ash. The question I have now is this: when pulling the hair off there was a layer of outter skin that would peel off at times. Do I want this outter layer to come off? I thought the strength came from this layer, but this stuff wasn't strong at all, it was almost gooey. Using a draw knife would probably just scrape this off. I can get a picture up later if that helps. THANKS! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denise Report post Posted April 11, 2011 Yes, you do want that very top layer of the epidermis to come off. It is the dead outer skin layer and if left on, it does nasty things to your rawhide when it dries. The live layer of the dermis is what makes the grain layer and it will stay put unless you damage it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nod4Eight Report post Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks Denise! That seemed to be more apparent as I worked on it some more today. In the heavy ash areas the hair and this epidermis came off in giant chunks and it is nearly done. The courser hair down the spine is the stuff hanging on the hardest. Attatched is the initial picture showing the difference - dark grey is the epidermis, light grey is the good stuff I'm assuming. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denise Report post Posted April 12, 2011 Rod looked at this and said yeah, you want that dark stuff off, and it has to slip with your ash/lime/whatever. Yes, you can scrape it off if you have to but then you risk damaging the good layer underneath. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nod4Eight Report post Posted April 12, 2011 That was the picture of yesterday. Today the hair was slipping off along with that grey stuff with it, leaving that nice white stuff. So it sounds like I'm on the right path - thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nod4Eight Report post Posted April 19, 2011 So, I thought I ruined the hide. I've been so busy with the horse sale the past 5 days or so I haven't had time to do anything with it. Last I did was get the rest of the hair off and throw it in a plastic bag to get it out of the waster/ash mix but keep it pliable. I may have still lost it. The flesh side needs some work still, but the "hide" part still seems workable. If anyone is still interested I can still post pics of the rest of the process. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
