How To Cut A Hide For Straps And Dog Collars ...

[mikesmith648]

good info for newbies.............and welcome back home Spence!!

[Cyberthrasher]

Hi all, this has been an interesting topic, but one question when you say "always lengthwise" I'm not sure which way you mean.

I bought just a shoulder the other day, so would that be from the left to the right - the widest part?

Another way to clarify that is to look at how it came off the cow. "Lengthwise" means from head to tail. So, that's the direction you'll want to cut in order to keep the grain moving in the right direction. Depending on how your shoulder was cut, you might be able to see the head/neck portion there to orient it. Now, a lot of people do the opposite when using double-shoulders in order to get the most length out of their cuts, but the grain will stop it from bending and folding the way it really should when utilizing it for straps. That's why I pretty much just buy sides so I have all the length with the grain flowing in the right direction. Since you're just working with a single shoulder, you don't have a whole lot of length to worry about anyway, so I would try to get it oriented head to tail and cut it in that direction regardless of the physical length of the piece.

[padparasha]

Just wanted to say "thank you" to all who answered my thread here. Soon after posting this I lost my Internet at home and and work (switching to different carriers), it took forever to work again, and then I was so stressed over it, I got sick in bed with fever and upper respiratory infection. So I apologize for posting and not being around. I'm better now and will be back on here.

Thank you all again! Much appreciated!