Making An Old Twisted Rawhide Reata/riata Usable

[bex DK]

My husband recently got his hands on a two strand twisted reata. Well, most of it is two strand twisted, but a short section (about a meter or so) up to the honda switches over to a 4 strand braid. We're in Denmark, so who knows where it comes from and how it got over here. The person we got it from got it from someone else.

The person we got it from was a bit of an idiot and treated the whole thing with leather oil! ARGH. So far my husband has cleaned it thoroughly with glycerin and tried stretching it for a while like he's used to with rope lassos.

But despite his stretching, it still seems to "remember" a lot of the twist from having been stored a really long time. So when he tries to make a loop to throw, the loop shows multiple twists and he can barely catch a post (this is not a problem with his usual lasso).

So is there anything he can do to make this thing usable again or do we have to resign ourselves to having it as nothing but a wall hanging? I would really appreciate any advice you can give.

[Saddlebag]

He might try casing the leather, ie throwing it in the sink and watching the bubbles appear. As they slow down throw it in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. The next day or few days, remove it and wet the hand and work white saddle soap into the rawhide while it's still damp and work it in well.

[bex DK]

Thanks. We'll give it a try. It's not worth anything as it is anyway.

[oldtimer]

(I don´t think there will appear any bubbles from the rawhide, as it does not contain any air like leather does.) Soak it in wateruntil it is pliable, then stretch it and let it dry. Get a can of Vaquero rawhide cream and work it into the rawhide when almost dry.

[bex DK]

It bubbled from the twists but not much else. But the water definitely helped get rid of some of the oil the idiot had used. There was a layer og oil on top of the water and the water was yucky dirty very quickly. It is now packing in plastic for the night.

Rawhide cream is unfortunately not available over here. We have white/clear saddle soap... no problem there.

I did a lot of reading on rawhide care and it looks like a lot of the "old" recipes are a mix of something fatty and beeswax. We have what is meant to be a leather treatment that is similarly comprised. So had thought to use that last--just a thin layer, but the saddle soap first. Looks like the white saddle soap is also frequently recommended for rawhide care.

[Saddlebag]

Do let us knowhow it ultimately turns out. Any b & a pics?

[bex DK]

It didn't occur to me to photograph it before, but I can after. Right now it is stretched to dry in the attic. It worked BEAUTIFULLY while wet, so hoping it will also work as well once it has dried.

[bex DK]

Thanks to your help, it is now fully functional. My husband is very happy and we really appreciate the help!

[Saddlebag]

Great. Glad you are pleased with it.