Something A Little Different

[bucksnort]

I had an interesting conversation a while back with Aaron Winchell of Cal Classics. for those who aren't familiar, Aaron is a first class braider from Paso Robles, CA., you can check out his work online at calclassics.net. Aaron told me that he has always heard about keeping the "glue" in rawhide but no real explanation of what it was. He did a little research & decided that what we call glue is gelatin or maybe more properly collagen & is water soluble. He now wraps his hide in a damp towel rather than soaking, to remove less glue.

I thought if it could be removed, maybe it could be replaced. I had a few strings around that were soft, punky, fuzzy & weak. I soaked them in a solution of water with a lot of Knox gelatin dissolved in it. The results were pretty impressive. There was a significant increase in life, firmness & strength. I figured if it helped junk that much, it should be good for the good stuff.

With a little study, I discovered hide glue which is just a less processed form of gelatin. It's used by violin & furniture makers & some homesteader types make it by boiling rawhide for 24 hrs. or so. I went the lazy mans route & ordered some on E Bay. I dissolved it in water & a little heat from the microwave & came up with a gel of the right consistency.

This made a good substitute for braiding soap & is actually good for the rawhide & is an excellent dressing as well. It seems to keep well in the fridge although it will go bad pretty quickly if stored setting out. It has always kind of bothered me to use soap on rawhide & in the case of Fels Naphtha soap, naphtha is a petroleum based solvent (on the other hand it has been used for at least many decades with no apparent harm). Any way, the hide glue mixture work well & give rawhide a nice silky feel.

Since this is something a little different than the norm, I thought it was worth sharing. Buck

[megabit]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I wonder if Aaron will be at the Brannaman Roping in Santa Ynez this weekend. I think he was last year. How about you Bucksnort you going to the roping?

[rcsaddles]

Very interesting, Buck. I just might have to try this and see how well it works.

[bucksnort]

Mike, I'd enjoy it, but too far from my stompin' grounds & I'd have to come out of the hills. If you don't already know Aaron introduce yourself. He is a nice guy & a wealth of knowledge. Joe, give it a try & let me know what you think. I think that regular old Knox gelatin would work fine & is more easily available. Thanks Guys. Buck