Haven't Ruined Any Lately, But Not For Lack Of Trying

[bucksnort]

First case is a hide from a friend I ran into one day. He had a cow that died, he skinned her & hung the hide over the fence where it hung for a couple of weeks before he saw me. I wet the flint dryed hide enough to get it into a barrel of lime. The weather was cold & it took 2 weeks for the hair to slip. On top of all that, it had 4 brands including a nice big ones on both ribs, an ugly tumor & was bloodshot on one side. Some how the rawhide I salvaged in between was really nice.

Case two is something I've been wanting to try. This hide came to me the day after butchering & spent a cold night in the back of a pickup. I put it in a plastic bag inside my shop where it was a little warmer & left it until the hair slipped. That took almost 2 weeks, it was a little odorous & I thought I might have ruined it but the picture show the results. As clear & evenly colored a hide as I've had in quite a while with no fleshing until I stretched it. After it was dry I sanded the flesh side with a flapper wheel on my angle grinder.

[millwright]

Wow, that is a very nice looking hide. Did you fold it any particular way before putting it in the bag? try to spread it out in the bag? move it around some from time to time? hold your breath when you checked it? lol So you stretched it and fleshed it the best you could with a knife then sanded it after it dried? It looks good. I'll have to try that.

As your hides dry and they darken up, do parts of them lighten up (turn white) again during the drying process?

I like your hide Buck. Keep up the good work, Bret.

[rcsaddles]

Thanks for the post, Buck. One of the things I think is most important about this forum and Leatherworker.net is the ability and willingness of people to share in their experiences with their work. I know that experience is a great teacher and most of us learn the lesson better when we make the mistake, but I also believe that when I make a mistake, I should share it so others can skip that step and advance in their knowledge.

[curlyjo]

Nice job Buck.And rc, that's how I feel. You learn by mistakes but if I can help someone just before the error occurs, it can make the difference between losing a hide or a bunch of string and total frustration. I'm no expert but have enough mistakes to qualify as somewhat experienced. And also Buck, I'm trying to get to Red Bluff Thursday evening. I had shoulder surgery yesterday so I don't have a thing to do for awhile. Bryan's going to be there with a dog so maybe we could get together. Hopefully 2 weeks is enough time before a road trip. Email me your phone# and I'll call from the show if you're going to be there. Brad

[bucksnort]

Bret, I just wadded it up in there & moved it around every day & definitely have to hold your nose. I think it is better to have the hide fresh off the animal. They say that good decisions come from experience & experience comes from bad decisions. I always like it better when my experience can come from someone elses bad decision. Brad, I think that will work, we're kind of planning to be down there that evening as well. Buck

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

I got a hide last night from a friend who had an old cow he just knew was going to die. He said he was going to shoot her because she was having trouble getting up and getting to the bunk and it was just a matter of time. I asked if she was thin and he laughed and said "yeah, she's pretty thin." So anyway, long story short, I had him skin the cow and roll it up hair side in while it was still warm. Anyone had any success with this for slipping the hair? Bruce Grant says in his book it takes a couple days. Anything I should be doing? It's in the 30's here during the day for another couple days and it'll be below 20 tonight. Then it's going to get colder. Other than the my house and the shop, there is really no warm place to put it, and I don't really want it in either of those places if it's going to smell bad. It's still in the back of my pickup rolled up. I plan to check it tomorrow. I figured if I have to lime it, I'd put a tank heater in the solution to keep it from freezing. I made some rawhide in my much younger years and I'm pretty sure I used lime to dehair, but that was in nicer weather. This was probably 30 years ago and I used a piece a few days ago for a horn rim. It went in beautifully. I used some commercial rawhide yesterday for a binding, and fought it the whole way. So I jumped at the chance when my friend said he had this old skinny cow, plus reading you guys' posts on making rawhide got me in the mood again:-) I'll also have access to some calves this spring I'm sure.

[bucksnort]

Big Sioux, I think you'll have to keep it somewhat warm to work. I tried rolling a fresh off the critter hide hair side in (per Bruce Grant) & had no slippage after 4 days & got scared I was ruining it. I had one a while back that that a friend had butchered but told them I couldn't pick it up for about 5 days & ask them to put it in the freezer. Instead they threw it in a box setting in an old cooler that wasn't running. I thought they had ruined it, but I took it home & stretched it. That's when I found that the hair was slipping & it fleshed really easy. It made a really nice hide. That is what led me to try something similar with this hide. Several times I almost chickened out, but in the end the results were great. They do get stinky, but if you put it in a big plastic bag or sealed plastic tub the smell doesn't get out to bad. Just make sure you take it outside before you open them up. Good luck. Buck

[Big Sioux Saddlery]

Thanks Buck! It sure would be a lot easier than dealing with the lime/water in this freezing weather.