how to make rawhide

[Shondy55]

hey all once you skin your deer do you soak the hide in water for a day or do you just get straight to scraping?   

[Pat B]

There are 2 methods, wet and dry, if you want to remove the hair.

[Shondy55]

Pat, i want to remove the hair from the hide

[Pat B]

For the wet method you will need to soak the hide in lye water for a few days until the hair slips. When you get all the hair off you tack it out to dry.
 With the dry method you stretch out the hide and let it dry than scrape the hair off. Pappy uses this method when he makes brain tanned leather. I don't have the experience to give you more details but I'm sure someone will chime in  with more help for you.

[JackCrafty]

When I get a hide, the first thing I do is soak it in soapy water for an hour to kill any ticks and wash out the blood and dirt.  Then rinse.  Then I scrape of any remaining flesh and membrane off the inside (non-hair side).  Then I drop in into a solution of water and hydrated lime (about 1/2 cup of hydrated lime per gallon) and let it sit for two days or so (stirring twice a day) until the hair starts to slip.  Then I take it out and scrape all the hair off and hang it out to dry.

My first "adventure" (2008) with rawhide is here:

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,9956.0.html

[Pappy]

I use the dry scrape method,first it the hide is fresh I scrap all the meat/fat and membrane off the flesh side,very important to get the membrane off,all of it. Then
punch holes of the edge all the way around 3 or 4 inches a part. Then rack it up.
Loose to start and go back over a few times until it tight,being careful not to pull out the holes. Let it dry and it will get tight as a drum.Then scrap the hair off. I have a tool to do that but I have seen it done with flakes and have made some home made scrapers to do it with also. Slipping the hair may be a little easier but a bigger mess, I was taught the dry method and have never tried the wet.
 Pappy

[CherokeeKC]

Pappy can uou post a pic of your tool?  I have a buckskin to try in the near future also.

[Pappy]

I will see if I can find them ,if not I will get a picture this weekend and post them Monday.
   Pappy

[lostarrow]

If you do use the lye method ( wood ash and water) be sure to rinse it thoroughly before working , and use rubber gloves . Lye is caustic and can cause some severe chemical burns that sneak up on you. A friend scraped a hide without rinsing and paid dearly for it. I've never used the hydrated lyme but I'm guessing that there would be warning labels on it. The wood ashes usually don't come with labels