Framed beef rawhide

[BowEd]

Got my hide thinning scraper made.It's made from a typical leaf spring around 3" wide and 4" long approximately.High carbon steel is needed for what I want to do to hold an edge a long time.I was careful not to temper the steel applying the bevel on the edge.A metal file skates across it yet and does'nt bite in.The edge is crescent shaped and sharpened razor sharp with a sharpening stone..I'll see using it whether the shape of the crescent needs to be adjusted.
A 1" square metal handle from some square stock laying around in my small junk pile of metal.Around 18" long.Welded er up and she's good to go.

I even painted it black.The shaver I call it does have some heft to it.I wanted some heft to this scraper to help the thinning process.To let the tool do a lot of the work for pressure on the hide.

[BowEd]

I rough out the shape first with a speed grinder slowly while dipping it into water while I do it.I finalize the shape on my wet stone petal sharpener.I finalize the edge to sharpness with a finer wet stone that's sitting on the seat of the wet stone petal grinder.



I modified or rounded the corners more.


I want to be able to take off 1"-1.5" wide of a rawhide shaving off each pass or stroke.
PS.....One by-product I intend to keep from this is the rawhide shavings.I'll use it to make hide glue.There should be a substantial amount of it.Being thin shavings it will break down very quickly into hide glue.

[Hawkdancer]

Nice edge!  I like that pedal grinder, sort of rare nowadays, at least in working order!
Hawkdancer

[BowEd]

I've had this petal grinder for over 40 years and have used it many many times.Something I'll never part with all of my hide and wood splitting routines here.I made a new frame for it way back then too.
I've resoaked this beef hide to reframe it.I'll cut new lacing holes.I refleshed both sides of the hide on my beam to loosen it up some and give it a thorough cleaning.A few little bits and pieces of flesh side membrane removed but overall pretty good.I'm noticing I'm not getting the proper stretch on this beef hide that's really a requirement to make good brain tan.I'll reframe it today.See if my scraper thinner works best while hide is wet or dry.I'll also see if I can get a good stretch on it while in the frame by prodding into it also.

[Pappy]

Good looking tool Ed, that should get it done. I have never had much luck putting one back on the rack after they were rawhide and original holes have been cut out, seem the new holes in just rawhide always just rip or split out when i try pulling them tight. I would like to know how you keep that from happening, I have done it after they begin to turn into leather but not while they are just rawhide Pappy

[BowEd]

I resoaked the hide in a 55 gallon plastic barrel of water with a cup of bleach added for about a day.

Cut my new holes after giving it a thorough scraping again on the beam.I also twisted it on a pole from a donut shape many times.It was plenty pliable but still rawhide of course.It stretched very good with the lace holes holding well.I let it dry.Nothing special it just worked.Did'nt take any pictures of the scraping process.
The new tool took too much of a bite off.I was afraid of that happening.I think it would work on a frozen hide in the frame though.I'll use it as a flesher in the frame.I went to a scraper made from a disk blade a little narrower and took a few mm of thickness off overall 1/4" wide strips off the hair side.Almost iike dehairing it again but payed special attention to neck/spine/and hip areas to thin.Gave it a thorough sanding on both sides with the palm sander using 40 grit.It is definitely lighter and thinner than it was but still 2/3rds' of it is probably like a 4 to 5 year old buck deers' neck in thickness.The belly of this beef is like the neck of most does.
I normally after cutting a deer rawhide out of frame just brain and rope it dry too.Cutting new lace holes into a brained hide does'nt work.Too much stretch there.Keep original holes it had as rawhide before doing the drying in the frame method.
People that dry brained hides or stake them soft in the frame prepare the hide on the beam.Fleshing and wet scraping hair and epidermis.Then cut holes to frame it and dry it.Then brain it and lace it into frame and stake it dry to soften.
I'll pick and choose the weather forecast to do this beef hide in the frame prodding and stretching it.A person needs to set aside a few days for a hide like this.I'll leave original lace holes on this hide as rawhide before braining it.Here it is after thinning it.

This one I'll brain it as rawhide layed out applying the brains both sides to get pliable.Insert it in brain slurry while pulling and stretching it and leaving it overnight.After that I'll twist it/rebrain,twist it/rebrain many times.I may let it dry in the sun I don't know yet and rehydrate it.I won't go through the intermintent smoking process though and never seen a need for it.I will smoke it after it is brain tan.
I may refreeze the hide too after braining and twisting along with the excess brain slurry to save it for later on.Then thaw hide out and reheat the brain slurry and do more braining and twisting before lacing it into the frame to finish.Freezing and thawing has a way of breaking the fibers apart too.
It might be that after it gets stretched a lot in the frame and almost dry I'll have to rope it dry the rest of the way too.I won't cut the lace holes off though.Sounds like a lot of ifs and maybes but I know what I'm doing.It dried in the frame as rawhide in a matter of about 5 to 6 hours in the sun.I won't do that when working it dry after braining.I would'nt be able to keep up with it.I'll work the hide in the shade and it may take quite some time to completely dry.
I'll put it in a plastic bag twisted shut and in a cool place when not roping it.The moisture in the thicker parts will adhere to the thinner parts.Then get roped dry again.Part of the magic that happens.I do this with deer hides all the time and did it with hair on buffalo hides too.
If I need to rebrain it after one stretching session in the frame that's what I'll have to do.A lot of more work than a deer hide but I knew that anyway.I've read many experienced brain tanners have problems with doing beef hides and just plain gave up.
If a person looks at the cree indian way of doing moose hides you'll see it takes days and days to do a moose hide and with multiple people most times.Robert Badine is one who did it alone.He fancys using fabric softener as a softener.I'll use good old tried and true brains.They prescribe to intermittent smoking too.
We'll see how things work out.I'm in the process of acquiring more brains from a grocery store.Might have to special order them.If so I'll get 20 pounds.
PS....Just got word from grocery store they can get me two 12 pound cases tomorrow morning.Don't have them in the house yet though.Should be good to go then.

[BowEd]

I reenforced an old tool onto the edge I used to use when staking hides dry in the frame.I put a steel insert into the end of it.It's app. 3' long overall.I think it's from an old canoe paddle.I call it the staking tool or the finishing tool.

[BowEd]

I was able to save a little over half of the rawhide shavings for hide glue.
Oh and BTW I did need to resharpen my scraper a couple of times to get the job done.


One thickness of shaving was around 1/64" thick.I took off 3 to 4 strokes in each area I scraped overlapping strokes.So a total of around 3/64" thickness removed.Or just shy of 1/16" thickness removed.It is a lot more pliable.
In leather thickness descriptions that's about 3 ounces off.1/64" thickness in leather is equivalent to an ounce in thickness.
I still think it's a bit too thick in the hip areas for garment leather.

[Hawkdancer]

Should make nice glue!
Hawkdancer

[BowEd]

I think we are all rather frugal people on this site.I'm no exception.

[gifford]

Yep, I'm in the 'use it up, wear it out, make do' school of thought.

[BowEd]

Well I got my brains and will continue the progress of brain tanning this beef hide.Taking some pictures along the way.I'll wait for some suitable weather to stake this hide dry.Right now it's hotter than blazes.Not the most ideal conditions.It'll dry too fast for me to keep up with.
Up till now as a green hide I've fleshed it on the beam/laced it into a frame to dry/dehaired it dry scraping and sanding/cut it out of frame/resoaked it/cleaned it up better on the flesh side on the beam/cut new lace holes & relaced it into the frame to dry/thinned it scraping with my disk blade scraper and resanded it with palm sander and 40 grit paper.Here are the steps.
Currently it was brained both sides with very hot brain solution onto dried rawhide by using a large paint brush/left to bake in the sun a half hour each side while massaging in brain solution.It was around 110 degrees F. in the sun.About 85 degrees F. in the shade.

My solution for ambitious little doggies.

On a tarp on the ground while I baby sat it.

Reintroduced into brain slurry in a plastic cattle mineral tub I had while solution was warm but not blazing hot.

Left to set soaking overnight.

Next day twisted many ways/multiple times and redunked into brain slurry many times.This helps to break the fibers up and drive the brain oils through the hide.



Relaced into frame.

Retightened and set up on edge.

Staked,prodded, and stretched for about an hour hair side.Thanks to Robin for taking the picture.It stretched pretty good.Some promise there.Focused a lot on the spine/hip/and neck areas.


Folded and put into black plastic bag while wet yet and refroze into freezer along with brain slurry in bucket.

I'm of the opinion freezing and the ice chrystals formed can help stress the fibers to be stretched farther.Some say it is better done freezing it while stretched onto frame in the winter time.It's all about getting it properly brained.I'll let it get hard as a rock in the freezer.
I did throw a capfull of downy fabric softener into brain slurry too like Robert Badine uses for good luck.....ha ha.
As said earlier I'll wait for more suitable weather to stake it dry and see if I got it properly brained.It still is thicker than I'd like.It is a challenge for sure.

[Digital Caveman]

Is this about how buffalo hides would have been done?  That photo of you standing net to the hide makes it look very large.  What do you plan to do with it?

[BowEd]

The hair on buffalo I did I just massaged the brains into the flesh side after fleshing and drying in the frame.Let partially dry for a couple of hours.Then layed a wet blanket onto the flesh side to completely rehydrate it.Then roped them dry on the flesh side.
With the epidermis on the hair side yet a hair on hide needs to be scuffed,pulled or stretched and abraided across the rope to break up that epidermis on the hair side.Doing it in a frame does not do that.Your hide may be pliable doing it in the frame but card boardy like and stiff yet.Doing it on the rope by hand makes it robe like and very pliable.
This beef hide has the epidermis removed so it can be done in the frame.
The hide as of now is close to 35 sq.ft.I'm 6'3" tall.Softening it in the frame will actually make it larger than it was as rawhide,and will become thinner overall if done in frame till dry.I'm counting on that.
Roping hides dry will get hides finished that are slightly or around 25% smaller than they were as rawhide and a bit thicker than too.All  because it is'nt being stretched as much as in the frame.Regardless if it is brained properly either way will produce velvety soft leather.
"Ai'nt nothing like brain tanned leather".
I've made about everything under the sun out of brain tanned leather and multiple times.With this beef hide I have plans to make another pair of full length pants and then some.As I'm sure Ill have plenty left over yet.Some really thick moccasins come to mind also even though I have 2 pair already.A hard soled and a soft soled pair.I usually don't have any problems thinking of things to make out of this stuff.Maybe a nice beaded vest.
I try not to put the cart before the horse here yet.It has to be suitable brain tan.I'm not there yet.A happy day will be when I'm satisfied and it's getting smoked.

[JW_Halverson]

I got to thinking about Joe Brandl at Absoroka Tannery in Dubois. He is set up to do large hides with the hair on as he does lots of bison.

You are gonna have a nice hide when you are done, Ed. Gotta say, you don't get scared off a big job easy, do ya?