I was just given today 2 rawhide sides 6#, however they are very dry and stiff. Not sure if this is how they originally came or is because of age. They were originally purchased in 2004 and have been sitting in the box since. Is there a way that they can be treated to soften them up to be able to use for projects? I would very much like to salvage them if possible.
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looks like plain old rawhide, which is untanned hide. If that is cowhide, and it looks to be, that stuff is darn near like cement to work with, dry at least.
You could oil the snot out of it and work it.......over and over and get it to soften a bit. But, unless you tan it, it will never be like leather.
But, that stuff is just like what I use to make my sheaths and what not. Still quite usable as is, just won't ever be soft.
That is why it's called rawhide - it's raw, untanned hide. The way you soften it up is to soak in water for awhile. It will maintain pliability for some time before it dries hard again.
Put the roll in the bathtub of warm water. the time involved depends upon the thickness of the hide. Cut off a piece large enough for whatever your project is and roll the rest. Once it is moist and pliable you can cut, punch and shape like tanned leather,
Get a copy of Woodcraft & Camping by Bernard S. Mason. In the Crafts of the Woods section is a chapter on rawhide and rawhide projects. What you have is probably too heavy for a drum but you can make knife sheaths, axe muzzles and similar stuff from it. You can also cut strips for lashings and such. Applied wet and stretched tight, it shrinks as it dries making a band nearly as strong as steel. Once dry, varnish it to make it waterproof.
It looks like you have whole sides, so that's a lot of rawhide. You might consider cutting smaller pieces and selling them to some members here who may want to make sheaths and such but don't need a whole side.
You can cut it dry with tin snips but soaking it and using a knife is a lot easier.
P.S. I'd be interested in a couple of pieces around 12" x 18".
I had some buffalo raw hide. I don't know if that is harder or easier to work with than yours, but man that stuff is tough! What I did was use a pair of tin snips or something of the sort to get about the size that I wanted (better to have a piece to big than to small, so add a few inches for good measure) and then soaked it in a large cooler filled with water for a day or two (there was no specific reason I used a cooler, it was just a good size). I was making a sheath, so what I did was wrap it as tight as possible around the knife I had and then ,on an old wooden work bench, I nailed nails down where I wanted stitches and let it set over night.I pulled the nails and I soaked it for another day or so (probably should have done less) and then the needle went through pretty easier where the nails had been. The holes were a swelled from the water so I did end up using an awl, but that was just to get the needle started, not to make a hole all the way through. This was my only time working with rawhide but it was a good learning experience.
P.S. don't forget, whereever two pieces of leather are coming together (or two ends) put a stripof leather in between. Just don't make it so big that it goes into where the knife will be to far. This just makes it so the knife won't cut your threads. Hope that made sense.
Thanks for all the input from everyone and especially the link Skab and if I do decide to get rid of some of it I'll drop you a note rdec. I was wanting this to primarily make sheaths and such from it so this will help a bunch.
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