De-hairing When he can easily pull hair from the hide, IT takes it back out to the beam for de-hairing. Dragging the back edge of the drawknife, he scrapes the hair off the hide. If it has been left in the lime long enough, it’s often possible to actually wipe most of the hair off with a gloved hand. This is good because the risk of gouging the grain layer is a lot less. When he uses the drawknife IT is gentle with it. Although functionally it probably doesn’t make a huge difference we like to avoid losing strips of the grain layer because it just doesn’t look as good and this stuff is for sale. Don’t worry if your hide has areas of dark epidermis left. Leave it. It will come off later.
At this point IT’s hide feels totally limp and relaxed, no rubbery feeling or swollen spots in it. Now he is going to stretch it on a frame and dry it. He finds the two front legs and attaches strings to them and ties them into the frame. Then he pokes holes across the top of the hide with a fish fillet knife and laces the top to the frame. Fillet knives are great for this because they have a very sharp point and a thin blade, so they don’t make a huge gaping hole.
Next IT ties the rear legs and laces across the bottom. The reason he works in this order is to stretch as much length out of the hide as possible. We sell our rawhide mostly to drum makers. Ideally we would like to have the hide be twice as long as it is wide so that two drum heads of the same size can be cut from a hide. Some animals just don’t allow that but that’s what we shoot for.
Liming Next IT mixes up the hydrated lime. First he puts about 12 – 15gals. Of water into a trash can like in the picture then adds two 1 liter yogurt containers of hydrated lime and stirs well. Hydrated lime is commonly used to adjust the ph of soil. We get the hydrated lime in 20 kg (about 50 lbs) bags at a garden supply store. That’s probably enough to de-hair at least 70 deer hides. The bag should say hydrated lime or calcium hydroxide. He adds the fleshed hide to the lime solution and stirs it well with a wooden stick until only the hair is floating on the surface, no bare skin.
Now we come to some more of the steps that are not necessary but make for a nice looking hide. Once the hide is secured in the frame and pulled tight, IT takes a “not real sharp” dryscraper and goes over the hair side of the still sopping wet hide. This basically just cleans it up one more time, removing hair roots and bits of the dark epidermis that may have been left. Contrary to what many people think the epidermis is not the grain layer. The epidermis is a very thin dark layer that lies on top of the grain. Two separate layers.
How to make Rawhide
What is Rawhide and how is it made?
Rawhide is animal hide that has not been tanned. When animal hide is removed very soon after the animal’s death it is called “green hide.” This is the best hide from which to make rawhide. The process of making rawhide requires cleaning the hide and removing the hair. The skin is scraped, soaked and stretched as it dries.
Can you make Rawhide with hair still on?
However, rawhide can be made with the hair still on. To begin, it doesn’t matter if the hide is green or if it has been fleshed. Both the lye in the ash and the hydrated lime produce a chemical reaction that neutralizes the acid in the decomposing fat, thus preventing the hide from getting fat burned.
How do you use Rawhide?
To use larger pieces of rawhide to make containers, such as a powder flask, canteen, or knife sheath, you will need a mold. The wet rawhide is placed over the mold and allowed to dry. Once dried, the rawhide is removed from the mold, trimmed to shape, and can be laced together with rawhide lacing or joined with metal rivets.
How do you turn a green hide into rawhide?
Pull the hide outward from the center to stake it properly. In two hours, the green hide will transform to rawhide. The hide will be stiff, which makes it easier to work with. Cut off any hanging flesh. Cut the hide into an oval or round shape. Remove all projecting areas, such as the legs or neck.