Cow hides

[Nimrod]

Went to a garage sale this weekend and got 2 hole cow hides about 5 to 6 ft long one with red and white hair and one brown and white hair with a tanned and fluffed up hole sheep skin gold in coler all look brand new All for $40.00 :cry: :what:. Would like to make some possible bags would like some feed back on the hair out or in ? TIA

 

[vradin]

Personal opinion, but I'd use the cow hides hair out. With the hair IN the possibles bag it'd be breaking off all over your stuff and you'd just wind up with hairy possibles :crackup:

I'd save the sheepskin for a bit of clothing if there's enough or gun case liner with the hair in. The hide should still retain a lot of the natural lanolin which help protect the gun.

Just my 2 bits worth from an old leathercrafter.

vic

 

[Joe Yanta]

One thing for certain Nimrod...you got yourself a really good deal. The hides being 5-6 feet in length sounds like calf skins. I have seen hides like you have described but they were not supple. They were kinda stiff like. Dont know what yours are like. Making a shooting bag wont take much of your hides.....never done this, but just thinking about it. You might have another option of pulling or scraping the hair off the part your going to use for your pouch. This might give the appearance of brain tanned and could make your skin a little more supple. Which ever way you decide you have some very fine posibilities.

Joe Yanta

 

[waksupi]

Native Americans used them in lots of ways. I would consider portmanteaus, as you can get lotsa stuff inside of one. Also, dispatch cases were a fairly common item. Hairy parfleches would be neat, but I guess they can't be called parfleche, once they are tanned! They were also made into quivers. Large possibles bags for toting stuff is good. I never cared for a hairy shooting bag, but they were made.

Here are a few museum links. You may be able to search through them, and find something neat. I don't have the Hudson's Bay collection on links at the time, but they may be worth searching, also.

http://www.civilization.ca/sitemap/sitemape.html

http://anthro.amnh.org/

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/exhibits.htm

http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/col/search.cfm

http://digilib.si.edu/main.asp