don't try this

[weasel]

hello the camp
having decided to make a sheath for a neck knife I took a piece of home tanned buckskin and cut a pattern out. after an hour or so of finger pokin with my sewin skills it turned out pretty fair however it was a little stiffer than i wanted so i rubbed some oil into it and decided a little heat would help. enter the 21st century i stuck it in the microwave on high for thurty seconds after ten seconds it was poppin somethin feerce I shut it off and wut i pulled out was curled up like a nite crawlin fish worm could'nt shove a pencil in her after that. i'll start over tommory just thought it mite save somebody some time
weasel

 

[Zonie]

Weasel: I'm a bettin y'r su'r glad am ar' Microwaves. Jus thin what at thing woulda dun iff'n it wur a Megawave!

 

[musketman]

If you make another one, try softining it up with pure neatsfoot oil.

It should be heated up by your hands, while gentley rubbing it into the leather.

Microwaving it will only cook it and make it as hard as old pizza crust.

Before sewing the leather, you can soften it on the non-showing side with a meat hammer or a rolling pin, just beat the (#$@%^&**) out of it to work the leather.

Scraping the leather thinner will work too, but I like the hammer style.

 

[deforge1]

Also,, NEVER EVER put cow horn in the microwave to soften it. Happened 18 yrs ago and "SHe WHo Must Be Obeyed" still will not let me use the microwave without adult (her) supervision.. Oh yeah, that trick cost me a microwave, everything cooked in it afterwards reeked of burnt horn. Still got it though, and yep, you can STILL smell the horn if you fire her up...

 

[musketman]

Now I am depressed...

I was looking through our microwave booklet and we do hot have a horn setting.

 

[deforge1]

You DID eat him, right????

 

[Haggis]

Actually, my kids buried it, right after a short but tear filled service with a touching eulogy delivered by my eldest daughter on "Baby Pig's" short life and its permanent influence on our small farmstead.

 

[Haggis]

Another rule to remember is to not put a chilled baby pig in a warm oven and leave the door open without telling "She who must be obeyed" why it is open. She'll close it and come out to the barn in an hour or two to give you perdition about leaving the door open.

Now she buys me heat lamps and blames me for the ghastly demise of the baby pig!

 

[musketman]

My favorite "don't try this" is to fire a pan of FFFFg powder in the house while checking the flint of an unloaded muzzleloader and set off the smoke alarms.

You have to be immuned to dirty looks when you do this...