I find rawhide very useful for a variety of things. mostly small projects. I just soak it for several hours to soften it, cut out whatever pieces I need, form and sew it into place and let it dry. The stuff is indestructible, all the projects here have been in hard service for years and haven't really changed since day one.
These pan brushes were done that way, sewn with sinew, the wire loop and pig bristles from a Chinese paintbrush glued in with hide glue and let everything dry.
This sewing kit was made from cane growing in my yard. Because I knew it would split when dry, I reinforced it with a sheath of rawhide sewn on tightly with sinew. It cracked but never spread, has given good service.
I like making canteens from gourds, but the necks can split, so I shrink a band of rawhide around them for support. I made a simple carrying arrangement from rawhide strips and jute rope for the 1-quart one, just a band on the neck of the 3-quart one. It has worked, so far.
Knife sheaths are another use I've found for the stuff. I soak the rawhide, cut it to shape and sew it up, then put two strips of wood on either side of the blade area and clamp it tight with C clamps. When it has thoroughly dried it makes a snug friction fit, holds the knife without ties or straps. The patch knife sheath is 15+ years old, the knife has been in and out a million times, and it has never needed attention.
I made this small shot pouch of deerhide, left the neck unsewn. I then made a short tube of rawhide just the size to fit into the neck and let it dry on a dowel. I sewed the neck closed over the rawhide tube, then wrapped waxed flax thread over all to reinforce and hold it in place. The resulting pouring spout is hard as cane and totally stable. The nice thing is that the spout can be made any size you need, no need to search for just the right tube, just make one.
All these projects were done by me, but I have bought some neat rawhide gadgets, too. This 3" ball bag holds .290 balls for my squirrel rifle and is small enough to slip right into my shooting pouch. I have 3-4 similar ones for different guns.
The rawhide I use is a commercial one, probably from Tandy. It doesn't shrink much when drying, as rawhide is said to do. The commercial processing probably shrinks it up so little is left. If you stitch the stuff very tightly around something, it will stay the same size as it dries and not tighten much if at all, but it won't stretch.
Spence
These pan brushes were done that way, sewn with sinew, the wire loop and pig bristles from a Chinese paintbrush glued in with hide glue and let everything dry.
This sewing kit was made from cane growing in my yard. Because I knew it would split when dry, I reinforced it with a sheath of rawhide sewn on tightly with sinew. It cracked but never spread, has given good service.
I like making canteens from gourds, but the necks can split, so I shrink a band of rawhide around them for support. I made a simple carrying arrangement from rawhide strips and jute rope for the 1-quart one, just a band on the neck of the 3-quart one. It has worked, so far.
Knife sheaths are another use I've found for the stuff. I soak the rawhide, cut it to shape and sew it up, then put two strips of wood on either side of the blade area and clamp it tight with C clamps. When it has thoroughly dried it makes a snug friction fit, holds the knife without ties or straps. The patch knife sheath is 15+ years old, the knife has been in and out a million times, and it has never needed attention.
I made this small shot pouch of deerhide, left the neck unsewn. I then made a short tube of rawhide just the size to fit into the neck and let it dry on a dowel. I sewed the neck closed over the rawhide tube, then wrapped waxed flax thread over all to reinforce and hold it in place. The resulting pouring spout is hard as cane and totally stable. The nice thing is that the spout can be made any size you need, no need to search for just the right tube, just make one.
All these projects were done by me, but I have bought some neat rawhide gadgets, too. This 3" ball bag holds .290 balls for my squirrel rifle and is small enough to slip right into my shooting pouch. I have 3-4 similar ones for different guns.
The rawhide I use is a commercial one, probably from Tandy. It doesn't shrink much when drying, as rawhide is said to do. The commercial processing probably shrinks it up so little is left. If you stitch the stuff very tightly around something, it will stay the same size as it dries and not tighten much if at all, but it won't stretch.
Spence
