Working with rawhide

[Mirimaran]

Hi all,

Just started working with rawhide, trying for a more primitive vibe with my quiver, so I am doing a rawhide sheath for a knife I put together last year. Anyone else here do any work with rawhide? For the record, I am using the dog chew kind.

Ken

[Willrett]

I have thought about using it for a few projects but I havent had time yet.

[Kiriana]

The only thing we've used rawhide for was edging a shield for SCA fighting hehe.. But Erich can tell you more on how easy it is or isn't to work with.

[deadextra]

I didn't have issues using rawhide in the past, but I wouldn't use it for a knife sheath. It's going to constrict far more than you want, will make your knife wet (which would be very rust-prone iron in period), will hold water on the knife if it gets wet, and probably more if I sat to think about it. Regular leather will do the trick, my most recent sheath I molded wet and waxed when it was done and that was nearly too tight.

[E.MacKermak]

I agree with dead extra, rawhide tends to soak up water a bit too easy in my opinion. As Kiriana said, I used it for shield edging because it can be shaped well when wet and dries tough. I have heard of people experimenting with making armor scales from it, but I haven't found any that I think would be thick enough for that. I started out with dog chews, but have since moved up to getting a side from Tandy so I could cut longer strip. It really is good if you want a really tough object. I suppose if you waterproof it, you might get around the whole problem with it getting wet and floppy again.

EDIT: And apparently I am not as smart as I think I am: http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/ ... 4&t=129848 This is discussing exactly that idea and they are saying that rawhide sheds water well and there should be no issues. I still don't know if those are treated in any way.

[Mirimaran]

Well, here are a couple of links that I used for inspiration:

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/ ... 2lQdtnheKQ

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=ca ... v6AKxZsyPA

I made a core sheath out of leather, and so far so good. Hope to seal it in a day or so and then decorate it.

Ken

[BrianGrubbs]

I've used rawhide to make a tomahawk sheath in the past, and I just sealed it with varnish to keep it from absorbing water...not that it really is a problem, it doesn't soak up water nearly as much as regular leather. One rawhide trick that I would love to try is making a bowstring. Someone on another forum posted once about using a rawhide made from squirrel skin with the fur still attached. Made the string with built in silencers.

Brian

[Jon]

Using rawhide to (try) to edge a shield. Using dog chews too.

[Manveruon]

I've used rawhide to make a tomahawk sheath in the past, and I just sealed it with varnish to keep it from absorbing water...not that it really is a problem, it doesn't soak up water nearly as much as regular leather. One rawhide trick that I would love to try is making a bowstring. Someone on another forum posted once about using a rawhide made from squirrel skin with the fur still attached. Made the string with built in silencers.

Brian

Hah! Now that's a brilliant idea!

[Mirimaran]

Ok, just got around to posting the pics for this project on photobucket. Mixed results at best, MUCH different from working with just plain leather, but the finished result seems to be very durable. Lo, the pics!



I used a dark RIT dye for a stain, something that the Rit Dye folks said wouldn't work lol I used a spray sealer to seal up the sheath.



You can see where the rawhide pulled away from the inner core as it shrank as it dried.



I used rawhide to cover the knife handle. The blade is actually a museum size arrowhead from By the Sword. I drilled out a piece of wood, fit and glued the knife blade in, and then shaped to fit my hand.







I used deer lacing and beads that I had in my craft box. I think that I will be getting some stuff from Crazy Crow next project.









All in all, alot of fun, kinda messy, and something different!

Ken

[Ringulf]

I would think it would be a good material to use around the normal leather for a chape and locket or any other spot that got a lot of frictional wear but what Brian suggested would be a good idea. Raw hide is such a strong material as far as friction resistance when it is dry. The whole water retention issue doesn't sound that great if you have any other options. But getting leather itself wet is not really much better unless you have it oil treated or water hardened to begin with.

[Dinendir.]

Great knife handle and a great looking sheath.

[Mirimaran]

Many thanks all, and Dinendir pm sent!



Ken