Antiquing/ageing rawhide?

[jojo]

I have made a small mountainman knife and I want to make it look old.

I have "aged" the blade nicely with ferric acid and a plastic scribbing pad, the handle with a blowtorch.
I want to sew some rawhide on the handle but haven't succeeded in ageing the rawhide. I have tried leather dye, neatsfoot oil, shoe polish, but no success. Would anyone know how to do it?

 

[john scrivy]

seen aging of leather done on repro leather toped tables this was done by being brutal to the leather hitting with chains ect and variose heated objectes pushed against the leather spilled ink for desks

 

[Toddy]

Wrap it around your shoe and go for a walk on wet grass, it's astonishing the difference it can make to a pair of newly made courrans; they look ancient in short order; I don't see why it ought not work on your rawhide.....though you could get rid of a lot of aggro using John' s method

Cheers,
Toddy