dog chew thonging

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Tadpole

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Nov 12, 2005
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What if any special treatment would I need to do, to make thonging rawhide, cut from a dog chew, suitable for a bow drill cord? Any help or advice much appreciated
 

rancid badger

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
What if any special treatment would I need to do, to make thonging rawhide, cut from a dog chew, suitable for a bow drill cord? Any help or advice much appreciated

What I found was that all I needed to do to soften the chew, was soak it in water.
it took a couple of days for the "bone" to soften up enough to untie it and flatten it out.

I'm not sure you could use it for a bow drill cord, as it needs to be wet/moist to remain flexible, at least in my limited experience.
I'm sure there will be some treatment or other to keep it soft:rolleyes:

atb
R.B.
 

Mike Ameling

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Jan 18, 2007
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No special "treatment" is needed, just hard work to soften that rawhide thong up.

Rawhide acts a lot like full tanned leather. If it is wet and then dries out, it will get stiff/hard. So you have to "work it" to loosen it back up.

To soften my rawhide thongs cut from a dog chew bone, I loop them up over an iron bar with square edges. I then pull it back and forth over it with a little pressure. You will ... feel ... the rawhide loosening up. And the outside of it will also start to ... fluff up a bit. The more you work it, the softer it will get.

Some people pound the rawhide first to start softening it up - with a well-rounded hammer or the back of an axe. But I leave that for big sheets I wish to soften up.

The other way is to soak it in water until it is soft, and then continually twist/flex/pull it as it dries out. It will then end up soft and flexible, but it does take a long time to dry out. It ends up being more work this way.

I hope these humble rambling thoughts help.

Mikey - yee ol' grumpy German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

p.s. If you pull your rawhide thong through progressively smaller holes drilled in a thick metal plate, it also works well to soften it up. But it also helps a lot to get your thong more ... rounded.

p.p.s. Once softened, your rawhide thong should work well for a bowdrill. Just remember that it will ... stretch. And that rawhide will draw moisture out of the air - which will loosen it up more -- which will cause it to stretch more. And as it dries, it will contract/shrink and get more stiff again.
 

Tadpole

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Nov 12, 2005
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Bristol
To soften my rawhide thongs cut from a dog chew bone, I loop them up over an iron bar with square edges. I then pull it back and forth over it with a little pressure. You will ... feel ... the rawhide loosening up. And the outside of it will also start to ... fluff up a bit. The more you work it, the softer it will get.
Mike thanks ofr that, another question, once so worked, will it stay soft until it gets wet? or will it stiffen if unused for a few days?
 

Mike Ameling

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Hi, Tadpole.

I answered that question as a post script to my post below. All a matter of timing and how fast one types.

Just be sure to get the PLAIN dog chew bones. There are some that are "flavoured". Those usually have a reddish/orangish tint to them. And those really big/long chew bones have smaller sheets of rawhide rolled up inside them as "filler", but you do get that one long and wide piece. Those smaller pieces often are around 4 by 6 inches, and a little thinner rawhide. I used one of those big bones to made a rawhide liner for a sword sheathe - instead of carving a wood liner. It was long enough that I didn't have to sew several sections together to cover the blade. I also like to line my leather knife sheathes with rawhide - for the extra protection from the cutting edge. Molded/sewed up wet, they also stiffen up the leather sheathe when they dry out.

One more note. Those dog chew bones often have been soaked in salt when they were made. So that salt has soaked well into the rawhide. But it can "draw" out over time, especially with moiste air. So any metal touching that rawhide while it is wet or "damp" will start to react with that salty moisture - rust. Soaking the rawhide well initially helps remove a lot of that "salt cure" on them.

Mikey
 

Mike Ameling

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A classic example of how good/strong/flexible rawhide can be is the Old West Bullwhip.

Most of the old west braided "leather work" for horse gear was actually braided up from rawhide. Those bullwhips especially. Most modern ones tend to be made from leather, but the good ones are still made from rawhide. Thongs are cut from that raw beef hide, worked to soften them up, then Braided into that shape - reducing the interior core to start the tapering, and the reducing the size and number of individual strands at you get closer to the end of the bullwhip. After it is fully braided, they then treat it with oil - to help keep out moisture and help keep it soft/flexible.

They braid up rawhide the same way to make the fancy horse halters/bosals/reins. You can still see and find them made this way, but it is the "old" way - and expensive because of all the hand work required.

So rawhide can remain pretty flexible in use. But, like any "leather work" that gets wet, it will get stiff and hard when it dries out.

Mikey

p.s. And don't forget about the Spanish/Mexican RIATA - their "saddle" rope braided up from rawhide thongs, and often 45 to 60 feet long! It's amazing how much better they work/feel when using them to rope cattle - when compared to modern fiber ropes.
 

Tadpole

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Nov 12, 2005
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Bristol
Hi, Tadpole.

I answered that question as a post script to my post below. All a matter of timing and how fast one types.

Just be sure to get the PLAIN dog chew bones. There are some that are "flavoured". Those usually have a reddish/orangish tint to them. And those really big/long chew bones have smaller sheets of rawhide rolled up inside them as "filler", but you do get that one long and wide piece. Those smaller pieces often are around 4 by 6 inches, and a little thinner rawhide. I used one of those big bones to made a rawhide liner for a sword sheathe - instead of carving a wood liner. It was long enough that I didn't have to sew several sections together to cover the blade. I also like to line my leather knife sheathes with rawhide - for the extra protection from the cutting edge. Molded/sewed up wet, they also stiffen up the leather sheathe when they dry out.

One more note. Those dog chew bones often have been soaked in salt when they were made. So that salt has soaked well into the rawhide. But it can "draw" out over time, especially with moiste air. So any metal touching that rawhide while it is wet or "damp" will start to react with that salty moisture - rust. Soaking the rawhide well initially helps remove a lot of that "salt cure" on them.

Mikey
you are a gent, thank you for your help.
 

Eric_Methven

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 20, 2005
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Mike has basically said it all. All I can add is how I soften rawhide thong. I have a horseshoe nailed to the side of my shed. Well it's half nailed - that is, one half of the shoe is nailed to the corner of the shed so the other half sticks out into thin air a bit like a hook. In fact I sometimes hang my jacket on it when I build up a sweat. I also use the hook to pull rawhide thonging over, back and forth while it dries and it dries nice and flexible. It is also incredibly strong.

If you have a Pets at Home store near you, they sell rawhide frizbees. These are great for really long lengths of thong as you just cut round in ever decreasing circles till you reach the middle. Wetting and pulling over the horseshoe also works out the curve in the rawhide from cutting from a circle.

Eric
 

spamel

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Feb 15, 2005
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But is it still possible, even after soaking the chew toy in hot water to get it unwrapped? Obviously, that would give the soft flexible cordage for bow drilling.
 

Eric_Methven

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Apr 20, 2005
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Just soak the whole rawhide bone in warm water. It'll swell and go milky white. Play with it until you feel you can untie the knot at each end. When you do, it'll all unravel and you'll have plenty to play with.

Eric
 

Mike Ameling

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Jan 18, 2007
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Can you not brain tan rawhide to get a normal leather type finish?

Yes you can brain tan rawhide. Although, only brain tanned deer is called buckskin.

I know several people who take those dog chew bones, soak them, untie and flatten them out, and then BARK TAN the various pieces. They take oak bark, chop it up pretty fine, make a sort of "soup" out of it, and the put the rawhide in it. The tannic acids in the oak bark then work there way into the raw hide, slowly turning it into leather. It is then usually called Vegetable Tanned leather. It does take a long time to work its way completely through the hide. And stir it occasionally. Check if it is "tanned" enough by cutting a little sliver off of one side to see how far the color has progressed through the hide. Bark Tan is one of the older leather tanning processes. It can take weeks to tan some hides - depending upon how "strong" your bark soup is, and how thick the hide is.

Most of the dog chew bone rawhide has been Salt Cured - or "pickled". It was soaked in brine as part of the whole process of being made. This cuts down on the problems with bacteria and mold on the raw hide until it is fully dried or cured. So they can be kind of "salty". Soaking them in several changes of water will leach out a lot of that salt.

And there are a whole lot of various "chemical" methods of tanning hides to get leather. A large percentage of modern leather is Chrome Tanned. The recipe should be out on the web somewhere. You are generally using acids to break down the cell structure a bit in the hide, and then working in vaious oils to replace the water and help make the final leather more flexible.

So you can tan some of that rawhide if you wish, but you would be trading a lot of time/mess in place of buying already processed leather. It's fun to do for the experience, but after that it becomes questionable on a small scale. The people who are generally doing their own tanning are doing brain tanning of deer hides to get buckskin - and then selling it at a premium price.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
 

spamel

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Feb 15, 2005
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Silkstone, Blighty!
Just soak the whole rawhide bone in warm water. It'll swell and go milky white. Play with it until you feel you can untie the knot at each end. When you do, it'll all unravel and you'll have plenty to play with.

Eric

Sorry, you misunderstood me! Even after soaking it, is it possible to brain tan it is what i meant! :eek:

:D

Thanks for your thoughts Mikey, it sounds like an interesting process and one I would like to do one day. If there is anybody who would be available next August in South Wales with a hide and some brains.........

:D
 

Eric_Methven

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 20, 2005
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Durham City, County Durham
OK I see what you mean. Well, as far as I know it must be soaked (made soft) before braining anyway. So dry rawhide won't take the brain solution in as well as a fresh or reconstituted piece of hide.
 

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