how do I wrap rawhide ?

K

Kevin the grey

Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,106
I want to wrap wet rawhide on a handle so it will dry and tighten on it . Does anyone know a method to secure it so it will tighten on the handle . I guess I need to secure both ends . So far I am using carpet tacks and hiding them a bit . Does anyone know a method to secure it without using something like tacks ?
 
ranger88 said:
Great website :thumbup: . how did you come across it?
Click to expand...
I Was just looking around bladeforums. I saved it for later refrence, so I don't remember just where.
 
You may not even have to go that far;
If you soak the rawhide, wrap it, and then let it dry, it will become extremely tight as it shrinks. If there are 2 strands of the hide running under all the wraps you could have an unsightly ridge. Likely, the only thing necessary would be to thread the last wrap of rawhide back under the previous one and pull tight, just as with a clove hitch knot.
 
hedgehog , it sounds like you are talking about birch bark strips . Very interesting . When you talk about two strands are you talking about the inner and outer bark ?

I do understand about the unsightly ridge . I tried taking the stuff apart into two layers and the outer layer just came apart in places . I left another piece together and while the end of it was thick and a little unsightly it is not too bad for a first sheath . Its just not the sheath I tried to make . Darn it now I have to try another . I,ll have two knife sheaths . Life is just so rough .L:O:L
 
Boys this stuff is interesting . As I said before it curls up backwards with the inside on the outside . Soaking in warm water just hurried it along a little . Soaking and warming over heat just made it deteriorate/delaminate .

I read of one method of putting a sheath in very hot water and she just culred up all the faster . I decided to try the sheath sized piece anyway and fished it out and with gloves on tried to unroll it to make it have the outside of the bark as the outside of the sheath . No way Jose . I got it close to flat but the edges were coming unlaminated and I could tell the bark would just rip if I went further . I tried to make a flat sheath with the inside as the outside . Still too curly .

I ended up with a tight tube/dangler style sheath kinda like a sheath for a fish filet knife . What was going to be a big sheath for a butcher knife ended up as a sheath for a deboning/slicer knife I have from Old Hickory . I don,t know how the inside bark surface will hold up . Its a nice gold/tan color .

There is a bit of a ridge where the bark ends but as this was a rescue job I won,t cry if you don,t . Next time I will try it with some liquid parrafin which supposedly softens and preserves birch bark . I,m not a big fan of working with petro-chemical products .
 
Oh okay,
I've only done a few basic baskets with birch, but I thought you were talking about using rawhide to wrap the knife handle..... and those 2 strands would be the ones showed in that website listed above (the ones all the wraps of cord covered). Well, good luck; maybe we can see some pictures.
 
I recon wrapping the rawhide the same as binding on a runner to a fishing rod. If you don't want a hump then skyve the ends with a razorblade.
I dunno if you already knew this but a good sourse of rawhide is the dog bones soaked and untied. Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.
 
dartanyon said:
I recon wrapping the rawhide the same as binding on a runner to a fishing rod. If you don't want a hump then skyve the ends with a razorblade.
Click to expand...

Dartanyon I have only skyved my end once .

I,ll never use that brand of zipper again . L:O:L

By Skyving do you mean thinning the ends to as point or by shaving them a little flatter ? Feel free to post . We all need good ideas time to time .
 
Jack Harrill sent me this for wrapping a hawk handle, but I haven't tried it yet.

If you get something like a good, heavy dog chew toy made of rawhide
it will work. You take and soak the bone or whatever it is in very warm
water until it is soft and pliable. At that point you can either cut it
into a strap or use it in a small sheet by sewing one edge. All you have to
do with the strap is to pull it tight as you wrap it around the handle under
the head. It is surprisingly stretchy so stretch it quite a bit. You can
wrap it as far as you like down the handle. I prefer to use a clove hitch
at each end of the wrapping to secure the wet rawhide. When it dries it
will be rock hard and will not move or allow the head to slide down the
handle at all. Of course this also makes it hard to remove the head if you
have need of that.

A couple of alternatives to securing the wrapping is to either tack it on
both ends or to file a shallow groove around the handle. You can use a
carpet tack at the top because that usually gets covered up with other turns
of the rawhide. The bottom can be a ring of small headed brass tacks if you
like the historical look.

If you use a single sheet of rawhide, basically you are making a tube. It
needs to be carefully fit so that there is room to stretch it as you stitch
it down the length of the handle. This can be as long or short as suits
your fancy. It just needs to be stretched and of course, the stitching
needs to be neat or it won't do much for the overall look.

Rawhide is a very good material for this application as it will stretch when
wet and then shrink when it dries to make a very tight fit. It is also
fairly indestructible in this application.
 
Thanks guys . The rawhide I have is a bit too thin to use as a sheet and stitch . Its a real neat idea and I might get some thicker stuff to give it a try .

Tacking both ends is an idea and I will try it for a different application . I,m really looking for a way to attatch the rawhide to itself without getting bulky about it .

I do like the sewn sheet idea .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top