Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 3

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 3 Western Australia, Series 3

Volume 3

Number 6 November-December, 1954 Article 23

11-1954

Preparing and using rawhide Preparing and using rawhide

J A. Mallett

Department of Agriculture

Follow this and additional works at: https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/journal_agriculture3

Recommended Citation Recommended Citation

Mallett, J A. (1954) "Preparing and using rawhide," Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 3: Vol. 3: No. 6, Article 23.

Available at: https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/journal_agriculture3/vol3/iss6/23

This article is brought to you for free and open access by the Agriculture at Digital Library. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 3 by an authorized administrator of Digital Library. For more information, please contact library@dpird.wa.gov.au.

PREPARI USING

By J. A. Mallett.

U

NTANNED bullock or horse hide—usually known as rawhide or greenhide—has played an important role in agriculture in many countries for centuries. It needs little preparation and combines tremendous tensile strength with light weight and durability, so is an ideal material for many farm uses.

The Boer pioneers in South Africa prob- ably used rawhide more extensively t h a n any other community and developed con- siderable skill in its preparation.

They used rawhide to make ropes, whip- lashes, harness, footwear, saddlebags, buckets and many other articles of farm equipment.

Rawhide thongs or "riems" were used in place of fibre ropes, and were plaited or woven to make chair-seats or laced across beds to make m a t t r e s s foundations.

Apart from the heavy hides used for such purposes, the skins of deer and a n t e - lopes were often worked to silky softness.

The "buckskin" of t h e American Indians was a n o t h e r form of rawhide.

DEHAIRING

In t h e preparation of rawhide, t h e first task is to "flesh" t h e hide to remove all scraps of flesh a n d tissue adhering to t h e inner surface. T h e next task is to r e - move t h e hair.

T h e Boers accomplished t h i s by p e r - mitting a certain degree of decomposition to take place. If t h e hide h a d been al- lowed to dry after flaying, it was first soaked in rainwater until soft. Newly- flayed hides do not require soaking.

The hide was t h e n folded, hair side i n - ward, and buried in moist e a r t h or in a m a n u r e - h e a p , being exhumed and tested a t frequent intervals. The hair on t h e belly portion of t h e hide is usually t h e most firmly attached, and when this be-

gan to "slip" freely, the hide was t a k e n out, scraped to remove the hair, and t h e n washed free of objectionable matter.

The Bran Method.

A method of de-hairing recommended by "The Handbook for F a r m e r s in South Africa" is to immerse t h e hide in a sloppy mixture of wheat b r a n a n d rainwater, rubbing this well into the hair. The hide is t h e n t a k e n out, folded and placed in a t u b for 24 hours or until t h e hair comes away freely.

With the b r a n method there is less risk of damage to the tissues by rots a n d grubs, also the skin h a s a whiter, cleaner a p - pearance a n d less objectionable odour t h a n when dehaired by t h e other methods described above.

Dehairing with Lime.

Hides may be de-haired rapidly by t h e use of lime, but this method h a s a t e n d - ency to make the finished product too dry and reduce its strength.

About i lb. of builder's lime (quick lime) is used to each gallon of water. The lime is first slaked, t h e n dissolved in t h e water. When t h e solution is cool, t h e hide is immersed and left soaking until the hair comes away freely. While in t h e limewater, the hide should be moved around frequently to allow t h e liquid to reach every part.

I t should not be left in t h e solution a n hour longer t h a n necessary and should be thoroughly de-limed by washing in several waters. A weak acid solution such as a pint of vinegar to three pints of water is often used to neutralise t h e lime. A less attractive method is to immerse t h e hide in a solution of fowl m a n u r e .

BREYING

The operation of twisting and working the hide to make it soft and supple is known in South Africa as "breying" and is usually achieved by means of a "brey- ing block". (Fig. 1.)

This is a log weighing about 100 lb. with a curved handle lashed to it. The hide is commonly "breyed" by cutting it into a continuous strip. The thin flanks and other uneven portions of the hide are trimmed off so that it presents a roughly oval appearance, then the cut is made round and round in a spiral.

The breying block is lifted on to a box or table of suitable height and the strip of hide is passed through the handle and up over a beam or branch of a tree, then back through the handle and over the beam again until the required number of turns are completed when the ends are tied or laced together.

The box is removed so that the strip of hide takes the full weight of the block.

A pole is then thrust through the handle of the block and the operator walks round and round until the hide is twisted into a tight spiral.

On withdrawing the pole, the block descends, spinning at high speed and its momentum continues the spin in the re- verse direction. As it steadies, the pole is thrust into the handle again and the hide is twisted up tightly until the block is again released.

The breying is continued for many hours, the strip being moved round at in- tervals to ensure that the portions which were round the beam and the handle are thoroughly worked.

As the moisture is squeezed out of the hide by the twisting, the strip is liberally smeared with mutton fat and the breying continued until the hide is soft and pliable throughout its length.

The flanks of the hide are thinner than the back portions, and these are often treated separately, either in strips or in the piece. Even a whole hide may be breyed intact by punching holes in the ends which are then laced together with rawhide thongs.

Variations in the thickness of the hide make it difficult to treat a whole hide sat- isfactorily however and it is best to cut the hide into pieces or strips of even thickness and brey these separately.

The flank portions or thin skins from smaller animals may be breyed and soft- ened by working them backward and for- ward over a blunt axe-head or similar tool, set in a vice.

Fig. 1.—A "treying block" used for treating rawhide.

PLAITING

A person with a knowledge of plaiting can greatly extend the sphere of useful- ness of the rawhide strips. The dia- grams (Fig. 2) show the basic principles governing some of the simple plaits, taught to me many years ago by Mr. L. T.

Smith, of Manjimup, a leather-working hobbyist of considerable skill.

In the diagrams, the different strands are shaded to assist in identifying them, and the plaits are shown loose and open for the same reason.

In actual plaiting, the strands should be tightly interwoven with no daylight showing between them.

Kg. 2.—A, B, C: Three, four and flve-strand flat plaiting; D: Six-strand flat plait with buttonhole; F: Plaiting round a stick using simple "basket weave"; E: Four-strand chain plait; G: Method of making a three-strand

twisted rawhide rope.

Flat Plaits.

Most people are familiar with the simple t h r e e - s t r a n d flat plait (A). I n t h e four- s t r a n d plait (B) we merely follow t h e same principles of "over one and under one",

crossing t h e two centre strands first;

bringing t h e left-hand s t r a n d over to t h e right a n d t h e r i g h t - h a n d strand over to t h e left.

As e a c h s t r a n d i n t u r n comes to t h e out- side edge of t h e plait, it is bent back, over or under t h e adjoining s t r a n d and is car- ried over t o w a r d s t h e opposite side.

Practise w i t h t h e four a n d five-strand plaits, using fairly wide strips and plait- ing loosely, u n t i l t h e principles are m a s - tered, t h e n try t h e six-strand and wider plaits.

One c a n introduce variation by switch- i n g from a s i x - s t r a n d to two t h r e e - s t r a n d s a n d back again to form a buttonhole (D) or one can form a ridge down the centre of the weave w i t h any of the eight, ten or other e v e n - n u m b e r e d plaits.

The ridge is m a d e by crossing t h e s t r a n d s in t h e centre a n d taking them back to t h e i r own side again instead of going diagonally over to t h e opposite side

—in effect, we have two four-strand, or five-strand plaits t h a t are joined by link- age in t h e centre.

Round Plaits.

After m a s t e r i n g t h e flat plaits, one can learn to apply t h e same principles t o the covering of a r o u n d stick such as a whip- h a n d l e . Usually six or more s t r a n d s are spaced equally r o u n d t h e stick or core and held in position by a wire or strong rubber b a n d ( F ) .

Once t h e "basket weave" or "under one a n d over o n e " is mastered, one c a n ex- p e r i m e n t w i t h variations like "over two a n d u n d e r two", "over two a n d under one", etc.

To finish off t h e plait, the s t r a n d s are tapered a n d t u r n e d back into the weave, paralleling t h e original p a t t e r n .

T h e r e are h u n d r e d s of different orna- m e n t a l p l a i t s w i t h "Turk's Heads" and o t h e r types of t e r m i n a l s a n d sliding keepers, but t h e y a r e beyond t h e scope of t h i s article.

A useful book for those who wish to p u r s u e t h e subject further is "The Bush-

m a n ' s H a n d c r a f t s " by R. M. Williams,

which m a y be obtained from P e r t h book- sellers (Price 22s. 6d.). It contains much useful information on plaiting with leather a n d horsehair, t a n n i n g skins, m a k - ing moccasins, shoeing horses, working in h o r n a n d bone and similar information for t h e outback hobbyist.

Chain Plaits.

Before leaving t h e subject of plaiting, there is one other plait t h a t might be mentioned as a simple method of m a k - ing ropes or whips.

This is t h e "chain plait" using four strands as shown in Fig. 2 (E). For a whip, a long strip of rawhide is split down the centre from each end, leaving about 6 in.

unsplit i n t h e centre to form t h e loop by which t h e whip is a t t a c h e d to t h e handle.

The four thongs should taper slightly t o - wards t h e centre loop, t h e n swell out wide to form t h e "belly" of the whip a n d again taper off gradually t o the end of the lash.

The thongs are crossed in pairs a s shown in the sketch and produce a round plait.

I n all plaiting where it is necessary to splice in extra pieces to give added length, t h e strands should be of different lengths so t h a t all t h e splices are well separated.

To splice, t h e thongs are tapered off a n d a similarly tapered t h o n g is plaited in for several weaves.

TWISTED RAWHIDE ROPES Rawhide ropes m a d e by twisting t h r e e strands together a r e widely used on cattle stations i n Northern Australia.

A freshly-flayed hide—preferably a cowhide as these a r e usually fairly u n i - form in thickness—is pegged out on t h e ground.

I t should be carefully flayed, free from nicks a n d without scars, t i c k - m a r k s a n d severe branding which might weaken t h e tissues.

Gutting the Hide.

T h e hide should n o t be tightly stretched

—merely held fairly firmly.

A circular piece about t h e size of a saucer is cut from t h e centre of t h e hide, and then, using a s h a r p knife, a continu- ous strip of hide about J i n . wide is ob- tained by cutting r o u n d a n d round t h e hole in a n ever-increasing spiral.

There are no rotten metal windows

With our past experience, we are confident t h a t we can help you w i t h your window problems.

No insect can eat a metal window. No termite, no fungus can destroy it. There are no rotten metal windows—and n o warped, swollen or shrunken m e t a l windows either. T h a t is why you find

"RELIANCE" METAL WINDOWS doing a n equally good job in England or Australia, Malaya or Canada, in India

or Peru.

Branches at ADELAIDE, MELBOURNE, SYDNEY and

BRISBANE.

Suppliers of Windows, Doors and all kinds of Steel Buildings for Agricultural Purposes

Thanks to . . .

K.F.M.

CONCENTRATED D.D.T. EMULSION

Flies resting on a K.F.M. treated area absorb sufficient D.D.T.

through the pads of their feetjn a few seconds to ensure

certain death. One gallon of K.F.M. emul- sion makes six gallons of working mixture.

FROM YOUR LOCAL AGENT or

WILCOX MOFFLIN LTD.

SOUTH TERRACE - FREMANTLE

For

1

Sulphate Ammonia Nitrate Soda Muriate Potash Sulphate Potash Super

A P

APEX X

Apex Blood & Bone

(6% N. 15% Phos.)

PMA PMB PME

ALL TRACE ELEMENTS

FERTILISERS and INSECTICIDES

See••.

THE WA. PRODUCE CO.

1 1 3 OXFORD STREET - - - LEEDERVILLE PHONES W1680 — W3354

IMMEDIATE CASH PAYMENT FOR

OATS

No Delay of Traffic Troubles a t . . .

FRY CANT & CO.

Great Northern Highway, MIDLAND JUNCTION PHONE UJ215

THE FARMERS HARDWARE AND PRODUCE MERCHANTS

Please mention the "Journal of Agriculture, W.A.," when writing to advertisers

The strip should vary slightly in width according to the thickness of the hide.

Where the hide is thickest such as on the back, t h e strip could be five-eighths of a n inch wide. On the t h i n n e r neck and flank parts, it could be seven-eighths or more.

Unless a particularly long rope is needed, it is better to reject t h e t h i n portions of t h e hide. Should they be included, see t h a t t h e t h i n portions are farthest from t h e terminal ring and are twisted with one or two strands of thick hide.

Preparing the Strands.

The strip of hide is now folded to give three equal lengths, one length being cut free. If the original strip is about 90 ft.

in length it will twist up into a 25 ft. rope.

Take a good strong ring a n d tie t h e loose s t r a n d to it with two half-hitches, leaving a loose end about 8 in. long and tapered off so t h a t it can be spliced into t h e rope. Take the remaining two strands and hitch t h e doubled portion over the single s t r a n d making sure t h a t t h e ends are level.

Now obtain four hobble-chains or other suitable chains with swivels. One is se- curely lashed to a tree or stout post at a height of about three feet from t h e ground and t h e ring with t h e three s t r a n d s tied to it is firmly secured to the hobble-chain with wire or a rawhide thong.

The other three hobble-chains are a t - tached to three heavy weights. These can be logs, bags of sand or any suitable material but should be of equal weight (about 1 cwt. each).

The three thongs are each attached to one of t h e weighted hobble-chains and t h e outfit is set up as shown in t h e diagram on a piece of smooth level-surfaced ground where the rope will not be i n t e r - fered with when left to dry.

We now have the anchor post to which t h e hobble-chain is securely tied. The ring carrying the t h r e e strands is wired to the end link of t h e hobble-chain, and a crowbar or long peg is passed through this ring a n d h a m m e r e d into t h e ground to keep it from twisting.

The other ends of t h e strands are tied to their respective hobble-chains which are in t u r n a t t a c h e d to the weights. The weights are moved away from t h e anchor- post until t h e r e is a slight strain on each

strand. The weights should be separated at regular distances apart to give t h e oper- ator or operators room to work.

Twisting the Strands.

A peg about a foot or 18 in. long is t h r u s t through a link of one of t h e weighted hobble-chains in front of t h e swivel and used as a lever to twist t h e strand. As twisting proceeds t h e weight will be drawn forward, and it is essen- tial t h a t the ground should be smooth so t h a t the weight moves steadily and not jerkily.

Continue twisting until t h e s t r a n d be- gins to knot up in lumps, t h e n ease off and secure by driving t h e peg into t h e ground.

Repeat the process with t h e other three strands, twisting t h e m all in t h e same direction.

If extra operators are a v a i l a b l e , three strands may be twisted simul- taneously and in this case a long bar passed through a link of chain on each s t r a n d will hold the rope and prevent t h e strands from untwisting.

Twisting the Rope.

When all t h e strands have been twisted evenly and secured, take a large pair of blacksmith's pincers and move up to t h e anchor post.

The handles of the pincers are t h r u s t between the three strands near t h e ring and t h e crowbar is removed from the ring.

Holding the pincers in both h a n d s by the nose and the handles, t h e operator t h e n moves t h e m slowly back towards t h e weights. The rope should twist of its own accord.

Should one of the strands be insuffici- ently twisted, it will be forced out of place at this stage and will lie on top of t h e other two strands instead of forming a n even triple twist.

If this should occur, untwist t h e rope again by means of the crowbar or long peg t h r u s t t h r o u g h the ring and give t h e defective strand a few extra twists.

Should the rope n o t twist freely of its own accord, t h e hobble-chain swivel at the anchor-post may not be working freely or alternatively t h e strands may be insuf- ficiently twisted. The remedies are obvious.

If t h e rope twists properly, move the pincers slowly down to t h e weights and t h e n w i t h d r a w t h e m .

Now move back to the anchor-post end of t h e rope and, by m e a n s of the crow- b a r or long peg through t h e ring, twist t h e rope still more until it is tight and h a r d .

Drive t h e crowbar into the ground again a n d leave t h e rope to dry. It will sag after a day or two but do not try to r e m e d y t h i s by twisting t h e rope any more, otherwise you will always have a rope w i t h loose s t r a n d s .

Give t h e rope a dressing of weevil paint to prevent d a m a g e during the drying period, a n d leave for three weeks or more;

t h e longer t h e better. T h e rope should not be allowed to get wet at this stage so do n o t t r y r o p e - m a k i n g during wet

weather.

Scrape t h e rope with a sharp knife or piece of glass to remove surplus hair, and before using, r u b in a mixture of two parts of unsalted fat to one p a r t of Stockholm t a r .

Work t h e rope backwards and forwards over a beam, or tie it behind a vehicle and let it drag, to m a k e it soft and pliable.

T h e more it is used t h e more supple it will become.

FREE BOOK ON GENETICS The Department of Agriculture still has a few copies of Dr. A. L. Hagedoorn's booklet "A Geneticist Talks with Australian Animal Breeders," and will make them available free of charge to farmers.

Dr. Hagedoorn, the famous Dutch geneticist, visited Australia in 1949 and gave over 80 talks to farmers and stockbreeders.

In this booklet, the publication of which was sponsored by the Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organisation, the main points of his talks have been placed on record together with a selection of the many questions asked at his lectures and the answers given by him.

Farmers wishing to obtain copies should apply without delay to The Publications Officer, De-

partment of Agriculture, St. George's Terrace, Perth.

The "Marquis" Plastic Rain Gauge is a pre- cision instrument made from weather-resistant plastic that measures from one point of rainfall to six inches. It can be easily attached to any post or fence (bracket and screws supplied).

The "Marquis" Plastic Rain Gauge is available from all leading stores for £1. If unable to purchase from your local storekeeper, mail £1 to Commonwealth Moulding Pty. Ltd., 242 Prince's Highway, Arncliffe, N.S.W., and a

"Marquis" Plastic Rain Gauge will be posted free to you by return.

Manufactured by

COMMONWEALTH MOULDING PTY. LTD.

242 Prince's Highway, Arncliffe, NS.W.