raw hide

[jon r]

i am in the process of making a canoe and i need some rawhide to lash it all together. If i go to my local pet shop and buy the biggest rawhide bone i can get will i be able to make some suitable cordage from it?

Another question... If i lash fresh wood with normal string the wood will shrink and the knots will go loose. If i lash fresh wood with rawhide will it go loose or will it shrink enough to keep a good tight hold on the wood?

 

[torjusg]

I don't know about the rawhide bone thing.

What are you making the canoe of? The rawhide will more than likely shrink much faster than the the wood making the bindings loose. It is better to use dried wood that has been left to soak up moisture in a lake for a while. Dead wood can never reconstitute fully and will not shrink as much, but will still be easier to work than dry wood.

 

[weaver]

We made some rawhide last weekend. It's not so hard to do.
Here's my son scraping the deer hide.

Rawhide stretches when wet and shrinks as it dries. So, to lash your canoe you need to wet the rawhide stretch it tightly around the wood and when it dries you need to waterproof it with pine pitch or if you don't mind modern chemistry use epoxy.

 

[typha]

Rawhide stretches when wet and shrinks as it dries. So, to lash your canoe you need to wet the rawhide stretch it tightly around the wood and when it dries you need to waterproof it with pine pitch or if you don't mind modern chemistry use epoxy.

Would you recommend rawhide for use on canoes given its tendency to stretch when wet. What do you think would be the best alternatives if not using rawhide?

 

[jon r]

i will be using it as thonging.

Is it essential to waterproof it? or will i get away with it.

Maybe it would be best to use spruce roots instead what kind of spruce roots are the best? would Larch be good?

 

[torjusg]

If the lashings will mostly be over water, it isn't a problem with using rawhide. Spruce roots are ok. Most trees have fairly good roots. Traditionally in Scandinavia (at least my part) birch roots were used. I have tried pine too, wasn't different from spruce root.

 

[weaver]

Would you recommend rawhide for use on canoes given its tendency to stretch when wet. What do you think would be the best alternatives if not using rawhide?

Did you read my whole post?

Originally Posted by weaver

when it dries you need to waterproof it with pine pitch or if you don't mind modern chemistry use epoxy

 

[pierre girard]

Would you recommend rawhide for use on canoes given its tendency to stretch when wet. What do you think would be the best alternatives if not using rawhide?

I'd use watape (debarked and split conifer root). It is what is used to lash and sew birchbark canoes. If you need something stronger and more flexible, use wiigob (inner bark of basswood).

PG

 

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

From what I have heard, Black Spruce gets the longest, most resillient strands. I don't know about rawhide, from my experiences with it around water, I think it would stretch quite a bit for tying a tight frame on a canoe. What Pierre says I'd go with, the guy knows his bushcrafts!

 

[James Watson]

i am in the process of making a canoe and i need some rawhide to lash it all together. If i go to my local pet shop and buy the biggest rawhide bone i can get will i be able to make some suitable cordage from it?

Another question... If i lash fresh wood with normal string the wood will shrink and the knots will go loose. If i lash fresh wood with rawhide will it go loose or will it shrink enough to keep a good tight hold on the wood?

Hi Jon.

If youre after large amounts of rawhide, in the next couple of mounths i should be making some red deer rawhide to sell or trade.

James

 

[Dave Budd]

I don't know about the suitablility of rawhide as a binding for canoes, but if you are after lots of it you can get it from some of the leather suppliers, such as Leprevo. They sell thonging by the roll! May even sell it by the hide too?