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Advice how to preparea raw hide from deer

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freke:
Hi,
I have got a frozen deer skin that I intend to make raw hide from, but have never done it so I would like t prepare it in the easiest way. I think I know one way how to do, put it in a stream wait several weeks for the hair to feel off but at the moment have I not the access to any streaming water.

Appreciate any advice, and guiding?

Best regards,
Jonas

Pat B:
You can "slip" the hair by putting the skin in a bucket of water with wood ash added or add lye to the water. After a few days the hair will loosen(slip) so it can be removed by scraping. you will also have to neutralize the alkalinity with a diluted vinegar rinse, I think. Once the hair is removed tack the hide up until it dries. You now have rawhide.
  You can dry scrape the hair off also.   Hopefully someone else with more experience than me will chime in on both methods. 

Outbackbob48:
freke, couple of different ways to do this, first your going to need a frame or something to tack the hide on to, here is how I would do this, first flesh your hide real good then put in a container of water for a day or two , then I would scrape hair off on a fleshing beam, then stretch in a frame and let dry. I would not leave in the water to long. Yea the hair will slip but by then things or usually getting a little stinky :o :( Ashes or lime will make the hair slip also but then you need lots of water to get a good rinse. Another option  is to flesh your hide then put it in a frame and let dry good and then dry scrape while in the frame, this works real good especially if you have some experience in dry scraping ;D Good Luck and keep it fun. Bob

freke:
Thanks for the replies,

So there are basically three easy ways(than the stinky stream:))

The Ash have I heard about but didn't get it right as I mixed the methods up.
The other two scraping the hair dry or wet, dose this take  the hair follicle - dose it makes difference as for bow backing? 

Sounds the two options ash or just water and than scraping is the easiest for me, the dry scraping sounds like an overwhelming risk of having unwanted deer hair flying around in the garden distubing my wife, and I have to stop my stone age life and force me back to modern time.

Pappy:
If you rack and dry scrape, and do it right you don't get much hair flying, it will come off in strips as you scrape and you get follicle all at the same time, now if you don't do it right you will have hair ever where, I dry scrape but that is the way I was taught and there is a bit of a learning curve. Never tried the other method's. :) I suspect either method you are going to make a mess so you just well let your wife know in advance or do as I do just ask forgiveness after the fact.  ;) :)
 Pappy

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