Before there was Plastic, there was.....raw hide

 A few years ago my Uncle showed me this shop tip.  Raw hide will keep its shape, and is tough so it is good for things like knife sheaths.

  I bought a bag of raw hide pieces at a pet food place for cheap.  The hide is hard but not brittle once dry.  To shape the piece of hide, first soak it over night or longer in clear, clean water.  Once the hide is soft it can be shaped or cut to suit you need, then the hide piece needs to be allowed to fully dry in that shape.  I allowed my two pieces of hide to dry while on forms.

Once dry I wrapped one of the pieces and used glue on the other.

  These are two carving knives I use all the time.  I bought the blades without handles.  This is the second set of handles for these knives.  I began with tape wrapped handles, mostly from eagerness to get using the knives and no clue what I wanted for handles anyway.  A couple of years ago I got around to making decent wooden handles for the knives, which lived in my tool box.  A couple of weeks ago it was a lovely day and I took a kit of knives, chisels and rasps out to the yard.  Those knives are razor sharp and were unprotected rattling around in the bottom of the kit.   Not a good idea.  So I made two, different raw hide blade covers.  The round cover has a cork in the end, and it is the better design.  Next time I will know.

  The other thing I've been doing is more spreader knives.

  These two knives are copies from the. Butter Spreading knife that you see everywhere in Sweden.  The top knife is roasted maple, lovely to look and easy to work with rasps and sand paper. The lower is oak with a textured handle, something I've just begun to try.  The longer spreader is specifically designed to get to the bottom of the jam jar. Each knife is sanded to 800 grit and then finished with several coats of paste wax.  They are lovely to the touch and will last for ever.

  cheers ianw