Rawhide

[bjarkileach]

Does anyone know where I can buy or who can supply raw hide strips that are reasonably priced.

Thanks


Rich

[Bad Viking]

Yesirree,
I think 'le prevo' do them - but pricey !

http://www.leprevo.co.uk/index.htm

I bought some rawhide strips in the past from them.

http://www.theidentitystore.co.uk/default.asp

also worth a look.

[Neil of Ormsheim]

What do you want the raw hide for? I edge my shield with raw hide that I get by buying the very large bone-shaped dog chews, soaking them for a few hours, cutting them into strips and attaching. It works out to be the cheapest way of getting raw hide strips that I have ever found.

[bjarkileach]

Yup shield edges,

Mr Bad Viking, the Identity store stuff is £25 for about half of what I need. I was hoping for a cheaper option.

Neil,

Do you have a brand or type of dog chew? I don't want a "beef flavoured" shield. I've also heard that unless you get the right chew then you end up with lots of 8" lengths of rawhide.


thanks

[aoefa]

I used to do the same, go to any pet shop and buy the largest raw hide knotted bone they do, soak in warm water for a few hours then undo it and cut in to strips. It does go a bit mushy but will dry out hard again.

[Neil of Ormsheim]

Thanks Aoaefa, that's exactly how I do it. I'm told that adding a little washing up liquid to the soaking process means it does smell quite as bad but, as I usually do this outside anyway, I can't swear to its efficacy.

[kael]

I found the toughest rawhide for edging shields is the pets at home buffalo hide dog chews. Get big strips out of them and they are quite thick.

[Turel777]

I use dog chews too, usually with a lil coffee in there to make it looks less white.

If you don't want to go through the annoying process of unraveling them then maybe try these?

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/natural-rawhide-chew-chips-dog-treats-227gm-by-bob-s-21674

Here's the shield I made for my other half: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150342046771147.397808.692756146&type=3
That one was using tesco cheap dog chews that I soaked and unraveled. Took a while and a lot of the pieces were too thin or had holes in them so a lot of it went in the bin.

[Medicus Matt]

Is there any evidence that early medieval shields had any sort of rim, hide or otherwise (with the exception of the occasional metal one)?
I know manuscript depictions sometimes seem to show a border around the rim but this could be painted rather than being a seperate item.
If the back and front were faced with hide or leather and both were folded over the rim before being stitched through, wouldn't that do away with the need for an applied rim altogether?

[bjarkileach]

Is there any evidence that early medieval shields had any sort of rim, hide or otherwise (with the exception of the occasional metal one)?
I know manuscript depictions sometimes seem to show a border around the rim but this could be painted rather than being a seperate item.
If the back and front were faced with hide or leather and both were folded over the rim before being stitched through, wouldn't that do away with the need for an applied rim altogether?

I use raw hide as its nice and resilient, I've got a few bits, but was looking for more.

This is for combat shields, when I get the resources for a replica posh shield then I will do it that way.