Rawhide (material)

Rawhide is a hide or animal skin that has not been exposed to tanning. It is similar to parchment, much lighter in color than leather made by traditional vegetable tanning.

Rawhide is more susceptible to water than leather, and it quickly softens and stretches if left wet unless well waterproofed.

"Rawhide" laces often sold for boots or baseball gloves are made of normal tanned leather rather than actual rawhide. Rawhide is not pliable when dry and would be unsuitable for that use.

The skin from buffalo, deer, elk or cattle from which most rawhide originates is prepared by removing all fur, meat and fat. The hide is then usually stretched over a frame before being dried. The resulting material is hard and translucent. It can be shaped by rewetting and forming before being allowed to thoroughly re-dry. It can be rendered more pliable by 'working', i.e. bending repeatedly in multiple directions, often by rubbing it over a post, sometimes traditionally by chewing. It may also be oiled or greased for a degree of waterproofing.

It is often used for objects such as whips, drumheads or lampshades, and more recently (in the 1950s) chew toys for dogs. It is thought to be more durable than leather, especially in items suffering abrasion during use, and its hardness and its shapability render it more suitable than leather for some items.

Rawhide is often used to cover saddle trees, which make up the foundation of a western saddle, while wet: it strengthens the wooden tree by drawing up very tight as it dries and resists the abrasion regularly encountered during stock work or rodeo sports.

Rawhide can be used as a backing on a wooden bow. Such a backing keeps the bow from breaking by protecting the back from damage and preventing splinters from forming. Bows made from softer woods such as birch benefit more from a rawhide backing.

Soft hammers, or mallets, are also made with rolled rawhide dipped in shellac: these hammers are mostly used to work soft metals without marring them (by jewelers, brass instrument repairmen, boilermakers etc.).