Rawhide insert question

[Camano Ridge]

I am going to experiment with rawhide insert at the mouth of a holster between theholster and the liner. My question is those of you that have used rawhide for inserts, do you wet the rawhide then glue and stitch your liner together with the rawhide sandwiched between or do you put the rawhide in dry then stitch the holster and wet the holster giving a little extra time to soak to the rawhide then shape? Not asking for advice on wether I should do it or not just seeking advice on how to do it.

Thanks

[ChuckBurrows]

I'd recommend casing the rawhide - otherwise if left dry there's a good chance of the rawhide splitting/cracking. I'd also recommend using elk and not cow - it should hold shape when dry just fine and not be near as tough to work with.

[Camano Ridge]

Thank you, Chuck. Just what I needed.

[Slowhand Bob]

I have not tried this but have seen rawhide used as an overlay to stiffen a given area and actually find it to give an attractive look, in a rustic way.  A few years ago I was doing a fair amount of work using a thin stainless inserts between the two pieces of leather and it worked remarkably well.  To date I do not know of one case where the glue has given up between the layers or the stainless allowed the leather to lose its shape.  I had definitely intended to try some heavier stainless, to find its workable limits, but quit before that happened.  Weldwood contact cement is your friend.

[ChuckBurrows]

with cased/dampened rawhide a little known "secret" - medium thick super glue is your friend - it glues damp rawhide to rawhide or rawhide to bark tan quite well...

[Camano Ridge]

Thanks Chuck, that helps a lot.