Sold by the pair. These Rawhide bow backing strips make a very durable backing for wood bows. These strips are matched and cut from high quality rawhide. Dimensions are 2 inches wide by 37 inches long. You’ll need to overlap the strips (about an inch or so) in the handle section. Check out the video below on how to back a bow with rawhide.
Note – In the video I mention to stretch the hide lengthwise before putting it on the bow. Depending on how the hide was stretched when dried, some strips may already be stretched. If they don’t stretch much, the work is already done. Also, it may take much longer for the strips to re-hydrate than what’s shown in the video. To be safe, soak them over night in warm (not hot) water.
ron singleton, jerseyville il –
i have some rawhide that is up to 1/8″thick to put on an oak bow i am working on. is this too thick? i do not have a draw weight as yet will it increase the draw weight?
Clay –
It’s thicker than I prefer but it’ll work. Thicker rawhide will protect the back but tends to make the bow less efficient. It will increase the draw weight by a few pounds. ch
Geoff –
Excellent product, good fair price, and timely shipping. I will be buying more in the future.
Thanks Clay
Jason Heid –
Hey buddy how many do I need to make 2 bows? My son and I are both building 1 per your video and book
Clay –
Hi Jason, they’re sold by the pair so you’ll need two orders to build two bows. Since they’re about two inches wide, you may be able to cut one set in half for a kids bow and get two bows from one set.
Christopher Crow –
Hey Clay,
Have you ever tried it on rattan? Obviously I’m not worried about breaking it, just performance wise I feel like a nice thin rawhide backing could take out some of the sluggish tendency it has?. I normally work with whatever wood I can find and if it’s not a skinny branch bow I’m gonna put something on the back just for insurance when I’m hunting. But do you think it’s worth trying out on rattan? I have kind of a weird idea on how I would have to tiller it out but I think it might work
Clay –
I’ve never personally made a bow from rattan but this is what they use to make all the kids bows at the Oklahoma Selfbow Jamboree. It’s very durable and needs no backing. Rawhide won’t speed the bow up, just help keep it from developing a cracked back which rattan shouldn’t have trouble with anyway.
Sam –
Hey.
I didn’t want to use the reviews space to ask questions, but it seems like the easiest and best way.
I was wondering what do you use to seal the rawhide backing on bows, any wood sealing resin/poly ??
Can you also seal your bows with varnish, or will it just end up cracking and/or affect the bows bend ?
Also wondering if you ship to Canada.
Many thanks Clay
Clay –
I like to run a bead of superglue around the edges of the rawhide where it meets the wood. This will solidify the edges adn make sanding much cleaner. after that, Truoil is what I’ve been using over all my bows.I’ve never used varnish but I suspect it would work well.
Jindřich Zobl – Henry –
Hello Clay,
what thickness of rawhide are you using for backing bow? Do you impregnate something backing after finishing the bow against moisture?
Thank you
Henry from Europe
Clay –
my rawhide is about 1mil in thickness. I seal them with a gunstock finish called tru oil.
Ronin –
Outstanding service and quality will buy more in the future bought while watching one of Clays videos shipping was amazingly fast and worked very very well thanks Clay.
Steven Stratton –
Hi there do you ship to Norway, thanks Steve
Clay –
Hi Steven, overseas shipping tends to be very expensive. Also, we can’t track shipments so we usually only ship to north America.
Greg Hammond –
Hello Clay, I have watched most if not all of your videos. I am currently starting a red oak board bow, my first bow ever. I am going to get your book along with the rawhide. I have a question, can I give this bow a recurve? The dimensions etc are from your 4 part series. Please let me know. BTW, even though I am living in Houston now, my plan is to get back to Idaho and retire in Boise where I own a home close to the University. Love Idaho!
Bailey –
They arrived early and were perfect in length and width. They went on without hassle and look rather nice. Would definitely purchase again for future builds.
Morgan –
hey Clay, I was wondering do u think i could use a rawhide dog chew if after i wet it i pound it out thinner or will that weaken the rawhide to much
Clay –
Hi Morgan, yes you could use a chew toy but i’m not sure how it would respond to being pounded out. I would probably try to sand it thinner rather than pounding but I’ve never tried it. good luck! ch
Clay –
Hi Greg, yes you can recurve read oak. I don’t have a lot of experience with heat bending red oak but I would guess that it would do better with steam than dry heat. Remember to get the tips thinned down to near finished thickness before bending. That’ll help reduce cracking on the belly side.
ch
Curt –
Clay,
I have just started trying to build a bow I picked up a poplar board that’s been in a shed for years it’s 1” thick I thought I would practice on the board laying out and cutting a bow out a few hours later it made a really good looking bow but didn’t back it and started tillering it I had a hinge in it and pulled it back too far and cracked the belly a little. I have cut out another bow but everything I’ve read says poplar will not make a good bow. Am I wasting my time backing it to make a shooter bow. If not I made the limbs 2-1/2” wide will your rawhide strips cover this width? Or does it have to be the same width as the limbs
G. Hellie –
Very nice rawhide great service would order again.
Clay –
Hi Curt, poplar is a very soft wood and poor in compression. Although you could still learn a great deal roughing out and tillering a bow made from it, I probably wouldn’t waste good rawhide to back one. You could back it cheaply with a few layers of fiberglass drywall tape. My strips wouldn’t stretch that much in width.
Travis Fin –
Awesome product! Very clean, the best I have ever received from anywhere.
Gabriel Mendoza (verified owner) –
Thank you! The rawhide I received has awesome coloration!
Tim Corcoran (verified owner) –
Hey Clay,
Thanks for providing these rawhide backings – great price and value!
Question for you – when backing a hickory board bow, do you think it would be OK to glue the rawhide on before any tillering?
Thanks,
Tim
Clay –
Yep, you could do that.