old snowshoe renewal

[jigs]

I have a set of 1970s wood and rawhide snowshoes I have to take out of storage to battle the deep snow for work. How do I rejuvenate the rawhide webbing. They are very dry and probably need some attention. Any suggestions on how to treat them to make them usable?

Thanks in advance

[1shotwade]

obenaufs leather preservative!!!! Get it at cabelas!!

[dewalt18]

Depending on how long they’ve been sitting, there’s a good chance you won’t be saving them. For not too much money you may want to consider upgrading to a modern steel tube/vinyl set. Atmosphere or sport chek will likely have good pricing right now, as we near the end of season

[Tfng]

You should coat them with spar varnish.

[Fisherpeak]

I used my old Babiche beaver tails for years. I would dry them well by the stove and just give them a good coat or 2 of marine varnish. All of it, wood , leather. If the leather(babiche) isn't rotten then try that. I have mine since 1969, still good as new. The bottoms are important, they get scuffed up and water gets to them, same as the foot hole. If they are in decent shape then , yeah, give them a good coat of marine varnish. I have hundreds of miles on mine, running trapline. You should be O.K. Good luck. Watch out for Mal de Raquet though.

[dewalt18]

Originally Posted by Fisherpeak

I used my old Babiche beaver tails for years. I would dry them well by the stove and just give them a good coat or 2 of marine varnish. All of it, wood , leather. If the leather(babiche) isn't rotten then try that. I have mine since 1969, still good as new. The bottoms are important, they get scuffed up and water gets to them, same as the foot hole. If they are in decent shape then , yeah, give them a good coat of marine varnish. I have hundreds of miles on mine, running trapline. You should be O.K. Good luck. Watch out for Mal de Raquet though.

Good to hear he has a chance, there’s definitely something cooler about the traditional design than what’s at market now

[Fisherpeak]

Originally Posted by dewalt18

Good to hear he has a chance, there’s definitely something cooler about the traditional design than what’s at market now

Yeah, I bought a pair of modern aluminum strappy ones for the wife. She wanted to trade me after half a mile. The tail on the beavertail is very important, gives you stability.The new ones don`t. There is a reason they have been around for 200 years.

[Red Bullets]

To recondition dried out old leather we always used Neatsfoot Oil. Easy to find in a drug or hardware store, even Walmart now. We used Neatsfoot on old harnesses and it brings them back to life. Would work good on webbing too.

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

To recondition dried out old leather we always used Neatsfoot Oil. Easy to find in a drug or hardware store, even Walmart now. We used Neatsfoot on old harnesses and it brings them back to life. Would work good on webbing too.

I think it would make the webbing soft and stretchy, exactly what you don't want on a snowshoe

[Dean2]

Definitely do NOT want Neatsfoot on snowshoe webbing. All webbing was made with rawhide, not tanned leather. It was wetted after being strung and then heated to shrink it tight in place. Then the webbing and wood is Varnished. You want to keep the rawhide from getting wet or it will stretch. Fisherspeak is right, Spar Varnish or Marine Varnish is far and away the best option for the lacing and wood.

[jigs]

thank you all for the advice. My shoes will be working tomorrow