snowshoe repair

[Battis]

Oddball question...
I have a pair of old wooden snowshoes. A few of the rawhide laces are broken. How can I soften the ends of the broken rawhide laces so I can tie them off?

[LaPoint]

I haven't tried it but you should be able to soften the rawhide in hot water. You may have some difficulty as most rawhide lace snowshoes have a couple of coats of varnish applied to them to prevent the rawhide from softening.

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, steam or hot water after removing the varnish.

[georgerkahn]

What we used to do was first dip or paint the rock-hard laces in Neatsfoot oil, and then apply heat with a (hair) blow-dryer on "low" heat, which worked well. The most sad experience we had, though, was that after getting them "perfect soft/supple" again, some of the time the new knot would no longer hold -- they'd slip -- and most of the time, the rawhide was so "shot" it no longer had the strength, and would break. Bion, this was one of the main reasons our similar 'shoes were retired -- we replaced them with then-modern Sherpas. We had looked into, at the time, just purchasing new bindings (I believe, maybe, from Tubbs?), but these alone both would need modification to work, and were so costly -- just buying new 'shoes seemed the best choice.
geo

[bdicki]

Once you use the new shoes from Atlas (I preferred Atlas because of the ability to lift the tail of the shoe in order to back up, you can't do that with the new Tubbs) or others you will never take the old wood and leather Tubbs off the wall. Stainless cleats and better bindings, no comparison.

[Battis]

I have two pairs of the Alaskans (I think that's what they're called - close to 5 ft long) and several pairs of bearpaws. One of the Alaskans has some broken laces that I'd like to tie off, then lace around them. I'll try the Neatsfoot oil and/or try to remove the varnish.
I recently broke down and bought a pair of Tubbs - mostly metal and plastic. I wanted them to use on trails, when the snow has been packed and the trails are filled with boot holes. I never thought I'd say this, but they're actually pretty good for that use. Easy on, easy off, they're more like large crampons than snowshoes. I don't see many wooden snowshoes around here anymore. People are amazed when they see the Alaskans, and how light and useful they are.

[Rick Hodges]

My old modified bear paws (turned up nose and short tail) served me well, but the webbing is dry rotting....
I broke down and bought a pair of Yukon aluminum and polymer decked shoes and I will never go back to the old. Much lighter and more maneuverable, better traction and mobility side hilling and downhill, the metal crampons make up hill a breeze too.
The other consideration is they cost less with poles and storage bag than just the rawhide lacing to repair and re-web the old ones.

[Battis]

I've been using wooden snowshoes since...wow, since the 60s. My father worked for the Corp of Army Engineers and he gave me a pair that they were getting rid of, and I was hooked. The 5 ft Alaskans are very light, fast, and maneuverable. I'm not crazy about the crampons on the bottom of the new snowshoes - I like to ski a little down steeper slopes. But these new plastic and metal Tubbs are great for trails.