Linothorax vs Quilted linen vs spolas

[Athena Areias]

Hello, I have read through this entire thread and read many arguments. I have a few questions. Could an armor be made of rawhide by soaking it and forming it to the shape of body and reinforcing it with tanned leather and maybe some type of metal plates?
How well would rawhide hold up to any sort of weapon? Are there any tanning methods which leave leather very stiff and tough? 
How could the springy yolk things be made of leather when normal tanned leather does not have those properties?

I can't speak to rawhide as a material used for a spolas or any other body armor in ancient Greece.  Hopefully more knowledgeable folks will chime in.

The spring in the yoke is done in the cut of the yoke pattern (search for spolas threads here - I got my pattern from a thread here).  Mine was a heavy floppy mess until I sewed it to the tube.  It springs back and stays just like on the pottery.