Ostrich leg sinew

[wally]

Hi
I eventually got an Ostrich leg but then had to take 4. Took me an hour each to get the skin and sinew!
Stunk like about 12 wet, dead chickens,and my vegetarian wife was complaining.
Anyway got some unusual skin and unbelievably 6 lengths of thick sinew about 18-20" long!
My questions are:
1. best way to dry sinew?
2. tan scaly skin as a snake (glycerin and alcohol) or normal leather?
3. How to remove meat/tissue from bones and feet to preserve leg section (looks like a velociraptor at the moment)?

I'll have to see how sinew will behave.

[wally]

can't upload all pictures in one hit?
another one

[wally]

and another.
Best way to dry sinew?

[Pappy]

Just lay the sinew out in a  dry place and it will dry out just fine,don't know on the skin.You can boil the bone or just clean it the best you can and put it up outside but where the big critters can't get to it for a while,the flys and ants will clean it up for you,that is what I do with deer legs.
   Pappy

[crooketarrow]

  I just put it up high and let the dry heat do it's thing. I've used lots of different kinds of sinew but never ostrich. I found out that it all seems the same on the lenth differs. That be sweet for hafeing heads on shaffes. I'll made in wort your while in combed out processed sinew for your green. PM me if your interested.

[BowJunkie]

WOW    Nice score.
I wonder if ostrich bone would make a nice arrow head?

[james parker]

 i had around 200  pcs dried, i used them on several comopsite horn bows ,,what a MISTAKE,,  ,,

[james parker]

 they're great for wrapping arrows and such but terrible for horn bows.............

[crooketarrow]

  Robustus is the sinew so much different than others that it's not good for backing. Like I said I've used 6 or 7 different kinds and I could'nt find any difference other than the lenth.

[wally]

I've now got skins in freezer and experimenting with other. salting it B4 removing membrane. The big shin guards come off like finger nails leaving a fantastically patterened leather!

5 excellent 18" of sinew per leg drying at moment.

Buried legs and covered with thick carpet to keep foxes out, hoping  to rot meat off.

Would borax be better option to clean bones?

Got four very long 19" bones + leg assemblies with big claw on main toe. Trying to make a leg sample as it look so prehistoric.
I think skin, if I tan it right, may look good as decorative bow backing.

[JackCrafty]

Dang!  That's huge!

I dry my sinew in the sun.  If I have to dry it indoors I'll put a fan on it.  All sinew smells funny so I don't recommend indoor drying. 

The ostrich sinew should work fine for bows but I think sinew from heavier animals like elk, buffalo, and moose is a stronger and more "snappy".  I've used elk and it works well for me.  Never tried ostrich but I would if I had some.

Cleaning the bones is a LOT easier if you boil them first.  You can then soak them in hydrogen peroxide to bleach them (optional).  Don't use chlorine bleach to bleach the bones.  I don't recommend burying the bones unless you don't mind diggin' up smelly bones that will need to be boiled and cleaned anyway....hahah

[rkeltner]

havent trird it, but i hear burying in an ant hill does wonders!

[DLH]

You could check with your local biology department they might have some dermestid beetles that would clean them up too. I have some one of my coworkers got some from our local department and cleaned up a turkey skull he had in a couple days.

[wally]

Thanks for suggestions.I'm so busy just now I'll leave them buried for a while. Boiling them sounds good but they#re ove 20" long . I suppose I could do one end then turn them over.
Just prepared one bit of leather as test and it looks great. Strange patternation in black/white and bluey grey. Even the sagging knee pads have peeled of their skin, and theres fine blue.grey leather underneath.
Those legs are very strong. The farmer I got them from was kicked by one and was in hospital, bruised all over his chest and he got a blood clot near his heart. Took him 6 months to heal he reckons.
The feet are enormous with 1 1/2 " gristly pads under the skin. Some animal this. I haven't had so much fun for a long time.

[kiwijim]

Hi Guys,
A message for Robustus. Is Ostrich sinew any good? If it isn't, why not? I have never used it but have quite alot of it here and was going to start using it after I ran out of horse sinew. Would I be better to get more horse sinew and turn the ostrich into dog chews?
Your thoughts appreciated.
Also that horn composite of yours is absolutely stunning. Incredible! Beautiful!

Regards
James

"not but bee stings be these arrows"