More sinew questions

[Don Case]

When I was at the butchers asking about sinew he said someone else had ordered some and never picked it up. He found it in the dog chew barrel. I happily bought it. It wasn't trimmed that well but beggars can't be choosers. I trimmed of all the fat I could see and started pounding. Spots of it got oily as I was pounding. I don't suppose this is a good thing but is it a disaster? When it's stripped out it feels nice and fluffy but will the glue stick to it? I did wash the tendons in dish soap after I trimmed them.
Don

[PatM]

The problem is when the fat goes rancid and the breakdown starts to damage the actual collagen fibers as well. Just wash it multiple times and maybe even give it a final acetone rinse and then test the fiber strength.

[Pat B]

Wash the sinew strands in Dawn dish soap and warm water. Dawn is a great grease cutter.

[lebhuntfish]

I had the same problem, I did the dawn dish soap thing like Pat B said. It worked good! Sinew was really nice when processed.

[Bryce]

I like to scrape em and then throw them in the smoker (with no chips of course)
Easy way to quick cure the sinew.

[Don Case]

Wash the sinew strands in Dawn dish soap and warm water. Dawn is a great grease cutter.

Is there a washing technique? I can imagine ending up with a tangled up ball of sinew. You don't wash them one strand at a time do you? 

[Pat B]

Don, in my experience if you don' try to do too much at one time even the tangles will come out in a pan of water. I usually soak the sinew in warm water and take a small bundle out wash it with Dawn, rince it good and set I aside for the sinewing then move to the next bundle.

[Don Case]

I knew there was something else I wanted to ask.   Is it OK to store the "greasy" sinew and then wash it just before use. I will probably freeze it.

[Pat B]

The grease will become rancid over time. I'd do an initial cleaning now and again just before laying it down.

[Don Case]

After I washed it and dried it, it glued itself together and I had to strip it all over again. With another 25% loss due to breakage. Even the stuff that did come apart is now wirery and stiff. This was a total bust. I'll probably use it all for glue. I guess the idea is to start with clean tendons. The butcher had already dried it with all the fatty bits still attached.

[PatM]

Just soak it again. You don't have to pull it apart when it is stuck to itself. You need to soak it before you apply it anyway.

[bow101]

Rather than make a new topic about sinew, thought maybe ok to highjack this thread for a moment.
Do you add sinew to increase draw weight.?  It allways seems to be quite thick when applying it.  Or is the sinew there for peace of mind .?  And the snakeskin is it mainly for esthetics or peace of mind as well to prevent a splinter lift..?

[PatM]

Sinew will work any way you want it to depending on thickness and induced reflex or whether you just draw the bow further.

[Don Case]

Just soak it again. You don't have to pull it apart when it is stuck to itself. You need to soak it before you apply it anyway.

Of course  Thanks. It will probably be easier to store. I can stand it in a jar like jerky.