green sinew care

[willie]

I pulled quite a bit of sinew from some moose legs today, and was wondering what was the best way to store it for future use.

I can tell that it needs to be dried to some degree before it can be separated and prepared for gluing down, just not sure if it needs to be totally dry and pounded flat before it can be shredded. Any tips or recommendations?

thanks

[osage outlaw]

I lay the sinew out on plastic tub lids and let it dry.  It will turn a clear amber color when it's completely dry.  I put the dried sinew in a small bucket in my workshop.  When I'm ready to process some I'll pound them to break up the fibers.  Once I have the sinew processed I put it in a small plastic tub and leave it in the house.   

[mikekeswick]

Rig up an indoor washing line and peg them to it.

[Bryce]

I've been putting mine in the dehydrator and then putting them in a box with the rest of my sinew

[willie]

I guess drying it out is not a problem. I could also keep it in the freezer at any state of drynrss.

Let me rephrase my question some.  How dry does it need to be when I separate it or shred the strands. Does it come apart any easier, or with less damage when it is still a bit flexible? or does it need to be as dry as possible? Some of these tendons are pretty big right now.

[Eric Krewson]

It needs to be completely dry to pull apart, I pound it with a hammer to start breaking it up initially.

[Bryce]

Yep completely dry. It will be stiff as a board

[penderbender]

Don't leave it unattended so the dog can eat it. Cause they love sinew, bone, antler, horn. Pretty much anything that was once part of an animal. Cheers- Brendan

[willie]

thanks guys,

some of the pieces are pretty thick, so I got them in the freezer for now. Did not want them to spoil if drying took too long.
When Its gets colder. I can take them out and let them dry all the way through.

[loefflerchuck]

BUT, there is such a thing as too dry. I keep all my dried sinew in the crawl space(the most humid place in the house). I live in a dry area and when the sinew gets too dry it is harder to process and much more waste(glue scraps). I used to wait till we had a monsoon session of rains to work on them. It is a bit like wood. It picks up and sheds moisture. And like wood can get too dry. 

[BowEd]

Yes I gotta agree with Chuck.What works with the easiest and best results for me stripping sinew from thick elk or moose leg tendons after  drying rock hard is to do it in the shop on a very humid day or even raining outside.Those conditions do have an effect on ease and quality of the stripping.When it's very hard and dry it's more brittle like stated.

[Bryce]

Don't leave it unattended so the dog can eat it. Cause they love sinew, bone, antler, horn. Pretty much anything that was once part of an animal. Cheers- Brendan

Hell sometimes I get caught chewing on em 

[Dances with squirrels]

Me too Bryce. One day I was in the shop tying goose feathers to multiflora rose shafts with sinew and the wife stopped in to tell me she was going to town and after giving me a kiss goodbye said, "what's in your mouth?" Sinew I said. Kinda grossed her out a little but she wasn't surprised 

[Bryce]

Me too Bryce. One day I was in the shop tying goose feathers to multiflora rose shafts with sinew and the wife stopped in to tell me she was going to town and after giving me a kiss goodbye said, "what's in your mouth?" Sinew I said. Kinda grossed her out a little but she wasn't surprised 

It's nice to chew on sometimes. I think I get carried away when making arrows and chewing my sinew before wrapping it. I'll keep a little extra out just for me 😂

[DuBois]

Yep on the animals. My dogs drool watching me process sinew and love the little scraggly scraps I throw their way.

Bryce: you an ANIMAL!!