Shredding sinew
I did a small test of my sinew-shredding capability today.
I needed one hour and 42 minutes to shred one 20 gram (dry) deer leg sinew into 13 gram usable fibres and 7 gram scraps for glue making. :shock: - which should be the same as 7,64 grams of fibres per hour - or about 10 hours shredding for one bow.
The test was done with a complete sinew with both the inner and outer part, and I worked in my usual tempo.
I guess there is more than quantity in this work, but perhaps some of you have some numbers for your own work? Or perhaps there are some nifty tricks to make the shredding quicker or better?
The back sinews must be way faster to process?
I needed one hour and 42 minutes to shred one 20 gram (dry) deer leg sinew into 13 gram usable fibres and 7 gram scraps for glue making. :shock: - which should be the same as 7,64 grams of fibres per hour - or about 10 hours shredding for one bow.
The test was done with a complete sinew with both the inner and outer part, and I worked in my usual tempo.
I guess there is more than quantity in this work, but perhaps some of you have some numbers for your own work? Or perhaps there are some nifty tricks to make the shredding quicker or better?
The back sinews must be way faster to process?
Take back leg tendon from a big moose. Cut away the fork, Hit it hard :) with a sledgehammer and a anvil. Take a coarse sandpaper and rube away all lose skin. Then you have nice clean sinew to shred. Done in no time.
I worked with stag and deer tendons last week. Pounding and separating to small fibre bundles took me about 2 hours (I don't have a clock in my workshop) for 60 grams. I will loose some of it by carding, but that's ok.
Maybe it depends a bit on the animals. This one was local. The sinew I got from Highland Horn company was harder to get apart.
It depends much more on practice. The first I did it, it looked like it would take weeks to get enough for one bow.
Daniel
Maybe it depends a bit on the animals. This one was local. The sinew I got from Highland Horn company was harder to get apart.
It depends much more on practice. The first I did it, it looked like it would take weeks to get enough for one bow.
Daniel
Tricks:
1. Do not pound too much. Try separate "inside parts" by cuting outter layer open with knife after minimal pounding. Tearing with teeth is also ok and surely primitive method. Then pound them separately. This is quicker and leads to better sinew quality.
2. Use wooden/plastic hammer, not metal/stone. This leads to better sinew quality.
3. Moose sinew will separate more easilly and make less waste than red deer sinew from highlandhorn. (I have pounded only 2 sinews tough, so it may be because differences in dryness etc.)
Pounding takes time, but I have not used that much. (but I have not been measuring either...)
1. Do not pound too much. Try separate "inside parts" by cuting outter layer open with knife after minimal pounding. Tearing with teeth is also ok and surely primitive method. Then pound them separately. This is quicker and leads to better sinew quality.
2. Use wooden/plastic hammer, not metal/stone. This leads to better sinew quality.
3. Moose sinew will separate more easilly and make less waste than red deer sinew from highlandhorn. (I have pounded only 2 sinews tough, so it may be because differences in dryness etc.)
Pounding takes time, but I have not used that much. (but I have not been measuring either...)
Over the years of shredding hundreds of sinews (deer and Moose) I tried different methods tha came to mind.
Whitetail deer leg sinews bought commercially are pretty short and require a lot of over lapping layers to cover whole limb length. My fingers would get torn and bloody afte about 20 sinews. Jim Hamm suggested a comb like tool made of finish nails (very small and fine) fixed in a slat of wood much like a brush. I made one with a very long handle and clamped it to a table. It shreds deer leg sinew very fine and quickly, but there is a lot of waste torn from the sinews.
If you can butcher your own animals you can cut your sinews much longer than the commercial ones. On deer and moose I foloow the sinew all the way down to the tips of the toes. Also you can follow the sinew through the knee as it travels through a tunnel and up into the meat of the upper leg. On each leg there are at least two long sinews, one in front and one in back. Most people like to cut off the, "Y" but I leave it on beacuase on a moose I can get another 4-6 inches of length and about 3-4 on a deer leg sinew. It is harder to to shred the "Y" but if you are careful you get longer strands.
I agree that a wooden or rubber mallet is better, for cuttign the sinew with a steel hammer is possible.
Whitetail deer leg sinews bought commercially are pretty short and require a lot of over lapping layers to cover whole limb length. My fingers would get torn and bloody afte about 20 sinews. Jim Hamm suggested a comb like tool made of finish nails (very small and fine) fixed in a slat of wood much like a brush. I made one with a very long handle and clamped it to a table. It shreds deer leg sinew very fine and quickly, but there is a lot of waste torn from the sinews.
If you can butcher your own animals you can cut your sinews much longer than the commercial ones. On deer and moose I foloow the sinew all the way down to the tips of the toes. Also you can follow the sinew through the knee as it travels through a tunnel and up into the meat of the upper leg. On each leg there are at least two long sinews, one in front and one in back. Most people like to cut off the, "Y" but I leave it on beacuase on a moose I can get another 4-6 inches of length and about 3-4 on a deer leg sinew. It is harder to to shred the "Y" but if you are careful you get longer strands.
I agree that a wooden or rubber mallet is better, for cuttign the sinew with a steel hammer is possible.
Same thema we talked some time ago .Comercialy sinew was cut very short, like you said and best way how working vith sinew is buy (or cut yourself) fresh sinew and clean perfectly before driing.
Actually moose sinew is so long it had to be shorten if making a Turkish bow. Or you will have thicker at some parts. 3mm layer at sal may be 10 at kasan :)
So a mix of large moose and calf is good.
So a mix of large moose and calf is good.