Harvesting sinew...

[Fox]

I’ve been trying to scrounge enough sinew to back a bow... I was looking at leg sinew online and all there deer leg sinew was like 15” where’s my longest piece is only 8”... am I harvesting it wrong ?

[chamookman]

Yes You are. You want to follow the the Tendon all the way up in to the Knee  where  it "Forks" and cut, and then again where it "Forks" close to the Hoof. Hope that makes sense - Bob.

[Fox]

Thanks bob.... I think that’s what I’m doing... from the hoof to the knee ?

[chamookman]

Correct ! Good luck - Bob,

[YosemiteBen]

@Fox - there are some youtube vids on harvesting. Rather then cutting it at the knee you can follow it through the joint to get longer pieces.

[Fox]

Thanks guys . It turns out my deer had tiny legs 

Harvested some from another deer and it had normal sized pieces. Do you guys remove the “sheath” when it’s wet? Or after when it’s dry? Or do you use the sheath like the rest of the sinew ?

[aznboi3644]

I remove the sheath while fresh.  The tendon extends several inches past the knee.  I followed it up and got another 5-6” through the joint and up the leg