Sinew questions

[Mgydas]

I have to admit I'm rather lucky.  Being new to this hobby I've begun making a collection of tools and materials.  The luck part comes frome my profession.  Being a chef allowed me to have connections to various butchers, chefs and purveyors.  I have been asking for the "waste" for little to no cost.

Now many of the chefs I know are very OCD about stocks they make, demanding only bone and marrow from either the beef or wild game they use.  Meaning they remove all of the smaller tendons from around the joints.  I understand that generally only the back and leg sinew is used for strings and bow backings.

Which brings me to my question.  Is there any reason not to use these smaller portions?  They seem to be the exact same when dried.  Is there an elasticity issue with other tendons?  Or is it the processing time that drives people to use only those two particular areas?

[John Scifres]

No.  Sinew is sinew.

Not sure what you mean but sinew is sinew.

Yes, probably. Plus longer fibers mean fewer "joints", if you will.

[Pat B]

Generally the leg and back sinews are used but like John said, sinew is sinew. The longer the better. The smaller sinews and sinew casings can be cooked down into hide glue.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I prefer back sinew because its easier to break down and it lays nice.

[Mgydas]

That's what I thought. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some sort of difference that I wasn't aware of.  But thank you.

[mwosborn]

I use all the lower tendons on the whitetail that I shoot.  If you are careful you can get several long pieces (12-14").  Several are pretty small in diameter compared to the main "flexor" tendon in the hind leg, but the dry out and work just fine.

Back sinew is indeed easier to break down and comb out as Chris mentioned - some say it does not perform as well as leg sinew.  I have not used it enough to judge this for myself.  Even after processed though, you can tell the difference.