Making a primitive sinew bow string with reverse twist cordage method

The ability to make primitive string and cordage is one of the most useful survival skills. In this video Clay Hayes uses the reverse twist cordage method to make a primitive sinew bow string for the eastern red cedar survival bow he made in a recent video.

There are many natural materials that will make a primitive bowstring. Some are better than others. The string will ideally be small in diameter and have low stretch to be the most efficient as a bow string. Sinew is an extremely strong natural material and makes one of the best primitive cordage materials out there.

To begin, the sinew must be separated into fibers and all the excess membrane scraped away. Once that is done the string making process starts by gathering two bundles of equal size and reverse twisting them together.

The sinew isn't long enough to make a bowstring so short pieces of processed sinew are spliced together to make a long string. Once the string is long enough for our needs, the tag ends left over from splicing are trimmed away and the string is soaked in hide glue. Once the string is saturated with hide glue, it is hung with a heavy weight to stretch the string as it dries.

This sinew string is the final piece of our primitive bow hunting equipment. Later the spring I'll be taking the primitive bow and arrow hog hunting so don't miss out on that!

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[byrongreen]

Now THIS video was worth watching!!!! Xoxoxoxoxo…Somebody—hint, hint, hint —finally put the finer details in here and showed the entire process!!!!…thank you!!!!

[donwaldroopoutdoors]

Watched bunch your videos, made a poplar board 62 bow, strung it with #36 bank line, served the string w leather sewing thread, it pulls 25# @ 27 inches, shot it last night til the skeeters ran me inside, it was a lot of fun, thx again for all your vids that inspire us to go back to primitive.

[troyjohnston]

Hey Clay, put the twisted end of the sinew in your mouth as you work, you can get a much tighter twist and work much faster. This is how I make 'Hau Bush' bracelets for my tourists in Hawaii.

[MustObeyTheRules]

That sinew string has such an awesome look to it

[chrismarshall]

Just the video I needed!! I’m about to start the process of making an Osage orange bow

[greeksandacamera]

Inner bark of red elm is amazing as well Clay. We used it to make various types of binding cordage, keeping it wet so to be supple for this same reverse twisting method. Made it into only one bowstring which worked well. How durable it was we don’t know because we gave the bow away. But it’s been written about in old literature as bowstring material. Your sinew may be better, but both materials are mighty tough.

[TingTingalingy]

This is a good video. It answered some questions i wasn't finding explanations I could follow as well as yours.

[aaronhouse]

Just getting into your videos. I'm loving them. Would you consider linking to past videos when you refer to them? You mentioned past videos on bow strings, but now I'll be digging to find them. Even so, again, very pleased and thank you.

[shanek]

I made a string out of sinew once but twisted it up wet, (thought I had to) it’s amazing how strong it was.

[lobopropredatorcontrol]

Really liked this series! Never have tried cedar as a bow wood, gonna have to give it a go!

[stantilton]

Has anyone thanked you for what you do here. Thank you. I enjoy and use a lot of what you share.

[TheRedhawke]

Looking forward to seeing the entire rig in action.

[aaronluna]

Nice string. Love me some sinew, but my preference for string material is always going to be a two-ply rawhide.
Only because theirs no splicing.

Thanks

[HopOPwndTheHippo]

I feel like this is all a lot less epic if you consider how many times he's been directly explained how to do this as he followed along, as opposed to how other people discover this content.

[djinn]

Cant wait to see it in use, hope we can also share in skining and butchering of hog

[native]

I'm going to be making some soon and I'll try this but when I do it I feed new strands in so I don't get lumps then grease n run it thru a bone hole

[nderimmehmedoski]

Great videos👌🏻
Im wondering if this string shot similar like Dacron. Can you make a video about different primitive sinew and shot them thru chronograph.

[krunopandzic]

Great video can't wait to see how it perform 👍

[twintwo]

There is a much better way of setting uniformity in string thickness, before you start the Flemish twist process. Make two full lengths of sinew using glue to hold all the sinew in a single uniform cord. Then Flemish them together as normal. Then twist and tighten a little. Then add water to soften glue to remove excess. Then finish process as usual. This can also be done in the simple twist method of cordage, but not as strong as Flemish.

[markhess]

You are the man! That shit is cool. I’ve made a handful of those now and they performed very well but I use manufactured cedar arrows and synthetic strings and I have a blast doing it. Love to come to one of your workshops