intestine cordage

[curiosity]

Am just about to gut a fresh roadkill fox. Was speaking to Will Lord of Beyond 2000 Years BC the other day about the use of fresh intestine as cordage/twine material. He said that it tends to be slightly stretchier than tendon cordage, and that the fact that you need to salt it up means that if using for stitching it will have a tendancy to attract moisture. Has anybody used intestine cordage with or without salting that can share their experience? I think I'm just going to clean it out, freeze unsalted, then twist and dry in the summer and see how it goes.

 

[Toddy]

I haven't used it for cordage, well not under any stress, but I have made real sausages and haggis, etc.,
Basically intestines are sort of multi layered. They aren't just tubes of skin, iimmc.
If you're near the sea it's easy to wash them out and sort of take out the inner gunk by forcing water along it. For skin lengths for waterproofs they are usually split, cleaned, scraped, and dried.
http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cdmg11/id/6700/rec/34
I don't know how they 'tan' or oil them though

I think for cordage I'd be tempted to do that too, rather than using them tubular .....take off the side frill bit and make it all tidy.

Interested to hear how you get on with the fox

Best of luck with it, and welcome to the forum

cheers,
Toddy

 

[curiosity]

Thanks Toddy. It's interesting the way we (at least me!) get stuck in familiar ways of doing things. I've used roadkill intestines a lot for sausages, and would have just spent perhaps up to an hour thoroughly cleaning them inside and outside whilst keeping intact, just cos I'm used to it that way and it just seems intuitively right to maintain an integral unbroken piece. As you suggest though, cutting may be a better option for cordage purposes. Will try both ways and report back (in 6 months).

 

[Toddy]

I think you're quite right; we find a way that works and are inclined to stick to it.
One of the good things about finding like minded people is that ideas kind of thrive, and it's excellent to hear/ see/ share other methods.

I think if a people who subsist on animal hunting split the intestines for use, then it's probably well worth a try

cheers,
Toddy

 

[calgarychef]

Intestines come salted for sausage casings, I see no reason to salt them for "cordage"

 

[R.Lewis]

I tried skinning a Fox (I wanted the pelt) when I was eighteen. I slipped with the knife and went into the intestines, the stench was unbelievable. It was stinky Fox times a factor of thirty.....

 

[curiosity]

The intestine experiment has turned into more of a tanning project than a cordage one now, although perhaps the two aren't mutually exclusive. I cut it to leave a long inch wide strip and cleared out all the gunk. Working inch my inch using the flat back off a knife and dragging it over a sharpening stone worked a treat. Only took 15 minutes, and no tearing problems. I wondered how to adequately immerse it in the tannin solution without it folding over itself and getting uneven tannin penetration. I thought of wrapping it around a stick, but not such a good idea, as it would float so decided to cut off a section of scaffolding pole. Lady luck must be shining on me today because I didn't measure anything before hand, and not only after flat-twisting the intestine round did I find the pole to be the exact length to the mm, the same was true when it came to placing it diagonally in the tanning tub. Unlike most things I tan that take about 3 months, I reckon this will be done in 2 weeks, turning the intestine the other way around half way through the process. We shall see. Had some good pictures but couldn't work out how to upload them.
@R.Lewis. It didn't honk, but smelt 'ripe' for sure!

 

[curiosity]

So far so good.....

 

[curiosity]

hummm....technology. Wonder if this'll work.....

 

[curiosity]

Update. The intestine has tanned well. Just gotta neatsfoot oil it and try a little softening, then will use it as a binding/decoration on a drum.
In the meantime, I thought I'd tan the badger's stomach as well. I've done this before with a deer stomach. On that occassion I cleaned the outside to remove any fat and membraine before turning insideout and scraping down to remover the internal layer. This time I've not done that, just washed and turned inside out (but not scraped). Interesting to see how the final results compare. Will end up being a stiffer final bag no doubt.
This time I devised a new method for keeping the stomach stretched for ease and evenness of tan solution penetration using a water-filled balloon. Of course, you could just seal off one end of the stomach, fill with tanning solution, close off the other end and sink in the tan bath. A good way as both sides would obviously tan at the same time. In practice, I found it hard to get sufficient pressure of tan liquid to fully inflate, so will just turn insideout after a week and repeat.
I'm very new to this and am making it up as I go along, so if anybody has any experience tanning stomachs any tips would be gratefully received - other than suggesting that I lie naked on a beach in the sun of course!

https://picasaweb.google.com/100368873080744711453/February152013#5845145836526075122

https://picasaweb.google.com/100368873080744711453/February15201302#5845146014037332226

https://picasaweb.google.com/100368873080744711453/February15201303#5845146158160356306