Page 125 - J. C. Turner "History and Science of Knots"

Inuit Knots 115

Inuit use of baleen for the making of fishing lines. Excepting that note, from
around 1565, there is not much known about prehistoric applications and
processing of this material. The Qeqertasussuk find suggests the Inuit used
considerable amounts of it for a wide range of applications [16], [17], [35]. A
small discussion of a baleen processing experiment can be found in [15].
Baleen is water repellent, which makes it the Inuit's preferred material for
fishing lines. On the other hand, its production is culnbersome in the extreme.
In the form used, the Greenland whale's baleen must be split into long thin
strips. The length of these strips has a natural limit, which, depending on
the source, can be 1-2 metres. However, artifacts at the National Museum of
Denmark show that lengths down to 0.4 metres were not discarded.
Unless required for very small lashings, where the strings can be almost
round with diameters of 1 mm or less, split whale baleen is monofilament and
rectangular in cross-section with dimensions 4 mm x 1.5 mm. Knots tied in flat
material, like baleen, behave differently from those tied in a cross-sectionally
round medium in which there are no edges.
The surface smoothness of baleen is high. In many ways, this material can
be compared to long thin flexible strips of hard PVC. Knotting thus requires
structures with a high resistance to slippage. Such devices have been found
and will be discussed later. However, like most knots, they reduce the breaking
strength of the medium in which they are realised.
No information on tensile strength of baleen is available, yet rough indica-
tions do exist. It is well-known that some Inuit baleen fishing lines were used
to catch pelagic species from the bottoms of fjords over 1000 metres deep. Ev-
ery knot on a fishing line in use is subjected to the friction of water. This gives
rise to a force, which along a length of line may accumulate to a considerable
strength. Although a hydrostatic correction would be required, it still remains
quite impressive that the limits of baleen's mechanical properties, or even the
breaking strengths of the knots tied in it, were rarely exceeded. Apparently,
in most of the cases, these limits were not reached.
Topologically, the principle behind the rawhide splice, to be explained
in the section on thong, is by far the best solution to make a non-slipping
connection between two cross-sectionally flat media. However, one cannot
split baleen to make a join reminiscent of such a splice. Hence knots must be
used.

Sinew
Sinew has been used for making thread. The fibres were obtained from the
sinews of sea mammals, such as seals. The sinews were first dried, then split,
crushed and finally twisted into yarns. Inuit women traditionally did the
twisting against their cheeks or thighs [27]. The lengths which these threads
may reach has no natural limits. No objective data on breaking strengths