;D I'm wondering, whats the best kind of sling.  I've heard of:
[glb]LEATHER[/glb]
[glb]BRAIDED[/glb]
[glb]BOOTLACE[/glb]
[glb]ROPE[/glb]

What do you guys use?  I use a leather one, made of leather cord and a leather pouch.  All  bought from a craft store.  It's really simple.  I used a hole puncher to make the holes to tie the strings to the pouch and just tied them there.  A VERY simple sling, but pretty good.

Leather pouch, hempen cords.

as far as durability, I've found that a leather pouch and parachute chord works well.

where do i get parachute cord and hempen cords?  :-/ Do they spin faster than leather?

I also use leather and parachute cord.  Parachute cord is thin and strong.  It doesn't wear on your skin either.  

I've got some laying around, so I can send you some pretty cheap if you wanted.  

Chris

;D well, I have to put in a plug for braided slings  ;D  Actually, I made a great discovery the other week after putting together a sling design I found here on the website (I think it was in the articles or maybe the forum, I can't remember).  I used some parachute cord for the lines and then took about 8 inches of 3/4" webbing and sewed a loop with a half twist in it for a split-style cradle.  It works fantastic and is on my top two list for favorite slings (braided being #1).  Actually, I found that my distance was a bit better with the parachute cord sling.  Granted, it's about 6 inches longer than my braided sling, but there is a definite reduction in air friction.  It's also less stiff and requires a weightier projectile.  My braided sling is only about 3/8" diameter at most.  Interestingly though, my braided sling seems to be more accurate.  It could be the shorter length, but I think it has to do more with the stiffness of the lines and cradle giving a smoother release with less twisting.  Range may only be 10% less with the braided, which at an estimate 250, 300 yards is moot anyway.  The thing I love about the webbing and paracord is that it is fast to make and out here in New Mexico, I don't have to hunt for the rare polished rocks - I can use course sand stone and jagged rocks and not worry about the wear on the cradle since it's easy to replace.  I found in the past that I had trouble with leather cradles dropping the stone in mid-swing - though undoubtably that was my poor design at the time.  The split webbing cradle has no problems though...

All that said... there's nothing like the satisfaction of a well-made braided sling ;D  

Barak --who threw a lot of rocks with both slings in Utah last weekend

That web-loop pocket thingy is my little invention!  There's a pic of it in red 1"web in the gallery.  It makes a great "natural" cupped pocket, and it does work good!  Plus cheep/easy to make.   Glad you like it lots!!

I did almost the same thing in leather:  2 strips, each 1"wide & 7" long, with hole punched in each end of both.  Pieces crossed over to form pocket & assembled on 1/8" nylon cord.  Works super!    

mgreenfield

I am going to go with Barak, and say that braided slings are the best.  I have only been making them for around a week, but it is actually easier than it looks, and like Barak says, there is nothing like the satisfaction of a well braided sling.  I have six slings which are braided entirely or woven, one which is as long as I am tall (about 5'9"), the rest slightly shorter.  I intend to vary the designs I use a bit more, but I am using normal split pouch style things, starting off with three strands, adding three more, separating those six strands into two lengths of three strands (for the pouch), joining them back together, braiding out the extra three strands and continuing to braid the rest up to the end with the three strands I started with.  And I am trying to use dyes in there as well.

Mgreenfirld,


Quote:

I did almost the same thing in leather:  2 strips, each 1"wide & 7" long, with hole punched in each end of both.  Pieces crossed over to form pocket & assembled on 1/8" nylon cord.  Works super!

One of my slings is just made in this way. I have seen that one on your picture in some topic. My strips are about 1/2" wide and about 6" long. I have attached to them the thin kevlar cords. I use that sling for throwing smaller stones, but that one can be used for greater stones too. The pouch (cradle) even keeps the tennis-balls pretty well. I like it.

Jurek

I'm gonna put in a plug for braided slings as well.  I haven't found them to be any more or less effective than simple leather-and-cord or even just knotted-cord slings, but they feel better.  Besides, like Barak says, there's a tremendous feeling of satisfaction once you finish a challenging piece -- although I'm still working towards the "well made" part.  :-/

 Braided for beauty.
 Leather for looks and longevity.
 Leather and nylon cords for simplicity, durability, low cost and ease of construction.

 At least that's the view from here.

 WalkingBird
 Who always has one too few slings.

Since you guys are huge braiding enthusiasts, send some articles my way!  I'm sure someone can find something to write about that doesn't overlap with Dan's (http://www.slinging.org/20.html).  How about a full braided pouch (not lovelock)?  How do you do that?  Or maybe some more complex braiding for the cords, a la Whipartists'.

Chris

;DLet me finish a sling I'm not too embarassed to show in public, first!  Besides, I don't know what I could write that wouldn't be a direct rip-off from either Sling Braiding of the Andes or Braids:  250 patterns from Japan, Peru, and Beyond.  Maybe someday soon, though, now that I've got my Peruvian sling to use as a model -- Thanks, Whipartist!

I think it is impossible to entirely braid a sling which is not lovelock.  You weave the pouch, not braid.  This is incredibly difficult.  My ones look a bit loose on the weave.  They work well though.  The main problem I have is tying off the ends, but it is becoming less of a problem.  And I think my string is a bit stiff, so the weave can never be really very close or tight, and I am having difficulty creating nice tools for making the sling, so I have to improvise.  So I can't write any kind of article because I won't have any kind of list of tools etc. The easiest part of the sling is the braiding, obviously.  
 I shall write a small forum article on how I make my woven slings.  Please remember that I have only just started out.
  Mark out where you want the pouch to be.  Start a three strand braid until you reach a previously marked out point, and add in another three strands, and braid those as you did the three (as in, when a girl has her hair braided, she never braids three individual strands, she braids with long locks together of many hairs).  After four or five braids, add in another three strands, and after that, another three, doing the same thing with the strands as you did at the start.  Once you reach a certain, pre-marked distance from where you want the pouch to be, separate the strands and clamp them down in a nice fan shape.  You should have 12 strands; take one out and weave through the fanned out other strands, consistently, and trying to make it as tight as possible.  Keep going until you reach another previously marked place for the end of the pouch, and braid a little, for about two or three braids (as before).  Tie off the last three strands you added in.  Braid again the same distance, and tie off the second set.  Repeat until all you have is your original set of strands.  Braid these until you reach the end, and tie it together.  That may not make sense, sorry.  But it is probably the most coherent way for me to explain how I make these slings with hardly any tools.  Study some of the images in the gallery and it might make sense.  Some show these type of sling being made.

I a bit confused on the "lovelock" term being used.  The Andean split pockets that I weave use an over-under-over-under repeating pattern with the weft thread over top the warps (which are made up of the strands that are used to braid the release lines).  The weave is very tight, and when woven well enough the warp threads do not show through and the pocket is solid.  Locklock Cave, Nevada is where a prehistoric sling was found on the body of a mummified child.  The pocket was a pouch style cradle with no split that was loosely woven using a kind of half-hitch wind that splits each warp and then loops around it before going on to the next warp.  In order to create a pouch shape, there is a bit of space between the warps which increases towards the center of the cradle, so more of tight mesh than a solid cradle.  

Anyway, that's what I think of whenever I hear of the Lovelock weave.  I'm assuming you all use it to reference the Andean split pocket weave.  Is there reason it is labeled as such?  I'm not all that knowledgable on the history/ethnicity, etymology, etc.  

Barak

I know this doesn't have to do with the "best sling" But I actually made a "disposable sling"  so that if you show a friend, you can give them something to play with, and make 'em a better one later.
                   --------
-----------H          H---------------
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The string is any string, I used twine.  The rock-holder is a kleenex.  (VERY disposable).  The string is tied to the kleenex.  Actually, It does work!  It can shoot stones but it just can't spin very well because it's very light.

I might try a braided sling!

I'd just like to amend the instructions I gave earlier.  I'd like to say that although using a twelve strand woven pocket is ok, it makes it very difficult to do, and makes an oversized pocket.  I'd change it to 9 strands, just add an extra 6 strands rather than an extra 9, to your original 3.  It is easier to work with, and produces a nice sized pocket.
 Barak, whenever I think of a lovelock sling pouch, I always think of two or more strands in a loose split pouch; see the photo on the homepage.  Whether or not this is actually the sling pouch on the sling found in Lovelock cave is a moot point.  Similarly, it could be said that the "couple" of strands are the "lovers", in a lock with the stone.  Hence the name.  Also, the pouch in a "lovelock" (as we term it) is not woven, but entirely braided.  There are in fact instructions in the articles section by Dan Bollinger which explain how this is made (I just discovered them.  They are really good.)  But now I am just rambling.

Barak,

I've never actually seen any pictures of it, so I wouldn't know how it was actually composed.  I've been using that term for as long as I've been slinging.  I must have picked it up online, maybe Jim Burdine's page.  

Do you have any pictures?  

Chris

I just made 2 of the slings in Dan Bollinger's braided sling article.  ;D

My new sling is a dyed black and white, braided three strand sling, with retaining loop, and a twelve strand (split into four sections of three) split pouch.  That is the best kind of sling in my opinion.  I will try and get some pictures for you some time.  It is difficult because I have to borrow one of my friends' cameras.  But I can probably do a video too.  I now have about twelve braided slings of various styles and qualities.  I have only been doing it for a little while, but it is the holidays now and I have lots of string, so my output can be prolific.  Besides, I have customers to cater for, get around five pounds for a sling.

It's a metaphysical point.  Once you learn to sling and can make them out of almost any material it's really just a way to hurl projectiles for hunting or combat.  Miyamoto Musashi counseled not to have "preferences" as to weapons and weapon types as it would inhibit your abilities as a Warrior.  That being said, I'd have to concede that my preferences change periodically.  Right now I am so digging 6/7/8/9 strand jute slings, round or flat braids with woven split pouches.  And I've been reading about guys complaining about not getting the pouches tight and even.  My technique is to use a big styling comb.  I have the strands separated in the teeth and after 4 wefts I slide the comb up and tighten it.  They come out beautifully.  I wonder if anybody else does this?  I'm pretty sure I didn't invent it, like the gutted paracord sling.......................  

fletch_man wrote on Dec 27^th, 2011 at 4:16pm:

It's a metaphysical point.  Once you learn to sling and can make them out of almost any material it's really just a way to hurl projectiles for hunting or combat.  Miyamoto Musashi counseled not to have "preferences" as to weapons and weapon types as it would inhibit your abilities as a Warrior.  That being said, I'd have to concede that my preferences change periodically.  Right now I am so digging 6/7/8/9 strand jute slings, round or flat braids with woven split pouches.  And I've been reading about guys complaining about not getting the pouches tight and even.  My technique is to use a big styling comb.  I have the strands separated in the teeth and after 4 wefts I slide the come up and tighten it.  They come out beautifully.  I wonder if anybody else does this?  I'm pretty sure I didn't invent it, like the gutted paracord sling.......................

i don't use a comb, but i do push down with my fingers. works like a charm.

btw, it's nearly been 8 years?

EDIT: here's a thing i wrote some time back when i was bored. it has a little bit on weaving tips, although it's mostly unintelligible

http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1278352115/2#2

I mostly agree with fletch_man (again).  What's the best type if sling?  The one you're getting the most out of at the moment.  My preferences also change periodically.  Right now I'm digging the sort of sling pictured below.  This is the one I sent to Ulrica for the last SITH.  It's got a good range, it's tough, accurate, reasonably good looking, not that hard to make, and will hurl any old sort of junk that you come across.. slabs of shale or bog iron, railroad rocks, or whatever.  You can make them from whatever you wish.  I mostly use jute but hemp is just as good I think.  I've never used flax but I've seen slings of this type made from it (Paleoarts) and they look great.  If you want to you can even use nasty, scratchy old sisal.  I've made these from synthetics like paracord, nylon, and polypropylene too and they all work fine.  
  It's a great design.  

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