hi everyone. here's how i build my slings. i start with a 8x3" piece of elk hide

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next, i mark the center lines both ways.

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i mark and sketch in the tabs, 1/2" wide and 3/4" long.

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i sketch in the cup shape.

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cut it to shape.

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next, i mark the center of the cup 1" on each side

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holding the cup folded, i cut into it 1" on each side.

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next, i punch 4 stitching holes (2.5 setting on my leather punch) starting low on the outside and working my way up.

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open, it should look like this.

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then, i trim the edges a little, but this step is optional and for asthetics only.

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next comes stitching. i use .06 waxed flax. it's a simple spiral stitch starting from the outside going in and then back to the outside where i just tie it off.

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and back.

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folded over, it should look like this.

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repeat the process, and you should have this.

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OOPS! skipped a step! :-[ before stitching, i punch holes in the tabs with the #4 setting on my punch.

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okay. here's the finished cup.

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next comes the cordage. i use flax twine. i select 6 strands approximately 8 to 10" longer than what i want my sling to be, making sure they are all the same length.

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i put 3 of the strands together in a vice and do a simple braid.

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once braided, i loop it over my fingers and pinch it down. i use a loop over my bottom three fingers. if you like an index finger or wrist loop, adjust accordingly.

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at the point where i pinched, i open up the braid and put the end through.

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just above that, repeat the process. through one side, and back through the other. then trim right above it.

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next, using waxed flax (any strong thin string will do) i wrap the braid starting at the loop end and work towards the cup end.

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once you've covered the cut off end of the braid, just tie it off and you're done with the loop.

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on to attatching the cup. thread the braid through the upper hole on the INSIDE of the cup! this is the important part. make sure it's the INSIDE going out.

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thread it through the lower hole going from the outside in.

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now is the time to size your sling. after this step there will be no adjusting it. adjust the length by pulling the braid through both holes. if you have a set measurment in mind, fold the cup over and measure it out. once done, fold the braid back on itself and trim to about 1/2" beyond the end of the tab.

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next, pinch the tab around the braid and, starting from the cup side, wrap the tab and braid together. continue wrapping until you're past the cut ends of the braid and then tie off. note: make sure the tab doesn't fold over when wrapping. you want both sides to cup the braid. in cross section it would be the letter 'U' with the braid resting inside.

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finished, it should look something like this.

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almost done! reapet the braiding process on the other three strands. then repeat the process attatching the new braid to the cup. now, make your release tab. i use bone because it's cheap, durable, heavier than wood, and looks cool! but, you can use anything you want. or nothing at all, for that matter. in which case, you ARE done. but for those who want the release tab, let's continue....like i said, i use bone. it's roughly about the size and shape of a military dog tag.

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next, i even up the ends of the cup and put it in my vice. i thread the release tab onto the open ended braid and then put my fingers in the loop of the other. stretching both tight, i adjust the release tab and braid until i have just the right length i want. i pinch the open ended braid over the release tab.

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then, trim the end of the braid and repeat the in and out weave and wrapping process you did on the loop braid and........voila!

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you're done! here is what it should look like. :)

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one final step i usually do is to run the braids over an open flame like a lighter or candle to take off all the fuzzies. you can also rub them down with beeswax or coat them with vegetable oil to keep them supple. this particular sling i made for one of my nieghbors children and is only 26" long. i prefer between 30" and 34" for myself. thanks for following along with me and i hope you enjoyed it. feel free to contact me with any comments or questions.


                                        Chris henry

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That is a great tutorial, thanks!  8-)

you're welcome, david. and thanks for getting me on here. i'm having a blast!

that...is...AWESOME. very descriptive tut. i bet it will make the archives. and i also find that using needle and thread makes the loop tighter then what some whipping will do either way great sling


oh yeah, where do you get your leather? the leather i find is expensive (8.99 us dollars for only a foot by foot square for some heavy and thick leather)

thanks, kid! the leather used here is an elk hide i got from a friend who bagged it a cuople of years ago. usually, i scrounge for mine. old tool bags, golf bags, baseball mits, and especially old sofas and chairs that people throw out.

ohhh... i really like that leather type. the stuff i found in michelles art store was over expensive

You make some great looking slings Chris. Thanks for posting the tutorial. I also have to thank David for reminding me about slings over on Paleoplanet.

-Devin

thanks, Devin.  :)

Good job, man.  I'll have to get a leather punch now.  Very clear, concise tutorial.  If I can follow it, anyone can.  Whether or not this makes the archives I'm saving it.   I'm off to kill an elk now.  (not)

wish I could try it, but sadly I have no leather

by the way, how dose flax twine work for braiding, is it stiff of to rough

heya, slinger. no, i don't find flax too rough or stiff. unlike hemp it's just the right flexibility for me, but if if you find it so you can always coat it in vegetable oil or beeswax to make it more supple. as for leather, hit your local thrift store. i bet you find yard upon yard of usable leather for dirt cheap. old purses, luggage, bags, and especially furniture. one of my favorite sources is old tool bags. this stuff is tough but very supple.

thanks, ratman :)

its a shame i cant get no damn leather

@ paleoarts: Great job, great tutorial. I would have never thought about cutting the leather like this.

@ adsi: Are there nor flea-markets, second-hand-stores, recycling centers, shoemakers (or shoe repairers), old shoes, old boots, old belts, old leather jackets around?

theres no flea markets. my second hand stores charge to much.i dont think any body recycles leather we have no cobblers but i might be able to get my hands on a belt ;)

hey paleoarts, being new and all you might not trust the forums trade center, but i do, soo... i'll trade some of my slings for that type of sling or leather??

hey, kid. sent you a PM on this.

Nice tutorial. You should send this to guides and articles.
And your slings are awesome. Leather is something I've never used to good results.

thanks, rockman :)

very very nice  paleoarts , all of your weapons are awesome.. ive tried weaveing slings but they come out bad,im not the best cordage weaver.

but i have a lot of leather and im fairly sure i can do this

aztec wrote on Jul 9^th, 2009 at 11:53pm:

ive tried weaveing slings but they come out bad,im not the best cordage weaver.

Make a sling every month, after the 5th, you will have a very nice looking sling. Maybe rig up a mould for the pouch with nails.

lol..i spent 2 hours last week trying to weave a new paracord sling..it ended badly..broke my heart  :-[

the sling im using now is an aussie style but made from a thin leather belt..it works very good ,its just not pretty

ah how would i make a rig? i might be able to do that..ive used inkle looms before.

This is mine :)

I have a tip for getting the braided cord through the pouch tab. I wrapped the end of the braids in masking tape to keep the ends together and make it into a kind of needle. This made it very easy to thread a four-strand braided cord through the leather.

[EDIT] I have changed the image after adding the leather release tab and improving the pouch side stitching.

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you've discovered my secret! now you must die! >:(

Nice tutorial!  :)I gotta try make one of these sometime.

thanks, et cetera. if you have any questions, let me know.

Great Tutorial Chris, I'm New to Braiding cordage and befor I seen your Braiding Style I thought I would'nt be able to do It, But with your Step by Step Instruction's I think I can ! I got a Vise on my work table "Plenty of Cordage mostly Jute & Sisal & Black 550 Par-Cord "For Making Covert Ops Sling's" and Artificial Sinew, I'll scrounge up some Leather and I'll be ready "To make one of your Elk Hide Sling's, I'm gonna try making one from Jute do you think the Artificial Sinew woud be good for lacing/wrapping & tying ? I'll get a picture up of my Cluttered end of my Work table, I'll Post some picture's when I get one made, Thank's for making Braided Sling making understadable to us BackWood's Folk !

http://i40.tinypic.com/35kjz42.jpg

I have the exact same type of jute!  :D

Et Cetera wrote on Mar 10^th, 2010 at 4:28pm:

I have the exact same type of jute!  :D

I'll bet you can find that Brand of Jute Nation Wide "Like Everything Else in This Country It's MADE IN CHINA ! All Except for the Fine Handcrafted American Made Sling's & Bow's & Knive's and TomaHawk's ! I'm going to try and find American Made Jute, I dont like Buying Chinese Made Product's,

These days EVERYTHING is made in China the world over.

If it's any consolation, the jute almost certainly comes from India or Pakistan, they contribute something like 95% of the total world production.

I don't think any significant amount of jute is either grown or spun in the U.S. or China, although China does grow some.

Some perhaps, but it's really perverse when Australian souvenirs, little toy koalas and the like, almost invariaby have a tag that says Made in China attached to them. (Nothing against the Chinese BTW. The quality of their manufactured goods has improved immeasurably over recent years.)

The same here. Guess where most of the souvenirs from Wales were made. Okay, traditionally they have the dragon in common...

does the sewing part just make the pouch cup? If so Im going to substitute that and cut slits in the leather to save me some sewing ( I stink at sewing lol) Thanks

Hmmmmmm nice tutorial, this should be added to the guides section.  I will probably be trying this soon, but I may wet shape the pouch instead, I am not sure about the ridges left inside the pouchfrom the sewing, wouldn't it be better to turn it inside out afterward so the ridges are on the outside?  Can you use west country whipping instead of a wrap?  
 I don't use release tabs or beads for a few reasons myself.  I used beads when I first started slinging, made of antler and maple.  But if you use them on a beach when you release the sling after an underhand, often the release cord will hit the ground at SOME point after the release, whether directly after or as it goes limp.  If you have  hollow bone or wooden bead it will eventually crack it.  The other reason is that the edges of the drilled hole wear through the cords with use.  I suppose it could be smoothed down, but still...  I have never tried a release tab, but I might try one of leather sometime, I just find  it kind of funny to go through the extra work just for that when a knot works fine, but it does look nice.  Oh, and not to sound like an ass, but the pouch you show in the pics isn't cut symmetrical... ::) :-/
 Excellent tutorial, I have been looking at your slings for a bit, I thought you were just folding the end into a W shape and then inserting the braided cord with a knot in it and whipping over it like a seatbelt sling.

 Actually I think my grandmother invented the masking tape trick, I use it all the time, learned it from her.
;D ;D  
 For leather I use mainly old purses, the leather comes in great thicknesses from those, certain parts of the purse are thick leather, others are thin, and you can get an old purse for about 1.50 and if you pick one with a woven or braided strap you get a nice load of long leather lacing to use.  The other plus is you can get wild colors like red, green and yellow, or any color of leather in a purse.  From a medium/large size purse I can make about 10 pouches for 1.50.  Just go to a thrift store and find a bin of purses, one of them has got to be leather, but be careful, leatherette is decieving sometimes and they will throw in say tassles made of real leather and then leatherette for the rest.  The problem with leather coats is that they are often of thin leather.  I also have used the bottoms of knapsacks, and you can get a little leather off of the palm of a workmitt, you can even buy those at the dollar store and get 2 or so pouches out of them if you get a good pair, and if you know a taylor you can buy leather knee and elbow patches.
  And no matter where you are you can always go yardsaling on friday and saturday (especially saturday,) and get purses, jackets, backpacks, boots, belts, etc. that way.  With a couple wide belts you can cut enough strips to braid an entire sling.
 

I feel like I read somewhere that punching holes leads to tearing do u find that to be so? Also do you find that the seams alter the direction of your projectile in any way?

If the holes are too large or the leather is too stiff, it can weaken the leather.

Also, it depends on how the leather is tanned, too.  If you have a soft supple leather, that is fairly thick, it should last for a long time.

You may want to avoid leather that dries hard or treat it with some form of oil to keep it supple.

Thnx I'll stuff that info in my back pocket