Here it is, finally.  The Cobra sling tutorial!  As I said earlier, my hat goes off to all of the other forum members who posted tutorials.  You can't appreciate how much work it is until you do one.  This is the first draft, so please point out any errors or vague areas to me.  
  This is a completely original design.

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One

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  The tag is the retention cord.

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Eight

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Ten

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11

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  If you find that your fangs are on the wrong side of the pouch undo your weaving and start the fang pattern from the other side.

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**At the time this tutorial was made I'd always untie the knot on the retention end of the pouch.  It's optional still, but I don't do it anymore.  I just whip over the knot then glue over top of that. I gave up untying the knot because occasionally the pouch would become disfigured because of it.

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   Whip over the untied knot, whip a finger loop, glue the square knot at the end of the whippings, and you're good to go.  

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Thanks for getting the tutorial up Rat Man. I have a few orders for seatbelt slings to fill tonight but I am on vacation all next week so I will be making at least one Cobra.

Whew!   You'll find them addictive.  Three out of every four slings I make now are Cobras.  They work as well as anything I've used other than a TSSS sling and it's a great look.  As mentioned, cutting the loops at the bottom can be done when making the pj sling also.  That way you never have to worry about your weaving cord being an inch or two short.  Think of the aggravation that could save.  Anyway, it's a relief to finally get the tutorial up.  I hope it doesn't suck.

Doesn't suck at all!  Thanks for taking the time to present this.

Thanks, sash.  
Btw, ilpc that's your sling in the tutorial!  I'll try to get it out with RJB's slings tomorrow.  I'm having car trouble with my Sammy again.. the same intermittent stalling problem... and my wife has the other car at work all day.  But I'll get to the post office somehow.  

Way cool can't wait to add another sling to my collection!  Thanks ;D

Good stuff!  Thanks a lot.

Hey Rat Man,

You really came through on this. Great tutorial, man.

Ahhh, penny drops now I see why it's called the cobra :-)

nice tutorial - If I ever work out how to post new ones to the home page I'll do it lol
don't hold your breath ;-)

Great tutorial! I gotta make one of these now. Or a few of them. Or a lot...  :)

nice tutorial, but in step ten i think, you said to tie it and then start the new weave. how do you tie it without actually making a lump?


the rest is pretty nice, if i had any cord i would make one and experiment around step ten to find out....

Thanks, guys.  You'll find the Cobra is a very functional sling.  The heavy pouch allows you to shoot a wide variety of projectile weights and the thin cords make it rather fast.  Below is a Rockman/Rat Man Cobra.  Due to my limited weaving skills I had to whip the two extra cords needed to make this Rockman a Cobra into the pouch.  Then I had to adjust the weaving pattern for eight instead of seven strands.  The whole time I was making it I was sure that it would be a disaster.  I think it came out as one of the best slings I've made so far.  I'll have to make an addition to the tutorial for Rockman/Rat Man Cobras.

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A closer look

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That's a pretty piece of music, Rat Man!  :) And a very good tutorial.

Great tutorial, Rat Man!

Thanks for putting in all the effort to share it.

-Timothy Potter

Rat Man wrote on Nov 6^th, 2009 at 4:36pm:

Ten

Hi Rat Man,

I've been working on a cobra. Unfortunately I only have inferior materials at the moment but that will change and I'll post my results when I have a satisfactory item to show. I likely will have other questions later on but for the moment:

1) With regards to the weaving. Once the weaving is done, one end of the weave gets whipped at the throw (narrow) end of the sling, that's clear. But what happens to the other end? The end you begin with (big round end)? Do we whip that into the mix up there as well? If so how?

2) When I'm finished I'll do as you suggest and untie the knot at the top and whip it all together. But why undo that knot? Why not just keep the sling knotted? Too unsightly? Not good for the aerodynamics? Other?

Hope my questions are clear. Thanks, RM

Dataryder in Toronto

Thanks again, guys;
  To answer Dataryder's questions;
1)  At the top or retention end of the pouch just line up the left over weaving cord parallel with the retention cord and whip over them.  Maybe somewhere down the road we'll figure out something more creative to do with it but for now that's it.  
2)  If you whip over the retention knot it tends to loosen up.  I think the sling is stronger down the road if you just get rid of the knot.  This isn't a big deal.  If you left the knot intact it might not be a problem.  Untying it isn't difficult at all though.  
   The Cobra can be made with a lot of different materials.  So far I've made them with jute, cotton, paracord, and acrylic yarn, all woven into a cotton "frame" and I've done jute woven into a jute frame with the Rockman/Rat Man Cobra.  I don't care much for sisal, but maybe that's just because I've only had very poor quality sisal.  Maybe.  I hope to have some hemp to try soon.  I haven't used that at all yet.  I also want to experiment with mason's string.  

I have a suggestion for another kind of Rockman/Cobra hybrid. Weave it like a Peruvian pouch until it would normally split down the middle, and instead split it vertically and weave it as before. Cross the two strands like a normal rockman to finish the pouch. I'dmake it, but I don't have a workspace right now.

Rat Man wrote on Nov 7^th, 2009 at 7:04pm:

[...] 1)  At the top or retention end of the pouch just line up the left over weaving cord parallel with the retention cord and whip over them.  [...] 2)  If you whip over the retention knot it tends to loosen up.  I think the sling is stronger down the road if you just get rid of the knot.  [...]

Thanks for your answer. Very clear. Excellent tutorial.

I just know.... gonna love the RM Cobra.

- D

Personaly I love all the SHAMELESS dog photos that happen to have slings in the foreground!!!!

Dog?  There were dogs in my photos?  Now, how did that happen?  

Rat Man wrote on Nov 8^th, 2009 at 8:52am:

Dog?  There were dogs in my photos?  Now, how did that happen?

Hmmm imagine that, dogs in Rat Mans pictures....... ;D

Hey, congrats on you tutorial being finished. Now, send it to guides and articles and your legacy will be complete.

I owe you a Cobra sling, I´ll make one when I can.

Nice and comprehensive tutorial, Rat Man.  I have not yet made a cobra sling, but I have actually practiced weaving the cobra pouch with some pieces of cord, to be prepared.
timann

Hi, kid;
  God, it's good to be back.  In step ten the tying I was talking about was just tying the strands together with the release cord temporarily to make the weaving easier.  You can do this any time you like actually.  I find that it can depend on what material you're using.. if your frame is made of paracord you'll probably want to tie it all together temporarily after just one or two rows of weaving because everything is so slippery.  With cotton you can tie it together when suggested in step ten or when ever you like.  It's a matter of what's easiest for you.   Again, to be clear, the tying is temporary so there's no knot lump to worry about.  I'll ammend the picture in case anyone else is confused by this.  
Thanks.

ah ok, i thought you tied on a new strand to weave the fangs- but i knew it couldn't be right

In putting this tutorial together I realize that there are other ways to make this particular sling.  Each time I make one I find a way to make it slightly easier or better than the last.  I'm sure that when others, many much more skilled than I,  start making Cobras there will be lots of other and better methods and procedures added.  This is just how it came to me... we all know that there are many much better sling makers here that will surely improve on it.  Just the same I'm very glad to add something to the site that members seem to like.  

Masiakasaurus wrote on Nov 7^th, 2009 at 7:34pm:

I have a suggestion for another kind of Rockman/Cobra hybrid. Weave it like a Peruvian pouch until it would normally split down the middle, and instead split it vertically and weave it as before. Cross the two strands like a normal rockman to finish the pouch. I'dmake it, but I don't have a workspace right now.

It's undoubtedly me, Masiaka, but I have a hard time visualizing this.  Could you please make a few diagrams?  If I could picture it better maybe I could do it.

I'm not sure I can draw it, so I'll just make one. I'm going to have a week off for thanksgiving and I've already promised two people to make them slings, so I'll turn it into an all day project. The way I see the cobra rockman it has the skiiny "neck" of the snake with or without the fangs, but instead of the "cobra hood" on your sling I'm going to weave it exactly like a short and stubby rockman pouch. Is that more clear? I'll post pics when I make it.

Yes, I think I have it, but as they say, one picture....

... one thousand words.

Masiakasaurus wrote on Nov 20^th, 2009 at 10:53pm:

... one thousand words.

...known as a book ;D

  Since making this tutorial I've found that a couple of the steps were superfluous. Where I wind the extra whipping cord around and around to make the tail in step 17... I skip that now and just use West Country Whipping there. It makes the tail more easily, it looks just as good, and I believe that it's stronger.  I also skip step 19 where you untie the knot on the retention end of the pouch.  If done incorrectly it'll misshape the pouch, which is quite distressing after all that work.  Instead I just whip over it then cover the part of the knot left protruding with glue from a hot glue gun.  
  If you'd rather continue doing these steps fine.  I've made many nice Cobras that way.  I just think it's easier and the sling is a bit stronger if you use the alternate methods suggested here.

Great tutorial.  And...have you tranqulised that dog?!  ;D

Thanks, Sargon.  The dog, Kali, is quite crazy.  The only way to live with her is to walk the devil out of her.  She sleeps hard between her long, vigorous walks.

so is this a simple version of a sling where u just aim and shoot instead of timing the release? :D

oud25 wrote on Feb 15^th, 2011 at 5:46pm:

so is this a simple version of a sling where u just aim and shoot instead of timing the release? :D

Timing the release is the nature of the beast when it comes to slinging. I'm afraid that there is no sling out there that is just aim and shoot. That's why we all love slinging; it's a challenge!

but is this one like a sling version of a lacrosse stick?
since it has no other band or strap on the other side?
so is it a kind of throw and flick to release? :-?

oud25 wrote on Feb 16^th, 2011 at 1:46am:

but is this one like a sling version of a lacrosse stick? since it has no other band or strap on the other side? so is it a kind of throw and flick to release? :-?

It actually does have cords on both sides. This picture shows a finished Cobra Sling.
http://slinging.org/forum/yabbfiles/Attachments/RkMnCbrOdnSm_001.JPG

I'm going to have to add a small mini-tutorial to the end of this.  The way I make Cobras now, they look a lot better in that there's no knot on either end of the pouch when completed.  Instead of tying the overhand knot to secure each end of the "frame" as part of the pouch I use an extra piece of cord on each end.  Then, PRIOR TO WEAVING I whip the retention end of the pouch.  Once I begin the whipping and have a few knots tied I untie the extra piece of cord.  It is no longer used.  After weaving I do untie the extra piece of cord at the release end then do the whipping there. This may be hard to visualize for some, so I'll post a few pictures shortly.  It makes for a MUCH nicer looking sling.  

ill try this one when i get more experience
haha
im having trouble with basic ones
thanks for the help guys :)

Late to the party as always but I thought I'd make this cobra sling because of the comfy looking pouch. I made this using one long piece of paracord. Using regular woven and leather pouches Id always find my ammo windmilling off 90 degrees to my right, this pouch design hugs the stone more and gives me a much more consistent release. Thanks for my new EDC Ratman!

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   Nice job. I'm honored you chose one of my designs.