I’ve made three slings now from a ball of jute twine. It’s inexpensive and they’re easy to make, but if I wanted to preserve the jute fibers better and prevent fraying, can anyone recommend a good wax or maybe something like a polyurethane that remains somewhat flexible after it dries?

I’ve tried using paraffin from an old candle, but I’m not sure if it actually helps anything.

Bees wax

I've found beeswax stays quite sticky for a fair while and can leave a residue on your hand. What I've found to be better is this stuff:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CHELSEA-LEATHER-FOOD-210ml-for-Chainsaw-Boots-Handbags-etc-Chelsea-Dubbin/370545739288?epid=1812654241&hash=item56463f4618:m:mfeBbeb9Azd21Cc2pV6ZwaQ

Meant for leather but works great with jute. Helps with flexibility too to some extent. You only need a very small amount but really keeps all the stray fibers together.

Beeswax cut with just a bit of petroleum jelly or Olive oil.straight beeswax I would take a blow dryer and heat the cord till it liquified and melts all the way to the core and then put another light coat on top. Whatever works best for you is good, but I haven't had much luck with paraffin. I dont wax the part I hold because it makes it a bit sticky and throws my release off a bit. (At least I choose to believe that's why I miss!)  :)

I personally use fabric glue.

Morphy wrote on May 2^nd, 2018 at 2:13pm:

Beeswax cut with just a bit of petroleum jelly or Olive oil.straight beeswax I would take a blow dryer and heat the cord till it liquified and melts all the way to the core and then put another light coat on top. Whatever works best for you is good, but I haven't had much luck with paraffin. I dont wax the part I hold because it makes it a bit sticky and throws my release off a bit. (At least I choose to believe that's why I miss!)

That's why I like the dubbins. No need to mix it or heat or anything.

I wonder if Mink Oil would work. It's also for leather like Chelsea Leather Food. Though Jute slings don't last as long as slings made from synthetics I prefer the look and feel of them to anything else. Plus as NOC mentioned, Jute is cheap and easy to work with. I think I'm going to try Mink Oil on one to see if it helps make it last longer.

Kick wrote on May 2^nd, 2018 at 3:30pm:

Morphy wrote on May 2nd, 2018 at 2:13pm: Beeswax cut with just a bit of petroleum jelly or Olive oil.straight beeswax I would take a blow dryer and heat the cord till it liquified and melts all the way to the core and then put another light coat on top. Whatever works best for you is good, but I haven't had much luck with paraffin. I dont wax the part I hold because it makes it a bit sticky and throws my release off a bit. (At least I choose to believe that's why I miss!)  That's why I like the dubbins. No need to mix it or heat or anything.

I might have to try some. I'm working with yarn alot right now and it's not the strongest material. I bet a good wax coating would help it just as much as hemp or jute.

Thanks for all the ideas!  I will definitely try a few and report back.

One thing I noticed in the last several days of throwing tennis balls with jute is that (compared to leather) the release is much more sensitive to how hard you throw. Hard throws stick in the pouch a fraction of a second longer and the aim is off. This is true for leather too, but the variation seems greater with jute. That’s definitely something I want to test on a trebuchet eventually  too.

Doesn't Jeagor use Bowstring Wax?

Also, what's the life-extension like from conditioning or treating slings? Has anyone really done any experimentation?

If not, we should start some statistical collection sticky threads. We could do some real interesting things with real quantified data.

Speaking of shooting statistics... I just threw these together for record keeping by individuals.

The first is "The Individual Score Book For The Sling." Print it out double-sided, and it should work once it's cut, folded, and stapled or stitched into a chapbook type thing. I might have to do some refinements once I get one or two prototypes printed. Please send any edits or improvements, and I'll make them! I am far from a typesetter, though I wish I was.

The second is a chart for total throws for each sling. Once those throws are recorded, if you're keeping track of the sling itself (Style, Length, Material, treatments, and so on) then we could get a decent idea of how treatments effect them, and the average life of a sling.

Is this perhaps the start of "Funda-metrics", a new field of mostly-useless maths? I'm pretty sure I can get a few math-competent classical historians really hooked on Slinging with this type of thing.

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Ich verwende zwei Arten Wachs. Schuhwachs der Firma Meindl. Und Wachs für die Bogensehne. Dieses verwende ich für denn Brief.
Ich schieße seit 5 Jahren die selbe Schleuder.  Im Monat komme ich etwa auf 1000 bis 1500 Schuß.  Ich mag am liebsten Hanf für meine Slings. Jute ist mir zu faserig.

That’s a great idea woodsj!  I will give your data collection sheets a try.

Thank you.

I've made more here http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1525833254 , including a google form to submit data for a general aggregate from everyone into a single database. I've made it not collect anything you don't enter manually, and you can see the other results once people start submitting.

There's also a corrected and improved score book on that thread.

Further, with Jeagoor's numbers, we're looking at about 60,000 to 90,000 throws with a treated sling. That's a pretty good service life, actually. 5-10 rifle barrels, off the maximum service life standards of around the first world war.

I agree, great idea. FWIW, with concrete ammo I was getting about 10,000-12,000 shots per leather pouch before it had to be replaced. The ammo was fairly abrasive due to the sandpaper like texture, especially on newly made ammo. This was on paracord and leather Apache slings. Negligible wear on the cord itself.

Thanks for the accuracy chart. Looking forward to using that.

OK, Mk III on the Individual Score Book. I had the covers reversed.

Farsi studies strikes again?

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I have a bunch of jute slings now. I also happen to have beeswax. Will try it out on one and see if it helps.

One thing I'll throw out there for paracord slings (seeing as they're paracord and the "natural" feel has already been lost) is superglue on the release cord near the pouch. As the stone rolls out it can wear down that area. I was worried my first sling was going to fray and break but a dab of superglue and 6 years later it's still going strong. The superglue will get worn but that's what it's there for.

Today, I rubbed a bunch of beeswax on my jute slings and melted it into the fibers with a heat gun.  Threw about 100 shots with one of the slings.  First impressions are good.  It kind of stiffens up the sling but it wasn't bad at all.  We will see how long the slings last, I guess.  I should have left one of my slings un-treated and done a control test for durability...

I guess I'm addicted to coating everything I can in beeswax lol.  You buy a one-pound block and then you find tons of uses for it.