Matthias
Past Moderator
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Posts: 1418
Gatineau/Ottawa QC, Canada
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Hi Joseph,
That's about 10x more expensive than I remember mine being. They do make leadline in different weights (I have some that weighs 3kg/m!) so that might have been part of the problem.
The pictured sling has ~30m of line in it (the colour on mine changes every 10m and I used three colours + a little). You can work it out from the braid as well - 24 strands tapering to 0 over about 1.5m = 36m / 2 = 18m + the allowance for braiding. The braiding is actually much easier than it looks. I f you can handle a "standard" four-strand round braid, you can figure this one out - just need to keep the strands under control!
I've been trying to come up with something that would be easier to reproduce. The trick with the weight is that it needs to be heavy, and taper smoothly from the grip to the release end. Braiding in the mass works well, but is certainly not the only option. Leather whips are often made with a sewn conical bag that is loaded with lead flour of shot, for instance, and copper wire or similar would probably be ok as well. If you can track down any whip-making resources you'd be ahead of the game.
My sling doesn't seem to be cracking as loudly as it used to, and I don't know enough about whips to diagnose it. I think probably the cracker is getting too "fluffy" and soft (easily remedied), and the braid seems to be softening up a bit as well. I'd like the next one will be heavier and a bit longer.
I think a better approach might be to try to make a tapered solid core (split at the pouch) and then tightly braid a cover using tapered leather strips or synthetic twine. Maybe bind the core with cloth surgical/athletic tape first? I'm not certain - but the more people experimenting the more likely we'll come up with something good!
Matthias
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