Makramee Sling 

I recently made two slings that I've really been enjoying.

First is a 23" hemp sling with a solid pouch. The pouch is a bit messy. The retention loop and edges of the pouch are flat 4 strand braids, and the cords are a square 8 strand braid 1/8" thick. The release cord is finished with a matthew walker knot, with an overhand knot as the release knot.

The other is a 29" sisal sling with a split pouch. It's my first ever split pouch sling. In the past, I was pretty resistant to trying a split pouch but this sling is fantastic. It's made with some cheap bailing twine. I love how this one throws. The retention loop and pouch are 3 strand braids, and the cords are round 6 strand braids 1/4" thick. The release knot is a matthew walker knot. I still need to burn off the rest of the "hairiness".

I'm really happy with how both of them came out, and they are both a great improvement over my old sling -- an 18" (yes, only 18") braided hemp sling with a pouch woven shut. They're both a lot lighter than that one and have a much cleaner release.

I'm really shocked at how well the split pouch one handles ammo of all sizes. I love how well I can feel the rocks I throw with it and how clean the release is.

The braided pouch one is also wonderful. I'm pretty accurate with it using the figure 8. It can't handle super big ammo, but it's fun to use it to throw multiple pieces of small gravel.

the five strand is the top pic in above post. Have sewn on a leather pouch. Not a very good job, but it's on there.  My first apache

The end of the release is bent over to form a loop. The whipping holds it in place. I run about nine or ten thin strands through the loop, reverse twist them four or five times, tie a constrictor to hold them in place and now have a replacable cracker. Takes just a few minutes to replace.

I can also hold the release at the end of the release cord, which places the projectile in the middle of the pouch or hold the loop, whicjhplaces the projectile up against the release end of the pouch, which is what I almost always do because I think that causes the projectile to leave the pouch a fraction of a second sooner.

That and a shorter than normal pouch seem to make enough difference that I can throw with slightly better accuracy. 

Looking forward to seeing your new sling KTO 

Mersa wrote on Aug 17^th, 2017 at 4:14am:


Nice work. Does it stretch much? I've not made any all leather slings yet.

Pictures seem all good 

Looks good Mersa. I bet that skinny split grips  How long is that pouch?

Mersa wrote on Aug 17^th, 2017 at 4:14am:


I really like the look of that design. How many hours would you guess that took?