The sling measures about 26 1/2 inches from end of finger loop to center of split pouch.  He had asked me for the length of my arm so he could make one to my best size, and I had requested one for accuracy rather than a longer one for distance.  I was amazed at how lightweight it was.  It seems to be made of a material more like a white sisal than jute or hemp (I think they call it pita).  It easily stretches out to 28 inches.  One of the most striking aspects is the degree of taper, starting thin and becoming widest at the pouch and then tapering back to surprisingly slender at the release end.  It almost looks too delicate to use, but Luis assures me it is not!  Notice also (a little hard to see in the picture) that the leather protection of the pouch extends up the release cord about 3.5 inches, as this is an area that gets the most wear.

I asked Luis a few questions - first because no matter what I put in it, it seemed to fall out, whether tennis balls, golf balls, or even rocks.  My first thought was that this was perhaps because of the smoothness of the leather or the weight of my ammo, but he explained it this way (my translation first, his words below).

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You can throw tennis balls perfectly well and stones, too.  Lead glandes will be a little more difficult.  It all has to do with how you position the projectiles in the pouch (the central part of the sling).  In any case, in terms of the leather that it has, as the projectiles wear on it a little, it will grip more.  It seems fragile, but it is very tough, so don't worry.  What might happen is that the small stones fall out of the braids.  If it bothers you, you can shorten them, although it is just a question of esthetics.

How do you set the stones or balls?  You have to place them supported above the cords, very slightly opened but enough that they remain stable.

These slings, which are the ones we use, come from the peninsula.  The sling of the islands is thought to be much more simple.  So, with a sling identical to yours, we throw perfectly well tennis balls, rocks, and with care golf balls, but this is infrequent.  Glandes can also be thrown, although it takes a little practice.

In theory, the more slender the sling, the better it works for aiming, since the projectile has less area to rub against.  Obviously, a cord of 1 cm isn't good; it can't miss it.  But if you look, from the pouch to the release end, it gets thinner and thinner, and this is so you just graze it with the projectile and try to make the flight cleaner and more powerful.

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...pelotas de tenis puedes tirar perfectamente, y piedras también, los glandes de plomo te costarán un poco más, todo tiene que ver en como colocas los proyectiles sobre la  bolsa (la parte central de la honda) de todas formas, en cuanto el cuero que tiene puesto se gaste un poco los proyectiles se agarran más. parece frágil pero es muy resistente por eso no te preocupes, lo que puede pasar es que salgan pelitos de el trenzado, si te molestan los puedes cortar, aunque es solo una questión de estetica.
Como colocas las piedras? o pelotas? tienes que colocarlos apoyados encima de las cuerdas, muy poco abiertas, pero lo suficiente para que quede estable.

...estas hondas que son las que usamos, derivadas de la peninsula, la honda de las islas se cree que es mucho más simple, pues con una honda identica a la tuya, tiramos perfectemente pelotas de tenis, piedras, y con cuidado pelotas de golf aunque es poco frecuente, los glandes también se pueden tirar aunque hay que tener un poco de práctica.

...en teoria, cuanto más fina es una honda, mejor funciona para hacer punteria, ya que el proyectil tiene menos superficie de rozadura, evidentemente no sirve una cuerda de 1cm no hay que pasarse, pero si te fijas, de la bolsa hasta la cola de cada vez es más fino, eso es para rozas lo justo con el proyectil y intentar que el vuelo sea más limpio y potente.

No test run - it's my museum piece!  I have gone back and rewoven most of my braided slings using this one as a pattern and tapered them down to a tiny release end with no substantial knot.  I will try those out and see if it makes as much difference as I think it will.

I also have one from Luis on order.  I was very excited to see your pics!  Thanx 4acorrd! He should be shipping mine today or tomorrow.  I keep encouraging Luis to do more instructional stuff.  Maybe one day we'll get lucky and he'll do some tutorial videos.  At first I thought the price was a bit steep, but how often do you have this opportunity? I can't wait to hear about your experience with it.  Keep us posted!

4accord wrote on Apr 9^th, 2009 at 9:16pm:

Thanks 4accord !

45g is already a lot. It is the weight of a light sling bullet.

My theory that only the weight of the release cord really matters seems to be confirmed.
On another thread I mentionned that the same sling with 2 different release cords (8g one and 16g the other) behaved very differently in both cases. The 16g cord was too heavy.

I have made a few of these slings now and $60 is a good price when you total up time spent making it ( Less then $1 for fibers).  I would be working for around $4 an hour.  On my second sling I made the release cord thin and it work well with a light wieght stones or tennis balls, however, I could not hold onto the release cord with heavy stone above 3oz.  I have noticed that the heavy wieght sling is quicker to master or at least the ones I have played with.

Im also interested at one of Luis slings! How can i contact him? Is he talking english?
Thanks.