People wonder what davids sling was made of, daivid was a sheapherd wasent he? I would think that his sling was made of wool. and if it had a solid pouch is would probobly sheap skin.

yeah I'd go for wool and leather too - although many of the more traditional slings are made from cord woven from grasses and wool and leather would have both been valuable commoditys. So it's possibly more likely that david would have made his slings from local grasses.

Was there any detail? How long, how thick, material?
 

Considering that the Bible was originaly a huge collection of story books put together to teach moral lessons, I dont think the description would have been all that important. Just what he did with it. After all, how do you slay your "giants"?

He was a sheperd after all. that would make sense.
Is there anybody from the same area here on the forum?
maybe you could ask them what  materials are common in the wild?
Maybe some plant is very common and useful?

One possibility,
I have leaned towards somesort of plant fiber.
I base this off of that wool is an economic commodity you want to sell as much of it as possible.
There is Plenty of time in a shepards day to harvest the plant seperate the fibers and braid it into a sling.
 
Marc Adkins
 
Quote from slingbadger on Aug 29^th, 2007, 10:34am:

just to illustrate the cheap wool theory....

A 1x1 pixel image?

>>Maybe some plant is very common and useful
Linen.  Made from flax stalks.  Practically all clothing in the East Mediterranean not made from wool would have been made from linen.  It's very strong, and would have been available just about anywhere there were people and spinners.  It's likewise mentioned in OT Bible texts.

Quote from curious_aardvark on Nov 26^th, 2007, 8:32am:

 
  Well considering they had a variety of plants to make rope with, it could be made from date palms, papyrus and other high fibre plants.

The most likely leather source, sheep, really is not all that strong, when compared with other leather or fibers. Goat hide is a possiblity. I imagine trial and error plays a big part in this.

I have no way of proving if this actually happened or not......
 
A friend of mine when stationed in North Africa in the late 70's early 80's told me of a time when one of the locals made a sling out of palmleaves and went hunting with it......
 
now in my files at home, I have something that states palm leaves are used to make slings in that area.
 
Marc Adkins
 
Quote from macka on Nov 26^th, 2007, 9:29pm:

The pictures I've seen show them as woven, looking similar to the old Egyptian Lahun sling.

I think it might be a bit much to say that slings made in the middle east today would be made out of the same things they were in David's day. I would suspect that those who use slings there would make them out of the same materials any of us would. After all, if slinging is a tradition that they've continued for thousands of years for practical purposes wouldn't it make sense that they'd have constantly been improving on materials and methods of making slings? And if the tradition hasn't been kept up, then modern slingers in the area would be equally at a loss as to how the ancient sling used by David would likely have been made. I think the idea of wool, some sort of leather, or a type of plant fiber are all possible and probable materials, but I don't think we'll ever be able to pin down exactly which one it would be. I am inclined to believe, however, that it would probably be made of the most inexpensive materials available. Even though slings were very important to shepherds, David was the youngest of 8, so valuable resources probably wouldn't be spared for a sling when someone could make one from free plant fiber for the cost of time and effort. Not to mention, David reports to Saul that he had chased down and killed both bears and lions by catching them by the jaw and striking them down to save a single sheep. Anyone who is going to go to that length to recover an individual sheep is likely to be very frugal, and wouldn't mind spending the extra time to make a sling from fiber rather than spend the extra money to make one out of leather or wool a little more quickly.

I disagree... there are knives traditional to all of our countries, but most people (unless perhaps some that live tribally) now make their knives out of modern materials. The most important tools and weapons will always be updated if newer and better materials become available.  
 
At any rate, back to the question of what David's sling was made from, according to this website (You have to scroll down almost all the way to the bottom) the sling would have been made from what looks like plant fibers, some of them dyed, though I know not what athority they use to substantiate their claim.  
 
http://www.forallbelievers.org/ISRAEL2006_1.html

Last year I worked with a man originally from Mexico. He told about the days when he was aboy and helped herd cattle using slings. To this day they make and use slings like their ancestors. Made from cactus fibers dried and braided. He says thats what works best for them. As far as he knows thats just what they have always used.

Quote:

 
I presume these nomadic peoples never ate meat.   They would consume animals and use their skins and wool etc for shoes, clothes and maybe the odd sling or two. Mostly animals were kept as a resource for the people and not as a money making item since there was no use for that. Grain, oil etc that was needed was purchased with animals or the parts of them. etc.

Quote from axon50 on Mar 6^th, 2008, 10:56pm:

Well, it matters because it is of interest to some of us!
 
I would agree that there is likely nothing 'special' about it's design or manufacture - why should there be? It's more a matter of understanding how and from what such items were made. My guess would be linen (flax) but I have no particularly strong argument for that.

wow, that is an amazing sling, who made it?

Well, it looks like a split pouch sling (instructions for that certainly about here somewhere) to which a piece of leather has been sewn. Nicely done - but isn't that enough?

C_A Claimed he found it in the picture thread over in the main discussion board
 
Marc Adkins
 
Quote from JTK on Mar 8^th, 2008, 2:04pm:

What do you mean we don't have to bring up superglue, isn't the invention of superglue credited to Moses during the 40 years of wandering in the desert?

haha, but apparently he didn't invent it until after he threw down the ten commandments in anger, otherwise he wouldn't have had to make that miserable trek back up the hill.

Quote from Loki on Aug 27^th, 2007, 3:22am:

With a shoelace.

I remember seeing this thread, but I couldn't remember the title for it. while doing some research into folk stick foghting I came across the following information that may or may not shed light on what materials were used.
 
Both of these manuscripts are 19th century documents that I found on Google books. here are the notes I created so you slingers won't have to go through the entire book
 
Marc Adkins
 
The Holy Land and Syria Notes
By Frank Carpenter
 
Pg 248 (pdf)Pg. 161(mans)-Sling Materials
 
The sheperds are about the same all over Palestine, kindly eyed men wiht fair faces bronzed by the sun. They stay out all day  on the hills with the sheep, driving them into the villages at night. Each Shepard has his staff and his scrip, a little bag of dried skin. He uses a sling as David did to send a pebble just in front of any straying sheep so as to turn it back. The strings of the sling are made of goat hair, and the pad for the stone is of the same material, often made with a slit in the middle so that when a pebble is put into the sling fits cloase like a bag. Such slings are now used in fights between the boys of the villages, who practice to see who can throw stones the farthest.
 
 
The Shepard Song Notes
by Rev. Faddoul Moghabghab
 
Pg.47 (pdf) Pg 31(mans)
 
The shepherds sling is always at work hurling stones to frighten the enemies away, and his voiceis ever herd in the slient dark hours.
 
Pg. 54(pdf) Pg 38 (mans)
 
I prefer to frighten away the wolves by my sling and my voice, to which my flock are strongly attached.
 
 Pg. 66 (pdf) Pg 46 (mans)
 
Shepherds always carry a sling with them, which they make from the wool of the sheep. They practice a great deal with these slings, so that after a few yearsthey become expert at using them. Davids's sling was of more service to him than any other weapon. He certainly must have been an expert, for he killed Goliath, the phillistine, with the first stone. The tribesman of Benjamin, most of whom were shepherds, were noted for thier accurate use of the sling. " every one could sling stones at an hair bredth and not miss ( Judges xx 16)
 
Pg 112 (pdf) Pg. 80 (mans)
 
With the steel spike in the heels of his boots he crushes the head of the snake which coils itself on the road, and with his sling he frightens away the wolves that lurk behind the rocks.
 
 

Why would a herder use vegetable fibers to make a sling, when he's got access to all sorts of hair/leather.  Here's a description of  a shepherd's sling from 9th century Turkic peoples:
 
"The leather of the shepherd's sling was made of the skin of a three-year-old calf. The strings of his sling were made of the hair of three goats, and its ring was made of the hair of one goat." - The Book of Dede Korkut
 
Granted this is from the 9th centurry AD, not sometime BC; but thngs change s-l-o-w-l-y in that part of the world.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it...

I've been around herder cultures in several places around the world.  There are always "scraps" and bits and pieces of this and that available for small projects like slings.  Wool/hair that gets caught in brambles, or doesn't come up to grandma's high standards.  Born dead kids/lambs or 'death by misadventure' adults which are never buried or left for predators, but skinned, fleeced, butchered and otherwise used to the max.  That sort of thing.
 
The interesting thing about the Turkic description is that the pouch, strings and the loop or "ring" are described as separate things.  The ring or retainer loop is not just a loop tied or braided into  the end of one cord.   Obviously the 'one goat, two goats' worth of hair to make the sling references is heroic bragging as in all mythology.  Mythic heroes need to be larger than life, of course.

The Holy Land and Syria Notes
By Frank Carpenter (1922)
 
Pg 248 (pdf)Pg. 161(mans)-Sling Materials
 
The sheperds are about the same all over Palestine, kindly eyed men wiht fair faces bronzed by the sun. They stay out all day  on the hills with the sheep, driving them into the villages at night. Each Shepard has his staff and his scrip, a little bag of dried skin. He uses a sling as David did to send a pebble just in front of any straying sheep so as to turn it back. The strings of the sling are made of goat hair, and the pad for the stone is of the same material, often made with a slit in the middle so that when a pebble is put into the sling fits cloase like a bag. Such slings are now used in fights between the boys of the villages, who practice to see who can throw stones the farthest.

Here is the pic and I mispoke it dates from the 10th century
 
Marc Adkins

Certainly could be two colors of goat hair, even Occam's Razor could cut that
 
Interesting the the pouch of the pictured sling is a doughnut of cloth or leather suspended from doubled strings...

Dr. Q.
 
There are only a handful of slings which have survived 3000-4000 years, and none that I know of from the region known today as Israel.  There are, however examples of Egyptian slings which would have been contemporary with the period of the Biblical tale of David.  Technology changed very slow in that part of the world 3000 years ago, and still changes only when necessary.  You should read the entire discussion here under Project Goliath called Egyptian Sling:
 
http://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1140984986

Here is one of the Pouches

Actually you are quoting several Greek Authors who were discussing the Balearic Slingers. Now if you have a reference to a similar quote that is describing the Isrealites then by all means share it. Would love to know who the author was and what manuscript it was in.
 
Again the material and design of the slingis open to very broad interpatation.
 
Marc Adkins
 
[quote author=Dr.Q link=1188133751/45#59 date=1227101603]all the materials mention here seem plausible.
The ancient Israely way for  
the slingers to carry 3 (one around the head one  
around the ankle and the one used to start the  
stoning, makes me believe this could be the material.
never the less Im not very certain.

I think Jimb has a good argument, good slings would be a good way to show off the great quality of your wool
timann

IMHO the Greek slings could just as easily of been made from linen strips like the ones found in old Tuts tomb but I do think that a shepherd would more probably use wool for the reasons already mentioned. I intend to use sheeps wool for my Greek re-enactment sling.
Of course Winkleried is correct when he says we will probably never know for certain.  
 
Ancient writers have a habit of missing out simple details in descriptions of artifacts because at the time of writing everyone would have known what they meant anyway. For example if I wrote "John rides a horse in the field." You would all know what I meant, but if in 2000 years time most current records had been lost and horses were extinct someone reading this would be able to prove that horses existed but not what they looked like.

Quote from winkleried on Jan 23^rd, 2009, 8:26am:

 
True, but he was a shepherd. I believe he would have probably made his own sling using the cheapest, easiest and most plentiful fibre available to him.  
 
My vote is that would be wool.

Nice, David. That means nothing is certain yet.  And this dicussion can merrily continue
timann

in one discovery channel thing on whether David could have killed Goliath or not, the scientists concluded that he probably had used a hemp full pouch sling.

As we had two threads on David's sling next to each other I tried using my moderator superpowers to splice them. Nothing is deleted but the order may be a bit weird.

Quote from xxkid123 on May 12^th, 2009, 8:08pm:

On the other hand, this is about whether David could have killed Goliath or not. Which basically asks the question "can a stone from a sling that hits somebody in the forehead from point blank range kill them?". This doesn't exactly require a lot of research.

Quote from winkleried on Sep 1^st, 2007, 12:41am:

hahahaha there isn't a terrible amount of time for anything much other than keeping your sheep out of the trouble that is in the area. Ever tended afew hundred sheep in an open pasture with lions and bears around? Wool is a comidity however so is a life animal and it doesn't take a very measuresble amount to make a sling. Due to Torah regulations he would not mix fibers of plants and animals. It would be either or.

No not sheep, But I have done it with Cattle in my youth. But we are talking apples and oranges here. Thanks for point that out
 
Marc Adkins
 
Quote from Shimshon Hagibor on Oct 26^th, 2009, 1:35pm:

People who assume that because David was a sheepherder, or played a harp, that these drove his choice of materials.  I doubt this very much.  What is clear are the following:  as a herder, he'd have covered a lot of ground, and had a lot of free time on his hands.  Also, he was from a community and had access to all the materials anyone there had.  To think a herder would use an inferior material for one of his most important tools is quite a stretch.  But to think he'd have to money to get something from traders from afar (like maybe silk or chamois sinew) would also be a stretch.  While we can't tell, I'd prefer to see what traditional herders are using now or in recent memory.  We know the Andean ones used wool, but are they more decorative than functional?  Better to look at peoples inhabiting areas where there are predators that can take this type of livestock.  Sorry that I'm not one who's done that sort of travel or research.
hays_r, aka Bob in NZ

My Bolivian and Tibetan herders slings are both made of wool (Alpaca and Yak) and are excellent slings. Homer refers to slings of well-twisted wool in the Illiad.