Hello fellow slingers can you explain to me the process or your experience about this subject

Woah. Can you braid? Can you braid from fibers?
Can you make cord?

1. go find some nettles, or dogbane, or yucca(ask neighbors for yucca leaves).
2. process enough to make a sling(more than you think)- it varies plant to plant
3. Then decided if you want to do it agian.



Now with that over.
1. Many forms of cordage can be found growing wild- nettle, dogbain, some sorts of grass, inner bark of ceder trees, New Zealand flax, and yucca... there are many more, but those are the ones I have seen. If you want to grow the fiber, try nettle, yucca, or Flax. Or if you really want to be adventurous, try hemp :D(don't, its illegal)
2. I will not explain the cultivation of above plants except for yucca. Yucca- plant it and pick the leaves.

3. for yucca- get it wet. gently pound it with a. a wooden mallet with a smooth end. B. put a leather piece over it and pound with normal hammer.  Then GENTLY scrape over it with a stone or dull knife to clean off the rest of the gunk.
   
4. Braid a sling of your choice out of it.

If you want to make one without growing fiber-
go find some SISAL bailing twine(it is by far the easiest to pull fibers from... plus it is literally dirt cheap and has nice, long fibers) and soak it to soften the glue that bonds the twine together, then pull the fibers out(this takes practice, but when you get good you get these perfect 3 foot fibers the diam of a thread). Or just buy raffia fiber(1# is about $3 at my local craft store) and use it as you would any fiber.

Soak either one in water, then braid while wet.
TIGHTLY braid or it falls apart with use.
really, I find it easier to just use twine, and it looks better too for me.

thank you i'll try flax for more refined sling but i'll still try yucca leaves. Thanks

I'm currently working quite a lot with flax and plan to release some articles and/or videos with my experiences. They will focus on extracting and refining of the fiber and seeds with primitive or improvised tools. Maybe even a bit on planting/harvest. But this can take a few months until I have enough material and also time to write it down.
There is quite a lot of information on the web of the "traditional" way to extract the fibers. Or you just can plant some fiberplant and learn the skills you need "on the way". You will do the mistakes only one time and most mistakes don't destroy the fibers but just reduce the quality of them.

If you want to start working with fibers, first get good experience with braiding normal strings. Then decrease the thickness of your strings and learn how to add and remove strings while braiding. Then start with thick and coarse fibers (e.g. raffia) and work your way towards finer fibers (flax, hemp, nettles, refined and split raffia, ...). This way you will learn steadily and systematically how to solve the different problems you will encounter while making a sling with fibers. If you start directly with the fine fibers you will run into all problems at once. It's possible to master it, but maybe also very frustrating.

I disagree with two of squirrelslinger's statements:
- Growing hemp is not necessarily illegal. There are many different sorts of hemp and also so-called fiber-hemp with low THC content. Where I live it is allowed to grow fiber hemp. It involves a bit of paperwork and a control of the THC content before the harvest but it is allowed. In a few years, when I loose the interest in flax, I plan to take this way. If you want to get some informations contact the agricultural administration of your government. Getting the right seeds is another problem...
- I do not recommend to soak raffia fibers in water when making braids. They will swell and when they dry they will decrease their size again. So your nice and tight braid will become loose again. I only soak raffia fibers if I want to make seewings and knotworks with them. A wet raffia fiber is a bit less prone to rip as a dry one.

thank you i'm looking fordward to your videos and thank you for the knowlege you know what they say knowlege is power

I use dog fur... Go to your local pet grooming place and ask if you can take some fur off their hands :)

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Teg, here in KY it is a fine line....
very fine. 
I find raffia to braid better wet.
Sisal certainly braids better damp than dry.
Where do you get your raffia? do you split it?

@Kava: Very good idea! Thank you for the tip!


squirrelslinger wrote on Nov 8^th, 2013 at 4:30pm:

Teg, here in KY it is a fine line.... very fine.  I find raffia to braid better wet.

I don't fully understand your statement. What do you mean with "to braid better wet"?
Do you mean that it is easier to handle raffia when it is wet or that you achieve the better results? What gets better or what is different if you compare raffia worked wet with raffia worked dry?

To answer both statements: I find it easier to braid with dry (or slightly damp) raffia than with soaking wet raffia. The strands run more fluid through my hands which gives me better control of the tension. It requires a bit stronger fingers but that's a question of training. Further the fibers don't stick together and you can directly feel the properties of the braid you make as you don't have to wait until it is dry.
I usually work completely dry as I don't want to carry water around. Biggest minus of working dry: The fibers rip faster, but hey, you are working with bunches of fibers! Add some more ;).
I achieve better results with raffia when I braid it dry as the braids get denser.


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Sisal certainly braids better damp than dry.

I can not comment on sisal as I never worked with it.


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Where do you get your raffia?

From a local do-it-yourself shop. Description: Manual crafts bast, raffia, uncoloured.
Supplier: Knorr-Prandell (http://www.kp-creative.de/handarbeitsbast/handarbeitsbast~8536600)


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do you split it?

It depends what I want to do with it, but usually yes. This way I can balance the amount of material on both sides of the braid better. You have received a sling made out of raffia from me as your SITH sling so have a look at it  ;).

How I prepare raffia:
Unwrap the bundle and arrange the raffia strands in a convenient way. Take one strand and run it three or four times through your thumb and forefinger. This will in the same step remove all the damaged or short parts, soften and straighten the strand and split the strand into thinner fibers.
Start working and have fun ;). The longer you work with the fibers, the thinner they will get.

Alternative way to soften the fibers if you don't want to split them: Soak them in water, then hang them up and let them dry for a day.

@slinging_wolf: Sorry for getting off-topic.

well... Big differences here.
Raffia- 5# bag, enough fiber to make probably hundreds of slings, is fairly cheap.
problem, is if you don't braid it wet, it lasts maybe half as long(as in, I find that a wet braided sling tends to be denser(when dried)than a dry braided sling simply because the fibers are sooo much more pliable...
the sisal I have also is very stiff and somewhat brittle. so I soak it in water, rendering it flexible and much easier to braid, splice, whatever.

You know Sport (SSlinger). There are few in this forum as good as teg when it comes to weaving raffia. You on the other hand do more talking than showing. It's just like math class. You have to show your work.

Dear Squirrelslinger

I tried to reproduce (again) the effects you mentioned when you braid raffia fibers wet. I was not able to reproduce them. I'm sorry to say so, but if I braid raffia fibers wet (normal braids with around 5 mm width), the dried braids have a stretch like a bungee jumping rope. And if you call such braids dense, we may be speaking different languages ;). I braided with the maximal tension I can reach, so that the water was literally pressed out of the fibers. If I would do this with dry fibers I would end up with a braid as stiff as a thick metal cable.

If you want "more pliable" fibers to braid, have you tried the way I described above? Either running through your hands or soaking and then drying.

Why does the sling last half as long when you braid it dry? What does break first? Due to abrasion, unraveling, ...?
What kind of braid are you making? 3 strands, 5 strands or more, thickness, width ...? How does the sling I sent you perform compared to your slings? Please give me more detailed information. You can also post a picture of your braids, so that I can see what you are doing. You can also write me by PM if you don't want to answer in public.

I don't want to show that you are wrong. I really want to understand what you are doing and why you get to your conclusions. If I work with a certain material I want to understand it completely. And as you get other effects than I do, I want to know why.

I respectfully disagree with you. What braid are you using...
and are there different varieties of raffia? if so, what species?
how long are you soaking them, and with what temp water?

I usually use a 5 strand braid... extremely high tension. So high that I frequently break the fibers if I try to braid them dry.

Kava, is dog fur strong enough? I have friends who do their own weaving right off the sheep, so I suppose I could learn how to process wool for slings if I didn't  waste all my time at the science museum and nature preserve ::)

squirrelslinger wrote on Nov 22^nd, 2013 at 10:39pm:

I respectfully disagree with you. What braid are you using...

Flat braids, around 9 to 11 strands.


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and are there different varieties of raffia? if so, what species?

I have no idea  ;D I buy it, I don't plant it.  ;) Ask me about flax. There I would know it  :).


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how long are you soaking them, and with what temp water?

The minimum time I tried was maybe around 2 to 5 min. I have not taken the time. Longer times produce the same effect but more pronounced. Water temperature was maybe around 10 to 15 C.


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I usually use a 5 strand braid... extremely high tension. So high that I frequently break the fibers if I try to braid them dry.

Try to grip the fibers shorter, e.g. only pull the part that you are working with. Pull with a turning motion around the standing parts you are not manipulating at the moment. Increase the pull steadily and not instantly (don't yank). Pull in a straight line e.g. pinch the fibers between your fingers and don't wrap them around your fingers. Increase the amount of material per strand. Look that all fibers have the same length when you pull. You can do this by "sliding" with your pinched fingers for one or two milimeters while increasing tension.  Remove damaged fibers before braiding, e.g. by running the strands through your hands. All this helps to minimize breakage.
I know, dry fibers are prone to breaking, but you are braiding with bunches of fibers and not single fibers per strand. Calculate for breakage and frequently add fibers. You can also split the fibers so that a single ripped fiber does not matter that much. And now I have told you nearly all of my secrets regarding working with raffia ;).

Possible explanations for the different achieved results:

- Braid diameter: You are maybe making much thinner braids as I do. I would guess you have diameters around 2 to 4 mm. My braids are usually broader than 5 mm. Less material makes the swelling effect less pronounced.
- Braiding technique: You manipulate the fibers in a different way as I do. E.g. create tension with a different method and therefore a different amount of tension. The resulting braid is the same, but the way of achieving it may be not.
- Completely different type and/or quality of raffia.

Squirrelslinger: What do you think of this explanations? Do you have another one? Do you do something in a significantly other way as I do, save braiding wet? Can you compress your braid lengthwise or sidewise.
Could you also answer me the remaining questions of my previous post?
They were:
- Why does the sling last half as long when you braid it dry? What does break first? Due to abrasion, unraveling, ...? (This questions gives me a hint of the properties of your braids. Just describe what you see.)
- How does the sling I sent you perform compared to your slings? (Direct comparisons are usually the best way to compare something ;) .)
- Have you tried the ways of softening the fibers I described above?

I'm looking forward for your reply! Take your time to write it down. I don't mind waiting and I also don't mind long replies as others can tell you  ;). And thank you for the discussion.

Resurrection of dead for 12 years topic, but I'm in Hawai'i, and harvested just a few minutes ago a rubbish bag of dry pandanus (Hala) leaves, and Banana (Mai'a) leaves.  They are both dry but with enough moisture content that they are not brittle, but workable.  I also have 6 bundles of Raffia from Amazon (store, not river).  Now all I need is time to make me up some slings. 😎🤙  Aloha. 

Processing your own fiber and making slings is one of the most satisfying things you can do as a slinger, imo (other than smacking a really small target!)

Please share some pictures when finished!