Loki wrote on Aug 27^th, 2007 at 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...