Here's a more image-heavy adaptation of my Balearic sling tutorial from The Slinger's Guide.
The text is basically the same rough draft I sent to Dan and them, so the final product in the Slinger's Guide will likely be more polished up and such.
Enjoy
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Of all the cultures throughout history known for their slinging prowess, the Balearic islanders were among the most skillfull--and to this day, remain the most famous for it. In fact, the very name of the islands comes from the word “balearides”, which translates to “stone slinger.”
A slinger's career started very young, and involved some rather spartan training during their upbringing. One notable method involved placing a child's food out of reach, which left the child with two options: knock the food down with a slingstone, or go hungry.
Later on they would graduate to sending stones through small hoops placed at various distances. The result was highly competent slingers that were in high demand throughout the ancient Mediterranean world—much like the archers of the British isles during the Late Medieval and Renaissance period. Even after the Romans managed to conquer the islands, the Balearic slingers became a well-paid asset in the Roman army.
Balearic slingers had some interesting traits when it came to war.
In addition to their normal, medium-length sling, they were known for carrying two others: a short one stowed-away as a headband, for rapid slinging at shorter ranges; and a long sling for long-range bombardment wrapped around their waist.
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The slingers of the Balearic islands were [and remain] fond of rather heavy stones, sometimes as large as the slinger's fist. This is pretty huge by most other slinging culture's standards, and their slings definitely show it--they are usually much beefier than most slings. As a result, Balearic slings require more material on average than most other designs, so don't be a cheapskate and skimp on cordage. It's dirt-cheap anyways.
The most popular of the traditional materials of choice are pita, hemp, and esparto. Pita, otherwise known as "sisal", consists of the inner fibers of the agave plant that you're left with after scraping the soft flesh away. The fibers look like blond hair, but can be a little more coarse than most other fibers. However, they are rather tenacious and abrasion resistant, and make a very resilient sling.
Esparto is a type of grassy plant native to the Balearic archipelago. It makes a more rustic sling. It's a very obscure type of fiber, so good luck finding any commercially available anywhere outside the islands.
Traditionally these slings are made from loose fiber, with additional material braided into the sling as needed. The process is much like basket-weaving. When made properly, slings braided from loose fiber tends to look nicer, and can be more seamless than bundles of pre-spun twine. Although braiding loose fiber can be more time-consuming and tedious, the good news is that you don't have to worry about cutting your strings too short!
For simplicity's sake, this tutorial will assume you are working with pre-spun cordage. However the process is largely the same if you're working with loose fiber—just add more or less fiber than usual as you braid to get the same tapering effects. (I can already hear the woeful moans from the purists
)
Prerequisite skills necessary:
*5-Strand braid
*splitting and rejoining braids
*splicing additional material into a braid (increasing volume and make it fatter)
*Ability to taper a release cord (removing material, slimming the braid)
Materials necessary:
*At least twice the material you would normally use. The thickness of the retention cord (The only part to remain consistent it's entire length) will be around 1.5 cm thick (1/2").
*Scissors/pocket knife to trim with.
*Clips of some kind, to keep your work from unraveling when not working on it. (Clips for potato chip bags work well)
To start with, you will want to measure your strands at 3 times the OVERALL length you want the sling to be. (from loop to tassel.)
Since this tutorial is based on the 5-strand braid, you will want your material divided into 5 groups of cordage. Naturally, the number of strands per group will vary depending on your choice of cordage. To see if you have the right amount, hold the groups together, and give it a twist. The thickness of a classic yellow pencil should be just right, although it's fine if it's a wee bit thicker. This will give you a rough idea of how thick your fingerloop's braid will be. Just add or remove strands until you're satisfied. However, I'd recommend that you keep an even number of strands in each group.
You can make this sling entirely out of off-cuts if you want, but this way is a bit quicker, easier, and you won't have to splice more strands in than you need to. For example, The last sling I made was out of 2-3mm cotton butcher's twine I found at a local hardware store. I used 4 strands per group of 5—a total of 20 strands altogether. Once the finger loop was folded over, each group doubled in thickness, and so did the rest of the sling.
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Tutorial: Balearic Sling (Read 62587 times)
