Ahnkochee wrote on Sep 6^th, 2024 at 2:29am:


I picked some up at Michael's, and was immediately surprised that it wasn't as brittle as I thought.  They are surprisingly slick.  If I didn't know better, I'd say they were artificial.

It tolerates the twisting and bending needed for braiding.  I've never braided directly from individual fibers like this.  I think it'd be a good way to practice before using something harder to get  like esparto.

ScantPalaver wrote on Sep 8^th, 2024 at 7:11pm:

  That looks great!  Nice job!  I ordered some raffia from Amazon, extremely affordable.  If I treat the fibers with pine tar, I'll do it afterwards on the completed sling.

Ahnkochee wrote on Sep 8^th, 2024 at 8:32pm:


I'd be interested to know how that goes.  Whether they soak it in  or if it just coats them.  I'll try some wax when I get there.

ScantPalaver wrote on Sep 9^th, 2024 at 2:24am:


Good to know.  I wonder if I can soak my completed sling in diluted pine tar mix, then add a weight on one end and hang to dry, thus setting the fibers in the stretched state.  My raffia arrives tomorrow.  I wonder if misting the raffia fibers while twisting and braiding would help relax the fibers.  I may try that first.  Thanks for the progress report.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRzGbu7Bvfo&t=301s
I noticed in video @ the 6:00 mark that he stretches the braid regularly to I assume tighten the braid and removed any inherent elasticity within the braid.  I got my raffia fibers in the mail yesterday, and when I pull on it I feel no elasticity in the fibers, so I think any perceived stretch is in the the braid.  I'll try wetting and stretching, and see what happens.

I might not've been aggressive enough with my first attempt.

I also found an old thread with Squirrel and Teg going back and forth about how to work raffia.
https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1383011079/8

I'm actually on the fence about the wet/dry, but I'm kinda leaning towards Teg's side of braiding it dry.  I think the next couple things I try will be:

• More aggressive twisting before adding a strand to the braid
• Increasing the number of strands in the braid (prob'ly jump to 9)

I soaked the first test braid I made and hung it with a weight, but it didn't seem to take the elasticity out.  I hope you have better results with some of your experiments.

Goob, the half an inch of stretch I got wasn't from a full sling, only a six inch test braid.  But half an inch for a sling is a good baseline.

Teg, I see you still log in occasionally, so if you see this, your input and experience would be appreciated!

Hi ScantPalaver,

Your picture above shows one key thing I'm doing differently. I prepare the fibers before braiding.
See the appended picture. Do you see how the fibers I'm braiding with look like? And the raw fiber I put beside it? The fiber I'm braiding with is, well, fibrous. The fresh one is more of a sheet.

You want to remove all the soft parts and break the sheets somewhat down before braiding. To do so, pinch the fibers with your index finger and your thumb and pull them through a couple times. See the second picture. A lot of material should come away. Be generous and discard it. The fibers should break down into thinner strands and become soft and pliable. If you have too high quality fiber, you might have to use the fingernail of your thumb to help you a bit (and safe the skin of your thumb from burns...).  Now you are ready to start braiding.

Regarding wet vs. dry: A wet sling is (quite often ) a dead sling.
The fibers will swell and away goes the nice tight braid you just made.

Regarding twisting: you can make very stiff braids without twisting at all. Not saying that it is a good idea though...

I guess your springiness comes mainly from the "sheets" you are using. Maybe also from a lack of tension while braiding. Hard to tell from a distance though... To help you, you can fix the braid to a post or something. In this way you can more easily maintain tension while braiding. You don't need to have tension on all threads at all times. Just on the one you are braiding with.