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I've been fascinated with ancient weapons for most of my life. In my youth I read about David and Goliath and made my first sling. Not knowing the particulars of sling design, it was a poor thing but I did manage to get a rock out there occasionally. Later I picked up the only written text on the subject The Sling for Sport and Survival by Savage, and made a more sophisticated sling from a piece of suede and nylon rope. I also picked up a Macedonian Battle sling from a local manufacturer. Both of these slings lacked something. Later I learned about the fiber slings of various countries of the world and especially the Andean slings of the Inca civilization. I then picked up a copy of Sling Braiding of the Andes by Adele Cahlander. I tried to do the fist braiding as described in the book, but found it a bit complicated and slow. Also the method of making the sling pocket had me stumped. I started researching various methods of fiber working and researched local sources of sling information. I found an article (American Antiquity vol.18, No. 2 October 1952 "A Prehistoric Sling from Lovelock Cave, Nevada; Heizer and Johnson) from University of Nv. In Reno that covered a sling fragment found in Lovelock cave, Nevada on the partially mummified body of a 6 y/o male dating from about 272-792 B.C. It was made from Apocynum cannabinum, aka Indian hemp. This was the first easy to understand method of making a sling pocket that I'd found. So I made my first sling. Compared to my current slings it was a poor thing with a narrow pocket. I learned to add more cords to widen the pockets, and made many of my own tools to do the knotted fabric weaving to make the pocket. Later I learned how to do a simple weave to do the Andean style pockets. Roderick Owen 's book Braids 250 Patterns From Japan, Peru, & Beyond helped me further improve my sling making, especially the braids. I don't consider myself an expert, merely a journeyman, and am continually learning more things as I make each sling. The slings I make currently are mainly from #18 nylon seine twine. Since the color choices available in that material are limited, I generally dye the twine myself to achieve the color choices I currently have. Those choices are black, scarlet, yellow, navy blue, dark green, teal, cocoa brown, and white. Occasionally I can get gold, pink, and light green commercially. I may add tan at a later date. I also make slings from 48 pound test hemp twine, but do this only in natural color. If you want one from me write me for a brochure.
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