2015/08/23

Slingmoore T-shirts Are Here!

Why would you buy a Slingmoore t-shirt? It's a dumb question...on par with the following equally silly interrogatives:

1.  Why go to taco bell at two a.m.?
2.  Why say "yes" when the cinnabon lady asks if you want extra icing?

Slingmoore t-shirts on sale now, don't tell me you don't want one... Because I won't believe you.  We have a selection of sizes and after years of being the recipient of junk t-shirts we went quality, these will not dissolve into thread upon the first wash..


2015/06/26

Running Ambuck

slinging guava usually results in
guava juice with lots of pulp
No I didn't misspell it.  Sometimes there is just no substitute for natural products.  This is an "Ambuck" or that's what it's called in Nepali.  I was thinking that maybe I had stumbled across a previously unknown perfect yet naturally occuring projectile, then later my wife said, "oh yeah a guava."  Sigh... I am always the last to know.



2015/06/12

Tying the back

tying the stays viewed from the back
 I know it doesn't look like it but there is order here even you can't see it.  But Slingmoore's most closely guarded secret is what happens between this point and the riveting.  I'll give you a hint thought, it would be easier to do if I had ten arms and legs, it requires all my fingers and a several tools with a lot of sweat and I am usually tired after doing two or three in a row.  Because of this I have rarely made more than five in a single day.  Keeps our skills razor sharp and our innovation at the ready.  Keep slinging.

2015/06/05

Riveting the pocket

back of the pocket
front of the pocket
 I have started double riveting to minimize the unfolding that occurs after a time near the pockets extreme ends.  Two rivets ensures much more strength and durability and encourages the pocket to open upon releasing the trigger.  Good riveting is a thing of beauty.

2015/05/29

One good cure deserves another

 I have found that my favorite curing sphere is a sewn cricket ball.  They are heavy and the perfect size for cupping the sling's pocket.  After moistening the back of the pocket just a tad, I realized that cricket balls are expensive but three dimensional so why not capitalize on that?!  Here was my solution.  

Remember to store your sling wrapped around something round even if it's a ball of paper.  It's good to encourage that leather-memory to maintain the subtle shallowness of your sling that allows it to be the most powerful throwing tool known to man, under two ounces... not a man under two ounces but the tool.

2015/05/22

Slingball Anyone?

What does one do after perfecting the slingball? One plays it.  Now all I need is some more slingers... anyone up for flying to India?  It's not really that far.  What's 8000 miles and 48 hours of gut-wrenching plane travel between slingers?  Honestly.

Now... we just need some rules.  



2015/05/20

Slingmoore's 2015 All-Blacks are here!

 Slingmoore 2015 All Blacks are here!  Genuine, black-stained leather, double-black stays, dark grey (it's in the black direction) double riveting, monkey-fist trigger and dark black and blue glazed-bead handles, these slings make slinging seem even classier than it already is.  Find your slings and Slingmoore, and email the post to sales@slingmoore.com.







2015/05/15

How India changes slingmoore

Well...we cure our slings with cricket balls for one... there's some dietary changes as well but we won't go into that.  Cricket balls are perfect for curing.  They're a little larger than my usual projectiles so they contact with the entire pocket surface area, they are heavy so they help with cupping and they are smooth and, well here in India at least, they are easy to find.


2015/05/08

The real slingmoore warehouse

 Warehouse conjures up images of 20,000 square foot cinder block behemoths with AC, forklifts and the occasionally surly union worker stomping about.  But in reality it's just a rope with some hooks and some slings on it.  But doesn't that fit?  Who needs an actual warehouse if just a length of rope will do?

Slingmoore 

2015/05/07

What does slinging do to a sling ball?

Well it's not pretty.  Slinging your ballistic crochet will make it dirty, looser, and the stuffing will break and fall out a bit.  But after a dozen or so hard slings at a rough rock face target, this ball is holding together well.  So not to worry, you can always make more, and as they say, sling balls would be safe if you kept them in your pocket but that's not what slingballs were made for.

2015/05/01

First All Black prototype off the Line

The very first all black prototype
(sling# 20151g60)
After just 24 hours of curing the pocket settles into a perfectly shallow hollow. Now all it needs is a slinger and a target. This is where you come in.  I have started storing my sling with something round tied up in it.  It's just a good idea especially if you've been slinging river rocks and your sling's a bit damp, the rounded shape helps it dry so that it's ready for action next time.












2015/04/30

Ball's well that ends well


This is the closest to a perfect closing. Excess cord is stuffed inside the projectile. The knot was tied while it was on the outside but the closing knot is actually inside.




2015/04/28

Tight...

Center of the pocket, one side viewed
from underneath
Slingmoore's 2015 All Blacks are entering production, here's one side of the back of the pocket receiving its ever-so-subtle pinch for the perfectly rounded pocket.  The funny thing is that I have tried making metrics for exactly where these holes should go and the results were disastrous.  In the end, the eye-balled holes were better.  I can't explain this beyond sometimes experience is better than anything.

2015/04/27

Slinging at the Teesta



Nothing like slinging at a swift river with no shortage of rocks... I'm amazed at how picky I've become. In the U.S. I would sling anything, asphalt, pinecones, I even slung an empty bottle once...(by the way...don't do that) I was so desperate for projectiles... but here, if it doesn't look like I could cook it sunny side up and slap it on my grits, then I don't even give it a second look... behold Teesta Slinging


2015/04/24

Good sling curing practices

It's simple, a good egg-ish rock and some time. Make sure your rock is centered, and be patient.  It's wise to store your sling like this while your slinging in your dreams, because otherwise, it should be in your pocket or backpack ready for action.  And by "action" I mean, that rare moment when an open field, and a projectile and your sling collide in the same space-time.

2015/04/23

A stuffing trick

Getting your projectiles stuffed tight enough can be difficult.  Often, it comes down to you jamming one bean at a time into the last stitching hole before you close.  But here's a trick.  Twist stitch the last two inches or so a bit loose, then stuff the ball tight as usual.  Right before the final closing knots you can go back and pull both sides of the twist-stitch tight.  This will give you a bit more slack for the closing knots and pull the halves together giving you a nice solid ball to sling with.  

2015/04/19

16 row bean-fed...Jupiter spot?

One of planet Jupiter's most striking features is its big red spot. Longer than three earths, this storm has raged for over 1/2 a century and is somewhat of a mystery. A mystery much like these spots on this 16 row bean-fed. I have noticed these hole features appearing on the last few sling projectiles and am wondering if they are consistent artifacts of errors in the crochet pattern. After all the pattern is merely an approximation of a sphere and perhaps the non-perfectness of it produces these holes of mystery.

2015/04/17

Slingmoore secret revealed

Drumroll... Hemostat during hole punching.  There... I said it, secret's out, that's how it's done.  Oh... that, and a really nice cutting board.

2015/04/16

16 row cornfed finds its calling.

sling made by slingmoore, see the sling warehouse at
slingmoore.com
This is where sling projectiles find their greatest joy.  The only problem with corn, is that it breaks up over time and leaks out the crochet holes.  I don't think there's a way around this.

2015/04/14

Waste Not Sling Moore

Cleaning up today I noticed that my waste pile was infinitesimally small, with the addition of one small leaf piece.  Why is this note worthy?  Because it means your sling from Slingmoore hasn't been hacked and chopped ultimately reducing strength... But rather your sling has the strength that only wholeness can deliver.

2015/04/12

Proven: balloons inadequate

I stuffed this 16 row asymmetrical trichrom with a balloon.  Inside the ballon stuffed with this tiny "yellow dhal". The dhal makes a great stuffing with a few small problems.  First it extrudes out of the crochet holes no matter how tight I crochet.  This is the reason for the balloon meant as a liner to hold them in.  But these projectiles are intended for slinging, and after only two throws the balloon ruptured.  I have experimented with balloons off and on but I am hereby official done.

2015/04/10

Out of the nursery

slings in the raw, with two other
essentials:
see through omni straight edge and
coffee.
As slingmoore's 2015 all-black slings exit the nursery they are cut to length. Two things you need at this point, first, coffee, enough said on that point. Second, here at slingmoore we craft slings in small batches. Partly because we are always running out of gear, but the more poignant reason is that small batches allow for constant innovation. With this batch of four I'll experiment on one sling with a slightly longer pocket. Quality...that's what we're about here... Oh and chucking stuff...yes, chucking stuff and quality.

2015/04/09

The Perfect Non-Lethal Sling Projectile

the clippers are useful because they can travel with you 
on an airplane, not so the lighter, and the hooks are
hit and miss, depends on the THA agent.

16 Row Projectile Pattern:
Row 1) Magic Circle (Ch 2. 6 Sc in second Ch from hook.) (6)
Row 2) inc in each stitch around. (12)
Row 3) 1, +, 2, +, 1, +, 2, +, 1, + (17)
Row 4) 1, +, 3, +, 2, +, 3, +, 2, +, 1 (22)
Row 5) 2, +, 5, +, 4, +, 5, +, 2 (26)
Row 6) 4, +, 7, +, 8, +, 4 (29)
Row 7) 7, +, 9, +, 9, +, 1 (32)
Row 8) 13, +, 18 (33)

The above pattern should be read as follows, starting in Row 3 read: "one single stitch, one increase stitch, 2 single stitches etc..." This pattern will make half the ball, so make two of them, and then see the links below for the closing.  I like to use the tail of the pattern to sew the halves together, this mean, just to be safe you should leave 12 inches at least.

Also here's one more trick, if you take the tail end of each side and pull it through the final loop of the other side.  You can tighten this slowly for a very clean starting point.  Plus this brings the bulge of the patterns together like hand in glove erasing them both basically.  Some knots are in order after this inside the sphere of course and then you can begin the stitching together.  I found that if you keep the tails on the side corresponding to their own color, it allows the eye to focus on the color change at the seam making the closing stitching virtually invisible.  I have to do two or three rounds of tightening before I'm ready to close it up.

This guy is the perfect size and weight for slinging.  This ballistic crochet ball was done with a # 2.5 hook, closed with the baseball stitch and I tried a different closing, tying it outside and then pulling the knot down into the ball from the other side using the hook.  It is likely to come out after the beating it will definitely receive being slung, but, it is also possible to res-tuff it with something different because I left enough tail to be able to retie it.

Oh and how to know it's non lethal?  I subjected myself to some "testing,"  Had some former baseball players throw these as hard as they could at me from just 3 meters away.  These do pack a bit of a punch, but they don't cross the pain threshold

Punching for the stays

punching the holes for the stays
Great leather is a dime a dozen but well-punched holes who can find?  This is usually the moment that I make or break a sling.  Knots can be retied and stays restrung but once you've punched you're committed.  I have thrown away many slings just after doing this wrong.  Can you believe I stopped in the midst of the strain to snap a photo? 

2015/04/03

The monkey fist trigger... knot to worry

glazed bead handles and
monkey first triggers in waiting.
Tutorials on tying monkey fists and sheep-shanks have entire YouTube channels devoted to them so I won't go into it. But I will say that recently I started tying a simple overhand with the smallest of tails and centering it within the fist for a harder more spherical trigger.  But the best thing about the monkey fist is that it doesn't shatter upon its first encounter with the ground, a common problem with beaded triggers.  Plus although it's hard as a rock, it doesn't hurt nearly as much as a wood on the rare occasions that it whips around to bite you on the cheek. Slingmoore always recommends wearing eye protection when slinging.  The glazed beads for the handles aren't a problem because it never leaves your hand.

2015/04/02

The Ideal Closing using the baseball stitch: A step by step tutorial

In order to make a 16 row cornfed, first make two halves with the following pattern.  (+ = increase stitch)

16 Row Projectile Pattern:
Row 1) Ch 2. 6 Sc in second Ch from hook. (6)
Row 2) inc in each stitch around. (12)
Row 3) 1, +, 2, +, 1, +, 2, +, 1, + (17)
Row 4) 1, +, 3, +, 2, +, 3, +, 2, +, 1 (22)
Row 5) 2, +, 5, +, 4, +, 5, +, 2 (26)
Row 6) 4, +, 7, +, 8, +, 4 (29)
Row 7) 7, +, 9, +, 9, +, 1 (32)
Row 8) 13, +, 18 (33)

Baseball Stitch:  Using about 40 cm of cord from each half pull the cords up through the stitches then twist them so that the colors match up again.  White cord on the white side etc.


Push your hook down into the next stitch from outside the sphere.  Hook the cord of the matching color and pull through.


Do the same for the other side.  And repeat around the circumference.


Twist- stitch is shown here under my middle finger. I am sure someone out there, (of ballistic crochet's tens of thousands of followers) is saying, "why is he calling this a "twist stitch" it is only a __________ stitch."  If so please inform, I am ready to learn.

2015/03/28

The perfect closing

This closing is completely flat, with no sign of stitching aside from the jog in the color line you would not know it was there.

2015/03/27

Visit the slingmoore nursery

Cutting hide into stripes
with Fiskar blade.  You have to go
slow with this puppy it'll will slice
your finger right off and not bat an eye.

Here's how Slingmoore slings begin. After buying a hide, in this case for Slingmoore's new 2015 all-blacks, I then stare at it for about 30 minutes deciding how to start cutting.  It always feels like there's a wrong way to begin. Then using a glorified pizza cutter, I cut long strips to width and then store them till I get more time. The leather was just the right thickness to make some really nice slings.  I feel a good batch coming on.

"What's next?" you ask?  We'll come on back later I'll keep you posted as these slings graduate from the nursery.
Strips are cut to width.

2015/03/21

18 rows with a 2.5 hook

This is way too big but... At least I have eliminated it.  It took a huge amount of lintels to fill it and it hurt when my 5 year old chucked it at me so... That's not working for a sling...



2015/03/20

Bottle target

I shattered a bottle at ten paces with the 9th stone I slung.  Not too bad.  I include this picture as proof because as you can see... The bottle is no more.  Man have I sunk low, this blog used to carry some of the best action-packed sling videos on the web, now I'm peddling pictures of targets that are not there.  More to come when slingmoore rises from the ashes of bad bloggery.

Slingmoore