diff --git a/src/ripple/app/ledger/AcceptedLedgerTx.cpp b/src/ripple/app/ledger/AcceptedLedgerTx.cpp
index 236c4a3d54..04fea22113 100644
--- a/src/ripple/app/ledger/AcceptedLedgerTx.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/app/ledger/AcceptedLedgerTx.cpp
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ AcceptedLedgerTx::AcceptedLedgerTx (Ledger::ref ledger, SerialIter& sit)
 {
     // VFALCO This is making a needless copy
     auto const vl = sit.getVL();
-    SerialIter txnIt (make_Slice(vl));
+    SerialIter txnIt (makeSlice(vl));
 
     mTxn =      std::make_shared<STTx> (std::ref (txnIt));
     mRawMeta =  sit.getVL ();
diff --git a/src/ripple/app/ledger/LedgerToJson.h b/src/ripple/app/ledger/LedgerToJson.h
index 83d2c0b989..74bbe9c91a 100644
--- a/src/ripple/app/ledger/LedgerToJson.h
+++ b/src/ripple/app/ledger/LedgerToJson.h
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ void fillJson (Object& json, LedgerFill const& fill)
                         // VFALCO This is making a needless copy
                         SerialIter sit (item->slice ());
                         auto const vl = sit.getVL();
-                        SerialIter tsit (make_Slice(vl));
+                        SerialIter tsit (makeSlice(vl));
                         STTx txn (tsit);
 
                         TxMeta meta (
diff --git a/src/ripple/app/ledger/impl/TxMeta.cpp b/src/ripple/app/ledger/impl/TxMeta.cpp
index 070d34168c..094982b2ff 100644
--- a/src/ripple/app/ledger/impl/TxMeta.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/app/ledger/impl/TxMeta.cpp
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ TxMeta::TxMeta (uint256 const& txid,
     , mLedger (ledger)
     , mNodes (sfAffectedNodes, 32)
 {
-    SerialIter sit (make_Slice(data));
+    SerialIter sit (makeSlice(data));
 
     STObject obj(sit, sfMetadata);
     mResult = obj.getFieldU8 (sfTransactionResult);
diff --git a/src/ripple/app/misc/NetworkOPs.cpp b/src/ripple/app/misc/NetworkOPs.cpp
index 3445f2125e..b137d76cc3 100644
--- a/src/ripple/app/misc/NetworkOPs.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/app/misc/NetworkOPs.cpp
@@ -3206,7 +3206,7 @@ bool NetworkOPsImp::getFetchPack (uint256 const& hash, Blob& data)
 
     mFetchPack.del (hash, false);
 
-    if (hash != sha512Half(make_Slice(data)))
+    if (hash != sha512Half(makeSlice(data)))
     {
         m_journal.warning << "Bad entry in fetch pack";
         return false;
diff --git a/src/ripple/app/misc/UniqueNodeList.cpp b/src/ripple/app/misc/UniqueNodeList.cpp
index 5e489855ec..8e051d60bc 100644
--- a/src/ripple/app/misc/UniqueNodeList.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/app/misc/UniqueNodeList.cpp
@@ -1599,7 +1599,7 @@ bool UniqueNodeListImp::responseFetch (std::string const& strDomain, const boost
             (void) bFound;
 
             uint256 iSha256 =
-                sha512Half(make_Slice(strSiteFile));
+                sha512Half(makeSlice(strSiteFile));
             bool bChangedB =
                 sdCurrent.iSha256 != iSha256;
 
diff --git a/src/ripple/app/misc/impl/AccountTxPaging.cpp b/src/ripple/app/misc/impl/AccountTxPaging.cpp
index e22ad754e5..ebf1adf012 100644
--- a/src/ripple/app/misc/impl/AccountTxPaging.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/app/misc/impl/AccountTxPaging.cpp
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ convertBlobsToTxResult (
     Blob const& rawTxn,
     Blob const& rawMeta)
 {
-    SerialIter it (make_Slice(rawTxn));
+    SerialIter it (makeSlice(rawTxn));
     STTx::pointer txn = std::make_shared<STTx> (it);
     std::string reason;
 
diff --git a/src/ripple/app/tx/impl/Transaction.cpp b/src/ripple/app/tx/impl/Transaction.cpp
index 8d164b13c9..e51e0bb6e7 100644
--- a/src/ripple/app/tx/impl/Transaction.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/app/tx/impl/Transaction.cpp
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ Transaction::pointer Transaction::sharedTransaction (
 {
     try
     {
-        SerialIter sit (make_Slice(vucTransaction));
+        SerialIter sit (makeSlice(vucTransaction));
         std::string reason;
 
         return std::make_shared<Transaction> (std::make_shared<STTx> (sit),
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ Transaction::pointer Transaction::transactionFromSQL (
     std::uint32_t const inLedger =
         rangeCheckedCast<std::uint32_t>(ledgerSeq.value_or (0));
 
-    SerialIter it (make_Slice(rawTxn));
+    SerialIter it (makeSlice(rawTxn));
     auto txn = std::make_shared<STTx> (it);
     std::string reason;
     auto tr = std::make_shared<Transaction> (txn, validate, reason);
diff --git a/src/ripple/basics/Slice.h b/src/ripple/basics/Slice.h
index 15c39305fc..2276eaf77d 100644
--- a/src/ripple/basics/Slice.h
+++ b/src/ripple/basics/Slice.h
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 #include <cassert>
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <cstring>
+#include <stdexcept>
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
 #include <beast/cxx14/type_traits.h> // <type_traits>
@@ -35,22 +36,20 @@ namespace ripple {
 /** An immutable linear range of bytes.
 
     A fully constructed Slice is guaranteed to be in a valid state.
-    Default construction, construction from nullptr, and zero-byte
-    ranges are disallowed. A Slice is lightweight and copyable, it
-    retains no ownership of the underlying memory.
+    A Slice is lightweight and copyable, it retains no ownership
+    of the underlying memory.
 */
 class Slice
 {
 private:
     std::uint8_t const* data_;
-    std::size_t size_;
+    std::size_t size_ = 0;
 
 public:
-    // Disallowed
-    Slice() = delete;
+    /** Default constructed Slice has length 0. */
+    Slice() = default;
 
     Slice (Slice const&) = default;
-    
     Slice& operator= (Slice const&) = default;
 
     /** Create a slice pointing to existing memory. */
@@ -63,9 +62,16 @@ public:
         assert(size_ > 0);
     }
 
+    /** Return `true` if the byte range is empty. */
+    bool
+    empty() const noexcept
+    {
+        return size_ == 0;
+    }
+
     /** Returns the number of bytes in the storage.
 
-        This will never be zero.
+        This may be zero for an empty range.
     */
     std::size_t
     size() const noexcept
@@ -82,8 +88,38 @@ public:
     {
         return data_;
     }
+
+    /** Access raw bytes. */
+    std::uint8_t
+    operator[](std::size_t i) const noexcept
+    {
+        assert(i < size_);
+        return data_[i];
+    }
+
+    /** Advance the buffer. */
+    /** @{ */
+    Slice&
+    operator+= (std::size_t n)
+    {
+        if (n > size_)
+            throw std::domain_error("too small");
+        data_ += n;
+        size_ -= n;
+        return *this;
+    }
+
+    Slice
+    operator+ (std::size_t n) const
+    {
+        Slice temp = *this;
+        return temp += n;
+    }
+    /** @} */
 };
 
+//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
 template <class Hasher>
 inline
 void
@@ -131,14 +167,14 @@ std::enable_if_t<
         std::is_same<T, unsigned char>::value,
     Slice
 >
-make_Slice (std::vector<T, Alloc> const& v)
+makeSlice (std::vector<T, Alloc> const& v)
 {
     return Slice(v.data(), v.size());
 }
 
 template <class Traits, class Alloc>
 Slice
-make_Slice (std::basic_string<char, Traits, Alloc> const& s)
+makeSlice (std::basic_string<char, Traits, Alloc> const& s)
 {
     return Slice(s.data(), s.size());
 }
diff --git a/src/ripple/nodestore/impl/DatabaseImp.h b/src/ripple/nodestore/impl/DatabaseImp.h
index dfa4486789..3319e7efd3 100644
--- a/src/ripple/nodestore/impl/DatabaseImp.h
+++ b/src/ripple/nodestore/impl/DatabaseImp.h
@@ -288,7 +288,7 @@ public:
                         Backend& backend)
     {
         #if RIPPLE_VERIFY_NODEOBJECT_KEYS
-        assert (hash == sha512Hash(make_Slice(data)));
+        assert (hash == sha512Hash(makeSlice(data)));
         #endif
 
         std::shared_ptr<NodeObject> object = NodeObject::createObject(
diff --git a/src/ripple/overlay/impl/PeerImp.cpp b/src/ripple/overlay/impl/PeerImp.cpp
index 6cc05ad172..798c456086 100644
--- a/src/ripple/overlay/impl/PeerImp.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/overlay/impl/PeerImp.cpp
@@ -1010,7 +1010,7 @@ PeerImp::onMessage (std::shared_ptr <protocol::TMTransaction> const& m)
         return;
     }
 
-    SerialIter sit (make_Slice(m->rawtransaction()));
+    SerialIter sit (makeSlice(m->rawtransaction()));
 
     try
     {
@@ -1424,7 +1424,7 @@ PeerImp::onMessage (std::shared_ptr <protocol::TMValidation> const& m)
     {
         STValidation::pointer val;
         {
-            SerialIter sit (make_Slice(m->validation()));
+            SerialIter sit (makeSlice(m->validation()));
             val = std::make_shared <
                 STValidation> (std::ref (sit), false);
         }
@@ -1437,7 +1437,7 @@ PeerImp::onMessage (std::shared_ptr <protocol::TMValidation> const& m)
         }
 
         if (! getApp().getHashRouter ().addSuppressionPeer(
-            sha512Half(make_Slice(m->validation())), id_))
+            sha512Half(makeSlice(m->validation())), id_))
         {
             p_journal_.trace << "Validation: duplicate";
             return;
diff --git a/src/ripple/protocol/impl/RippleAddress.cpp b/src/ripple/protocol/impl/RippleAddress.cpp
index a0c3db5407..db089ac286 100644
--- a/src/ripple/protocol/impl/RippleAddress.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/protocol/impl/RippleAddress.cpp
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ static
 uint128 PassPhraseToKey (std::string const& passPhrase)
 {
     return uint128::fromVoid(sha512Half_s(
-        make_Slice(passPhrase)).data());
+        makeSlice(passPhrase)).data());
 }
 
 static
@@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ bool RippleAddress::accountPublicVerify (
     }
 
     return verifySignature (getAccountPublic(),
-        sha512Half(make_Slice(message)), vucSig,
+        sha512Half(makeSlice(message)), vucSig,
             fullyCanonical);
 }
 
@@ -496,7 +496,7 @@ Blob RippleAddress::accountPrivateSign (Blob const& message) const
     }
 
     Blob result = ECDSASign(
-        sha512Half(make_Slice(message)), getAccountPrivate());
+        sha512Half(makeSlice(message)), getAccountPrivate());
     bool const ok = !result.empty();
 
     CondLog (!ok, lsWARNING, RippleAddress)
diff --git a/src/ripple/protocol/impl/Serializer.cpp b/src/ripple/protocol/impl/Serializer.cpp
index d1d5e35bc7..71c34f8b68 100644
--- a/src/ripple/protocol/impl/Serializer.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/protocol/impl/Serializer.cpp
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ Blob Serializer::getRaw (int offset, int length) const
 
 uint256 Serializer::getSHA512Half () const
 {
-    return sha512Half(make_Slice(mData));
+    return sha512Half(makeSlice(mData));
 }
 
 int Serializer::addVL (Blob const& vector)
diff --git a/src/ripple/protocol/tests/RippleAddress.test.cpp b/src/ripple/protocol/tests/RippleAddress.test.cpp
index d32bace4b3..73820c0759 100644
--- a/src/ripple/protocol/tests/RippleAddress.test.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/protocol/tests/RippleAddress.test.cpp
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ public:
 
         // Check node signing.
         Blob vucTextSrc = strCopy ("Hello, nurse!");
-        uint256 uHash   = sha512Half(make_Slice(vucTextSrc));
+        uint256 uHash   = sha512Half(makeSlice(vucTextSrc));
         Blob vucTextSig;
 
         naNodePrivate.signNodePrivate (uHash, vucTextSig);
diff --git a/src/ripple/rpc/handlers/Submit.cpp b/src/ripple/rpc/handlers/Submit.cpp
index bd5a3e953f..102d460d50 100644
--- a/src/ripple/rpc/handlers/Submit.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/rpc/handlers/Submit.cpp
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ Json::Value doSubmit (RPC::Context& context)
     if (!ret.second || !ret.first.size ())
         return rpcError (rpcINVALID_PARAMS);
 
-    SerialIter sitTrans (make_Slice(ret.first));
+    SerialIter sitTrans (makeSlice(ret.first));
 
     STTx::pointer stpTrans;
 
diff --git a/src/ripple/shamap/impl/SHAMapTreeNode.cpp b/src/ripple/shamap/impl/SHAMapTreeNode.cpp
index bb55b71486..f14407f213 100644
--- a/src/ripple/shamap/impl/SHAMapTreeNode.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/shamap/impl/SHAMapTreeNode.cpp
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ SHAMapAbstractNode::make(Blob const& rawNode, std::uint32_t seq, SHANodeFormat f
         if (prefix == HashPrefix::transactionID)
         {
             auto item = std::make_shared<SHAMapItem const>(
-                sha512Half(make_Slice(rawNode)),
+                sha512Half(makeSlice(rawNode)),
                     s.peekData ());
             if (hashValid)
                 return std::make_shared<SHAMapTreeNode>(item, tnTRANSACTION_NM, seq, hash);
@@ -307,18 +307,18 @@ SHAMapTreeNode::updateHash()
     if (mType == tnTRANSACTION_NM)
     {
         nh = sha512Half(HashPrefix::transactionID,
-            make_Slice(mItem->peekData()));
+            makeSlice(mItem->peekData()));
     }
     else if (mType == tnACCOUNT_STATE)
     {
         nh = sha512Half(HashPrefix::leafNode,
-            make_Slice(mItem->peekData()),
+            makeSlice(mItem->peekData()),
                 mItem->key());
     }
     else if (mType == tnTRANSACTION_MD)
     {
         nh = sha512Half(HashPrefix::txNode,
-            make_Slice(mItem->peekData()),
+            makeSlice(mItem->peekData()),
                 mItem->key());
     }
     else
diff --git a/src/ripple/shamap/tests/FetchPack.test.cpp b/src/ripple/shamap/tests/FetchPack.test.cpp
index eb2e4ab51d..468695331e 100644
--- a/src/ripple/shamap/tests/FetchPack.test.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/shamap/tests/FetchPack.test.cpp
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ public:
 
     void on_fetch (Map& map, uint256 const& hash, Blob const& blob)
     {
-        expect (sha512Half(make_Slice(blob)) == hash,
+        expect (sha512Half(makeSlice(blob)) == hash,
             "Hash mismatch");
         map.emplace (hash, blob);
     }
diff --git a/src/ripple/test/jtx/impl/multisign.cpp b/src/ripple/test/jtx/impl/multisign.cpp
index e99ac8a114..00cecd7145 100644
--- a/src/ripple/test/jtx/impl/multisign.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/test/jtx/impl/multisign.cpp
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ msig::operator()(Env const& env, JTx& jt) const
             auto const& e = accounts[i];
             auto& jo = js[i]["SigningAccount"];
             jo[jss::Account] = e.human();
-            jo[jss::SigningPubKey] = strHex(make_Slice(
+            jo[jss::SigningPubKey] = strHex(makeSlice(
                 e.pk().getAccountPublic()));
 
             Serializer ss;
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ msig::operator()(Env const& env, JTx& jt) const
             st->addWithoutSigningFields(ss);
             ss.add160(*signFor);
             ss.add160(e.id());
-            jo["MultiSignature"] = strHex(make_Slice(
+            jo["MultiSignature"] = strHex(makeSlice(
                 e.sk().accountPrivateSign(ss.getData())));
 
         }
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ msig2_t::operator()(Env const& env, JTx& jt) const
             {
                 auto& jj = js[j.first]["SigningAccount"];
                 jj[jss::Account] = j.second->human();
-                jj[jss::SigningPubKey] = strHex(make_Slice(
+                jj[jss::SigningPubKey] = strHex(makeSlice(
                     j.second->pk().getAccountPublic()));
 
                 Serializer ss;
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ msig2_t::operator()(Env const& env, JTx& jt) const
                 st->addWithoutSigningFields(ss);
                 ss.add160(sign_for.id());
                 ss.add160(j.second->id());
-                jj["MultiSignature"] = strHex(make_Slice(
+                jj["MultiSignature"] = strHex(makeSlice(
                     j.second->sk().accountPrivateSign(
                         ss.getData())));
             }
diff --git a/src/ripple/test/jtx/impl/utility.cpp b/src/ripple/test/jtx/impl/utility.cpp
index 3cf686e27d..822f0e942d 100644
--- a/src/ripple/test/jtx/impl/utility.cpp
+++ b/src/ripple/test/jtx/impl/utility.cpp
@@ -46,12 +46,12 @@ sign (Json::Value& jv,
     Account const& account)
 {
     jv[jss::SigningPubKey] =
-        strHex(make_Slice(
+        strHex(makeSlice(
             account.pk().getAccountPublic()));
     Serializer ss;
     ss.add32 (HashPrefix::txSign);
     parse(jv).add(ss);
-    jv[jss::TxnSignature] = strHex(make_Slice(
+    jv[jss::TxnSignature] = strHex(makeSlice(
         account.sk().accountPrivateSign(
             ss.getData())));
 }