Man beads

Martha

Martha

Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Feb 27, 2004
Messages
13,228
Location
minnesota
I have been making necklaces and earrings for fun and giving them to my friends and relatives.

I have thought about making man necklaces/beads for some of the guys I know that are hippie types that might wear them. I am not talking about gold chains or that sort of thing. Anyone have experience? Suggestions as to beads? I have thought about seeds/nuts on leather or cotton string but I am not sure what is available. Another possibility is wood. I have some small brown wood beads, but with a very small hole so the would have to be strong on wire or thin line. Not sure what to use for a clasp.
 
Last edited:
During carnival season, men in New Orleans might wear Mardi Gras beads that they caught at a parade. Then again, during carnival season tourists down here might wear a lot of things they wouldn't get caught dead in back in Peoria! :-X

In the 1960's back in California, guys would wear beads made of a lot of things but usually natural and strung on a leather thong. Shells, carvings, and hand made ceramic beads (in manly styles) come to mind.
 
Leather is good, simple, a few beads in the middle, you can knot the leather off at each end where the beads stop so they don't slide all over the place.

You can use regular clasps, just get the findings for leather - they're a few different kinds, one that looks like a spring, another that is a small piece of metal that wraps around the leather, put a dot of glue and clamp down w/ your plyers. Then the regular clasp is attached. Like these:
Silver Plated End Caps and Coils - Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

You can do themes, like tribal (nuts, bones etc) or sterling silver works too. I have some rocker friends who wear a lot of accessories, they are usually sterling or black leather and sterling...
 
Martha said:
Suggestions as to beads? I have thought about seeds/nuts on leather or cotton string but I am not sure what is available. Another possibility is wood. I have some small brown wood beads, but with a very small hole so the would have to be strong on wire or thin line. Not sure what to use for a clasp.
Click to expand...


For the beads w/ the small holes, you can string on wire like usual, and use the end clasps to attach it to the leather...so you'd have 4 end clasps - one at the end for the clasp, one attached to the strung beads.

If you use cotton, find a waxed string, so it won't break down as fast as regular string.
 
Bright-eyed, I suppose a lobster clasp would work best after putting the findings on the leather? Or magnetic would work too I suppose.

Dex, I like the idea of using rubber with silver. That Tiffany necklace is nice, combining the focal point with the magnetic clasp.
 
bright eyed said:
For the beads w/ the small holes, you can string on wire like usual, and use the end clasps to attach it to the leather...so you'd have 4 end clasps - one at the end for the clasp, one attached to the strung beads.

If you use cotton, find a waxed string, so it won't break down as fast as regular string.
Click to expand...

I do have waxed cotton which I have used before. Another good idea on the end caps.
 
HFWR said:
My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives...
Click to expand...

Couple that with the fact that I can't stop thinking about the lawnmower starter cord.
 
Have someone do a tiny cast of your whip-wielding avatar and hang her from an appropriate chain- maybe very fine barb wire?

Your male friends will not forget this gift.

ha
 
Martha said:
Bright-eyed, I suppose a lobster clasp would work best after putting the findings on the leather? Or magnetic would work too I suppose.

Dex, I like the idea of using rubber with silver. That Tiffany necklace is nice, combining the focal point with the magnetic clasp.
Click to expand...

Maybe a big lobster clasp for the giant man fingers...:p

You can also do the sliding knots - i can try to explain if you haven't done them before, but that way they can size and put on/off w/out a clasp...
 
Men are pretty good with clasps. Remember that feeling when your your bra strap suddenly relaxed?

We haven't lost that dexterity you know. :)

ha
 
Martha said:
No, I haven't done them before. Do you mean like this: SlidingKnots I figured that I would find a bead expert around here.
Click to expand...

Yup, those are them...they are easy and simple. You can put a "dot" of glue at the top of the knot (don't put it near the part that is supposed to slide) to ensure it doesn't undo itself. They can slide the knots close to each other to make it long and put it on, and shorten as much as they like, till the knots meet back up front.

No expert, just learned a few tricks in college - have some friends who do "real" stuff like metal work and soldering, that would be cool as a next step! Now it comes in hand for birthday parties and impressing my 6 year old...:p

I wish I had more time to do bead work! I also can't bring myself to buy premade stuff cuz I "know" i can make it myself! I do get around to 1-2 pieces per year, but that's about it! I do have some really pretty blue beads waiting for me, i should figure out what to do with them!

I do somehow find time to stone my daughter's dance stuff! and matching apparel for us at basketball games...:D

post some pics martha!

another reason to retire early...;)
 
Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear
Beads and roman sandals won't be seen...

Merle
 
circa 1975 lazy's man bead (i'm pretty sure we didn't call it that) on leather. i think i wore that thing nonstop from about ages 16-18. i remember i had to remove it because it was stopping circulation to my brain. you'll notice that damage today.

img_731757_0_0a7ee3d9cfaf4ac58c4b9f352411c389.jpg
 
martha, thought you'd get a kick out of this. while considering the architecture thread i was remembering one of my old professors, googled him and found BabetteBeads

Ira, a professor of architecture at the University of Florida at Gainesville, is a self-taught alchemist and an accomplished sculptor whose work has been exhibited across the country. His glazes
Click to expand...
are the result of years of study, thousands of tests, and the labor of ideas in form and color. He strives to capture the fleeting, ephemeral iridescence present in much of nature: water, sunlight, and sunset. Ira is the driving force behind the glazes and firings that produce the magnificent, iridescent, lustre-glazed beads used to create the BabetteBeads collection
Click to expand...
 
I've seen several manly necklaces I like -- usually hemp cord macrame into a "chain" with a central, earthy-colored bead in the middle (or shell) and a knot-and-loop closure.

Have also seen ones I like that have a bead - charm - bead approach for the central bit. The charms I like are usually silver or pewter discs stamped with a sign (they look a bit like sealing wax embosses, actually).

Third thought: Take three leather strands, run a big bead down them (all three strands go through the bead), join in the back. The separation of the leather strands might look cool against a manly chest.

No glitz or bling, please, tho. Ugh.

I like the one Dex posted, too.

Then again, I'm not a man, so what do I know?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Qs Laptop
When Friends Claim They Need to Keep Working...and You are Doubtful
2 3
Replies
59
Views
4K
TheWizard
T
F
selling a motorcycle - test drive?
Replies
23
Views
1K
Car-Guy
Car-Guy
M
Parking Tickets
2
Replies
30
Views
1K
easysurfer
easysurfer
Tranquility Base
When to Sell Positions With Unrealized Gains
2
Replies
38
Views
2K
TheWizard
T
SecondCor521
Auto repair under recall...whoops it isn't - WWYD?
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
SecondCor521
SecondCor521

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom