“OK, this is a totally dumb question, but when you have solid wood circles that are in the chain, there’s no way to ‘open’ the wood chain in order to adjust the number of links you want, is there, short of breaking one of the links?”

If you can cut wood chain, you can make this!

Our response:

“Hi, your question is definitely NOT dumb — in fact several people in our warehouse have asked the same thing!

The short answer is: just like with soldered chain, you’ll need to cut through a link to shorten the chain or use small sections. You’ll have to sacrifice cut links, unless you saw through them carefully.

One of our purchasers says, ‘I have a the link we broke in order to shorten the chain. It broke on the glue line and could maybe be glued back together. These are not solid links — at least not all of them (every other one?). The chain would be sooooo expensive if solid! So, the glued ones have a barely visible line.’

Co-owner Russ adds: ‘So far, most people using these styles of chain use the whole length. You could use a fine jeweler’s saw and cut open a link. It should be possible to glue the link together with wood glue however it might snap as you try to compress the cut ends together.  It would be safer to glue it together with a thin slice of veneer into the gap created by the saw kerf. We’ve not tried this yet, and I’m not going to recommend it, but it should be possible. In other words, you are on your own if you try it. ”

I hope this helps! 

Let us know if you find a method that works well for you!

What would you trade to have these...?

But what are trade beads (or ‘tradebeads’)?  Rings & Things often gets asked this question.  I got our bead-loving founder, Russ Nobbs, to talk a little about this…

Q:  What are trade beads?

Russ:  Generally the term ‘trade bead’ refers to the kinds of beads collected and sold in Africa. In the public perception this includes

• European-made glass beads
• Indian-made carnelian and agate beads
• African-made stone, metal and powdered-glass beads
• and, more recently, contemporary glass beads from India and China.

So, it’s a catch-all name for what could be called “African beads just because they are found today in African sources.”

Q:  What do trade beads have to do with trading?

Russ:  When asked if trade beads were really traded, well-known bead researcher Jamey Allen said, “My definition merely says that ‘trade’ beads are ‘beads that were made for exchange purposes, not for use purposes.’  Not all old beads are ‘trade’ beads.”

Very few of the ‘trade beads’ on the market today are truly ‘trade’ beads, in that they were made to sell as commodities.  Beads made for the slave and gold trade are from an earlier era than most of what are called “trade beads” on sale today.

Q:  What are some major kinds of trade beads that people might enjoy checking out?

Russ:  At Rings & Things we tend to describe this category as “African and Trade Beads.” This includes Indian stone and European glass beads made in the 18th, 19th and early 20th century. It also includes the powder-glass beads made currently in Ghana and lost-wax cast metal beads from Ghana and Ivory Coast. These were made in the last century and production continues today.

Thanks to Russ for sharing some thoughts about this.  Have another question for our resident bead expert?    Ask here!