Wooden Beads

By  Sandra Paluzzi
 The Bead Peddler®

Some of my long term readers may remember a previous column on wooden beads.  Unfortunately, I overwrote that web page and the article no longer exists.  I have received many inquiries about the article so am rewriting it. 

Wooden beads are very, very old.  I can picture pre- historic people picking up dead twigs,  boring out the soft centers and slicing them to make beads.  No tools were even needed.  Wooden beads have existed throughout the years and are just as plentiful today as they always were.

I doubt if there's anyone reading this who has not seen a wooden bead.   They are used to make bird's toys.  Large wooden beads are used in children's toys.  I am smiling thinking of a toddler manipulating the bead around a curved wire. Wooden beads are also used for trivets, portable car seat covers and foot massagers.  For centuries, the Chinese have used wooden beads to make an abacus, a counting device.  As late as the 1980s, an experienced person could count on an abacus faster than a computer could compute.  I don't know if that holds true today as computers have gained speed.  Wooden beads are used in prayer beads by both Christians and Hindus.  The list of uses goes on and on.

Various types of wood are used in making beads: hardwood, elm, beech, cedar, ebony and olive to name a few.  Today some wooden beads are handmade and some are turned on a lathe.  They can be plain, varnished, burnished, carved, or hand painted with decorations.    The wood can stand by itself or be inlaid with other natural materials, such as mother of pearl.  At times, wooden beads even form the core of fancier beads:  many seed bead beads are made on wooden cores.

Wooden beads are very plentiful.  They beads are made all over the world.  The USA and other industrial nations produce plain hardwood beads.  Wooden beads are part of the African heritage. Israel produces olive wood beads.  The Chinese and the Indians produce a number of wooden beads for export.  Both  the Chinese and Indians paint their beads.  I am fascinated by the different 'feel' that comes out of these two countries.

Chinese Wooden Beads

Indian Wooden Beads

At one time, the Chinese prized heavily carved wooden beads.  They were treasures fit for royalty.  Some of these beads are still quite valuable.  But as a rule, wooden beads are not only plentiful, they are also inexpensive.  The above beads can be had for pennies.  How great is that?

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