u/jabulleta

I tried making a Pozvonok style chetki today and really liked it, but there's one thing I'd like to know.
Did chetki made from standard beads—like the Pozvonok type—originally exist in Russia? Or was Aroundsquare the first to create them?

In Russia and Ukraine, there are people who make beads out of plastic trash, and after watching a few videos, I wanted to try it, so I did.
The following is the video I watched

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEggd4Dfy8k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFcUZgt5K-E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSzhZnzR5Wk

You don't need a lathe or anything like that. You just heat up the plastic with a candle or alcohol lamp, wrap it around a stainless steel straw, and press it against the hook that acts as a mold while rotating it.

The important point I discovered is to choose polystyrene that doesn't have any butadiene in it.
This is what happened when I chose a different plastic.
Polypropylene: the worst. It doesn't stick together and clings to the tools.
Polyethylene: It's easy to shape. However, it doesn't stick very well, so it slips when you try to rotate it.
PET: When heated, it turns a beautiful amber color, but it's very sticky and hard to work with. The finished beads look great, so it's worth giving it a try.
PVC: It releases toxic gas when heated, so you should never heat it. Things like blister packs are this.

Making beads is quite fun. If you have the setup to easily make the necessary mold, it’s a hobby I’d recommend.
If you ever feel like making beads, feel free to ask me anything.

I tried making a few Komboloi and ended up settling on this design.

The beads are made of agate, jasper, acrylic, and wood.
The transparent beads placed to make the string bend sharply are called 'Suzumaru' in Japan, but I don't know what it's called in English.

(This post was reposted because the photo was way too blurry. When I take it with my phone, the brown beads get really blurry, so I dug out my old digital camera.)

I tried making a few Komboloi and ended up settling on this design.

If you can guess what function each bead has, you're smart!

Hello,
I was thinking of starting komboloi and tried making one as a test, but are there any elements in this that could hinder a beginner's progress? For example,
The string is made of floor leather and has quite strong friction, but is it a problem if the komboloi string has too much friction?
What about the size of the beads? If they are wooden, are they too light?
I also want to know how different parts of the komboloi affect it.
At first, I tried making it with a thin string, but it was too difficult to handle, so I made it a bit thicker. However, looking at traditional Greek komboloi, their strings are thin. Is string thickness irrelevant and friction the important factor?
For those who use steel beads, doesn't it hurt when the beads hit the back of the hand?
What is the standard ratio of the length of the part with beads to the part without beads? How does it change if it is longer or shorter than that?
What kind of string is normally used? Parachute cord?

The original post is here.
https://x.com/SORA_KAERU/status/2063633168683737590

Why is it 2? Because there is 1.
https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/1otd10x/the_worst_teapot/