A SAUCER OF MILK FOR THE CAT – Illustration
OK, so this sounds a little strange, but please bear with me. English Worry Beads are constructed from natural components and as with leather goods and quality wooden furniture they need to be cared for. This can be done using yourself or conditioning products. OK so that sounds even stranger! Let us start with using yourself as that is the easiest. When you first get your worry beads the leather will be “as manufactured” and the wood has a single coat of bees wax or Danish oil to protect the wood from staining. This method of feeding needs nothing other than using the worry beads. The wood will need to be gently rubbed in your hand or just with your fingers. The natural oil from your body will add layer upon layer of protection and discolouration so that the wood becomes unique to you. The leather needs the same treatment but you must be careful to ensure that all the leather receives treatment, especially for the 1Pear (mini) as the cord can dry out. Everyone will approach this feeding regime in a different way and only goes to customise your worry beads to you even better.
Using your worry beads as a means of feeding them is very slow and some of you may wish to see immediate results. For online customers we include a free tin of Leather and Wood Finger Wax and shortly we will be offering this as a separate item. You may use this wax any other wood wax or wood oil to protect the wood and leather of your worry beads. Leather can be treated with the same products as the wood and responds beautifully. Be careful not to use very much. Remember when you polish a table you only need a small amount of wax/oil and the worry beads are considerably smaller! Once again make sure you treat all parts of the leather otherwise it will dry out and eventually break.
My son and some of his friends now use worry beads when they get frustrated or just to relax. They have taken to leaving them out by a window and the sunlight when intensified by the window has dried out the leather very quickly and the wood has become bleached. I have rescued a set and brought them almost back to “as new” but if I had not caught them when I did they would have been ruined forever. Use the same safety precautions you do for other wood and leather items and you will be able to enjoy your worry beads for many years.
Whilst writing about using chemicals on your worry beads I would just like to remind you to wash your hands before eating. None of the products here should cause you any harm but it is always best to air on the safe side, especially where you have given worry beads to children.
If you have any tips on conditioning and protecting leather/wood please add them to this blog, so others can benefit. If you use worry beads regularly please email me to share your experiences.
Kevin
The English Worry Bead Co
www.englishworrybeads.uk
