Matching the size of the hole with the thickness of the thread is challenging.

In the crafting of prayer beads, I have important details that I particularly care about.

When crafting the core part of prayer beads, the diameter of the bead holes is taken into account to determine the thickness of the cord. It’s a matter of deciding how many threads of what thickness to bundle together, making micro-adjustments down to a tenth of a millimeter.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the craftsman’s skill can be determined by how well they gauge the “tightness” of the assembly. What is considered “just right” varies depending on the religious sect and individual usage. Although not many people seem to be concerned about this, it’s a point I’m particularly particular about.

Unlike manufacturers that mass-produce identical items, in our case, we mostly deal with custom orders or repairs. Therefore, it’s essential to gauge the thickness of beads we’re encountering for the first time.

While it’s common to have beads with varying hole diameters like 1.1mm and 1.3mm, the sense of “tightness” is more delicate than any measurement error. So, you have to rely on intuition to account for such variations.

This morning, the stringing of beads went perfectly on the first try, making me feel like everything will go smoothly today, no matter what I do.