Dharma Wheel

Does anyone know a good natural material for stringing a māla? Something that will not break or stretch easily (would undoubtedly require pre-stretching, which is expected). What were malas typically strung with before we had nylon? Thanks.

dakini_boi wrote:Does anyone know a good natural material for stringing a māla? Something that will not break or stretch easily (would undoubtedly require pre-stretching, which is expected). What were malas typically strung with before we had nylon? Thanks.

Silk thread. Silk is REALLY strong. I know: it's not vegetarian, blah... blah... blah...

But doesn't it wear down pretty easily with the friction from the beads?

Sherab Dorje wrote:

dakini_boi wrote:Does anyone know a good natural material for stringing a māla? Something that will not break or stretch easily (would undoubtedly require pre-stretching, which is expected). What were malas typically strung with before we had nylon? Thanks.

Silk thread. Silk is REALLY strong. I know: it's not vegetarian, blah... blah... blah...

There is ways to produce silk without killing the worms

Konchog1 wrote:

Sherab Dorje wrote:

dakini_boi wrote:Does anyone know a good natural material for stringing a māla? Something that will not break or stretch easily (would undoubtedly require pre-stretching, which is expected). What were malas typically strung with before we had nylon? Thanks.

Silk thread. Silk is REALLY strong. I know: it's not vegetarian, blah... blah... blah...

There is ways to produce silk without killing the worms

Are there any silk producers that use such a method?

practitioner wrote:Are there any silk producers that use such a method?

I believe so, but its likely to be hard to find and expensive.

dakini_boi wrote:But doesn't it wear down pretty easily with the friction from the beads?

Not really. My only problem with silk was one time the ants discovered my mala and they ate the silk thread!!! Apart from that it has a much better tolerance to friction than cotton thread does. Waxed cotton is also a good/strong natural material. For heavier (ie stone bead) mala, or those with small holed beads (higher friction) I tend to tie knots between each bead. Malas threaded in this fashion NEVER break.

Thank you, I am looking into death-free silk cord.

i think the insects the silk came from would benefit hugely if you would use normal silk. becoming part of deitys speech.

' Ahimsa silk ' is made from the empty cocoons of the silk moth caterpillar AFTER they have pupated and become adult moths. Unlike ordinary silk which is made by boiling the cocoons with the caterpillars inside.

Simon E. wrote:' Ahimsa silk ' is made from the empty cocoons of the silk moth caterpillar AFTER they have pupated and become adult moths.

Cool! I wasn't aware of this technique.

I didn't either until recently. If you google 'Ahima Silk ' a couple of outlets come up.

Thin strips of leather used to be used typically..
Also different animal fur yarns or strings.

I imagine they used guts also in Tibet(I forget the technical term for gut string), but that is just my speculation. Guts that have been stretched out and waxed are an ideal natural mala string so I can't imagine Tibetans not making use of it.

catgut

We happened to have a nice roll of black hemp string at my house. Wonderful stuff!
It doesn't stretch and is really strong.

dimeo wrote:We happened to have a nice roll of black hemp string at my house. Wonderful stuff!
It doesn't stretch and is really strong.

Do you know what brand it is? The hemp string I used stretched a lot rather quickly.

I don't know what you're considering natural or not, but I made mine with steel string, and it has yet to break with years of use.

ClearblueSky wrote:I don't know what you're considering natural or not, but I made mine with steel string, and it has yet to break with years of use.

Wow, I never considered that. What is this steel string exactly though? Do you have to use really big beads?

disjointed wrote:

ClearblueSky wrote:I don't know what you're considering natural or not, but I made mine with steel string, and it has yet to break with years of use.

Wow, I never considered that. What is this steel string exactly though? Do you have to use really big beads?

It's a bodhi seed mala, so the holes aren't huge, but I would say they're bigger than some other types of bead. If there's a store with it near you, you could maybe bring in your beads and see what will fit.