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Shapes and Holes in Beads

To begin with, what is a bead? We start this discussion not with my answer but with Deborah Zinn's response. I can only ask "To Bead or Not To Bead?" My answer takes the form of a quiz.

When describing beads, one begins with the material and the shape. There are two pages concerned with the shapes of beads on the site. One considers the basic bead shapes and the other special bead shapes and the question of the relative lengths of beads.

Central to the discussion is the hole, which defines most beads (a very few beads are grooved for suspension). The hole is more properly called the perforation. This and other related terms are discussed on a page dedicated to the problem.

The same page also helps you make useful distinctions between drilled and non-drilled beads and the ways in which one can tell the sort of drill used. Another page discusses the dimple, the roughening of a bead's surface before drilling it.

Shells made into beads are treated differently than most other materials. It is possible to tell how a shell be was perforated by examining the hole made by the operation.

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