Dear James,
Thank you for the post! A very good question.. how to make a Rosary last. A lot of machine-made Rosaries fall apart very easily.. and for the money that you pay for them, it can make you steaming mad! :really-mad2:
A sure-fire way of getting a Rosary to last is to use quality beads. Since you are a man, I would use some beautiful-yet-sturdy Jerusalem olive wood beads. Now, here is the important part... the holes in the beads HAVE to be big enough to have an 18 gauge wire go through, and make a loop that goes INSIDE the bead at each end. ( hope this makes sense, I will post pics)
The wire is essential as well. It HAS to be thick and strong enough to take years of wear and tear.
Also, if you look at the centerpiece, most machine-made Rosaries have cheap "jump rings" attaching the chain to the centerpiece. That is a huge place for things to go wrong. I have always used one piece of wire to make a figure-eight loop that is virtually indestructible!!( My hubby is in the Army, and he has only had ONE Rosary this whole time!!)
I hope that I have answered your question, I will post some pix explaining what I mean if that would help.
OH! And I forget ALL the time to say.... I fix broken Rosaries and even remake them sometimes. I just ask for prayers for my family and for the Poor Souls in exchange!
God bless you, and thank you for praying your Rosary!
Love,
+michaela