Heishi Surfer necklace

This is Dan's other necklace.  I made this when we first started hanging out three years ago, because of a story he told me.  He and his dad did a mission trip to Papua New Guinea, where he was given a handmade bagi (think that's how it's spelled)--a long necklace of hand-carved red shell heishi beads and bits of the shells the tribe used as their currency, strung on hand-woven palm-root twine.  He wore it all the time in memory of the trip, until it broke at work and spayed tiny beads everywhere.  He picked up what he could, but he worked the machine floor at Caterpillar, so there wasn't a whole lot of hope to get the thing repaired.
I hunted down some blacklip shell heishi beads that had a little gold to them because he's a Purdue fan (and I only had a vague description of the bagi; I got all the details on how it was made, but, ironically, not a lot on its actual color and style), and strung them on hemp thread with a few hematite rounds to make bit of a pattern.  I kept it short so he could wear it at work and not get it caught on anything--though by that point he was working for Ivy Tech, not Cat.  I told him I knew it wouldn't replace the valuable treasure he'd lost, but I hoped it would still remind him of it, and wouldn't be so costly if it broke.
Well...he wore it out.  The hemp just couldn't stand up to the constant wear and tear.  So I replaced it with heavy fishing line.  Twice.  Then wire.  Knowing the wire was only a temporary fix, I hunted for an extremely durable stringing material and ran across SoftFlex wire, which is stainless steel coated with nylon so it doesn't rust, and the wire is braided for more stability.
Last night I convinced him to let me have the necklace back, so I could perform my preventative adjustment, and gave him back the shard tribal necklace from a previous post.  This is the first time I've gotten pictures of it.  It's nothing fancy, just a surfer-style necklace because I knew he also likes to swim.
I should note that for his birthday this year, his parents contacted the missionaries he and his Dad worked with years ago and commissioned a new bagi (pronounced boggie).  They brought it with them when they came up to visit our church this summer.  Dan's decided with the new one he's going to frame it for display instead of wear it.

 

Name: Blacklip and Hematite Surfer necklace

Price: original not for sale; can do similar for about $15 to $25

Length: 19 inches