I won't mention where I got them from, because it's not their fault, but I just received an order of quite a few colors of the new "Halo" finish fire polished beads. I was really looking forward to them because they look so pretty in the photos I've seen. The bad news is that nearly every bead is defective. It must have something to do with the way that they apply the gold finish because almost every bead has a little gold "nub" sticking out of at least one of the holes. That means that the beads aren't usable until I remove those sharp little nubs. For the price I paid, I expected to be able to just pick up the beads and use them without having to perform any extra steps to prepare the beads before using them. It's going to take me hours to file off the nubs on every single bead so that I won't have to remember to do this later. As you can imagine, trying to hold onto a tiny 3mm fire polish bead is no picnic. I can sort of manage it by inserting a needlepoint needle into one end while filing the other end. The only reason this works is because the needle is too fat to go all the way through the bead and out the other side. My other concern is that the sharp edges will cut my beading thread and eventually cause my beadwork to fall apart when the thread breaks.
Has anyone else had this experience with these beads? I bought them in six colors in 3mm and 4mm. Every batch has these sharp nubs so it can't be a fluke. Needless to say, I won't buy them again and I just wish that someone had warned me about this problem before I spent so much money on them. I was considering ordering some of the SuperDuo beads with the same Halo finish on them but I don't think I'll take a chance on them, especially since SuperDuos already have a tendency to have plugged holes.
You might not see the nubs in the photo at the top of this post, so here are a couple of close-ups of a few of the 4mm fire polished beads I just got:
that is not right... the makers of these beads know very well what they are used for .....beading ....and that nub would effect everything and i think if you are to file the nub off you had best get some glass sanding paper to take any bur off
ReplyDeletei know you say where you got them from are not to blame and i agree BUT..i would not stock them and i would tell people why ..they should have warned you linda ...they should have a big picture up like yours so you know what you are buying
i am stunned at that
i have worked with really cheap beads before now and they have been far better quality than that.
nope ...shame on the bead makers for this one ... T
I have recently purchased halo beads in the rose madder color, 3m and 4m, from two different suppliers. From one, Bobby Bead in Minneapolis, there are no nubs. The other, from one of the suppliers you recommend, have nubs. So maybe it was a bad batch. Try ordering from Bobby or somewhere other than where you got these, might be different. Bead maker still should have had better quality control.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that they're not all bad. I do think it's odd though that every color and size that I ordered has the nubs.
DeleteBarb, did you send your bad batch back? I have notified the shop where I bought the beads.
DeleteI just wanted to let everyone know that I've been issued a full refund and I have a return label to send the beads back.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information :) I also ordered some Halo beads and saw some of the nubs. It is a little paint residue. I used my finger nail and it popped right off. Let me give everyone a hint that I learned many years ago from a wonderful very old Cherokee Tribe woman. I love to go to POW WOWS in the Autumn and often find some beautiful beads for sale. She did a demonstration on bead work and actually took some time to talk with me! I learned so much from her. She said that it is necessary to always prepare your thread and beads before starting any project. To condition the thread with bees wax and to buff and clean the beads with a natural fiber cloth. I use an old cotton "hankie". Before you put the beads on your mat just pour a few into the cloth and lightly rub. She said that oils and dirt are often on the beads. Sometimes someone may handled them with lotion on their hands etc... Once I ordered beads from EBAY and cat hair was in the zip lock bag! Yuck. The nubs cleaned right off the beads so I had no problem. Thanks for everything you do here on the internet to help and inspire us!
My point is that I shouldn't have to do anything to the beads before using them and have never had to before now. The nubs were not coming off easily in my case and I shouldn't have to pick them off both ends of hundreds of tiny beads that kept slipping out from between my fingers as I tried to do that. I'm not sure if rubbing and buffing these kinds of beads is a good thing to do. Some finishes are rather delicate and might rub off.
DeleteIn any case, the beads are going back and I'm sure that the shop owner will get credit for them from the manufacturer.
I am so glad you got your money back, and I hope that whoever sold the beads to you gets their money back from their supplier. How unconscionable to ship such damaged goods. And you must have been so disappointed; I'm sure you were looking forward to getting them.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was. I'd had my eye on them for quite some time and was just waiting for a sale on them.
DeleteI got some of that bad batch also. I only ordered a few and they don't look as bad as your batch. I purchased mine a few weeks ago and just looked at the color when I received them. I had to go pull them out when I read your post. They are a beautiful color.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a bead reamer? Sounds like that's what you need. Darn shame, they really are pretty. If possible, you ought to file a complaint with the company that made them.
ReplyDeleteA bead reamer would be fine if it had only been a couple of bad beads. There was no way that I was going to fix the whole batch. The issue has been resolved, my money has been refunded, and hopefully the shop owner has let the supplier know about the problem.
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