Make way for Barbell jewellery!

 

Barbells may appear to be a contemporary jewel. Contrary to the popular perception, externally-threaded, straight barbells have its roots in tribal clans, most conspicuously the Dayak of Borneo, in Germany. But it rose to fame when Horst Heinrich Streckenbach ‘Tattoo Samy’ (1926–2001), a tattooist and piercer from Frankfurt and his student Manfred ‘Piker’ Kohrs from Hanover, Germany turned it into an internally-threaded barbells and introduced to Jim Ward, founder of Gauntlet (the first body piercing studio in the United States), in the 1970s. FYI, Ward's magazine PFIQ has been crucial in the development of modern body piercing.  

Barbells are essentially a straight bar with a bead on each end. One or both beads can be unscrewed for removal and/or changing of the beads. But mostly one of the beads is fixed, either via epoxy or welding, so that only one bead is used to wear or remove the jewellery. They can be worn on the ear lobes as well as cartilages. For an edgier look, they are also used to adorn piercings on eyebrows, tongue, naval... Note that, it is equally popular amongst men and women, both. 

Just so you know, barbell threads are usually right-handed and are named so because they resemble the barbells used in weightlifting.  

There are five types of barbell jewellery

#1 and #2 Internally-threaded and externally-threaded barbells

#3 Curved barbells

#4 Circular barbells

#5 Surface bars

Types of beads

Spherical shape is common yet from cubical, triangular and cylindrical to conical, disc-shaped and other basic shapes, there are many bead alternatives that has resonated with the masses. Smartie, Bondage, Koosh and Miniature Vibrator are other edgy style beads used in the barbell jewellery. Made of either Teflon or Tygon Tubing, they are often used in experimental surface or deep tissue piercings. Acrylic, glass or organic materials too are used to embellish the beads.

Author: Deepa Mishra

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