I keep breaking rosaries :/

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childinthefaith

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I have tried combat rosaries and broken two of them, and have tried multiple other ones and break those as well.
I just now ordered a paracord rosary because well, I used it (550 paracord) in the Air Force a lot, and still do, so perhaps a rosary made with it will hold up like the other paracord knots I’ve got all over the house currently…we shall see.

I tried to repair the combat rosary, but the connection is wayyyyy too small to do anything with using the tools I have on hand. If I had access to an electronic repair shop maybe I could do it…at least I can use the leather case that came with it still :))

Anyone here have these sort of problems - rosaries breaking every 6 months? So help me I’ve not had one last over 6. May ought to make it a line item on our family budget…grrrrr
 
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I think a lot of people have mentioned they prefer the paracord ones because they do hold up better. I have only had one rosary ever break, but it was just a loose link I closed up.

Do you carry them in your pocket, is that how they break?
 
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I tend to break most rosaries with a chain/linked body. I have a Rugged Rosaries all-metal WW1 style rosary (similar to a combat rosary) and that has held up well for me. Rugged Rosaries also has a lot of paracord rosaries, and I agree that’s a good choice if everything else breaks.
 
I have been using the WWI rosary from rugged rosaries for 18 months now. I have never had one last that long. I also have one if rugged rosary’s oara cord rosaries. It us indestructible, but way too large to use very often.
 
Yes, carry in right front pocket inside zip up leather case that came with a combat rosary. I dont wear tight pants of any sort ( I carry 2 handguns all the time, have to maintain concealment) so the pouch only rolls inside my pocket and has wat I’d think would be very slight pressure while I’m in process of sitting. Of course it gets pulled out and replaced in my pocket a good bit for use and clothes changes…

Just looked up the Rugged Rosaries site. The WWI rosary looks exactly like my Combat rosary that just broke, except I had a pardon crucifix & a different medal on it.
Their paracord rosaries are on my list for next if I need another. Thx!
 
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I’ve been using a wire wrapped rosary for seven years. It comes with me wherever I go, usually in a case but often loose in a pocket.

The person who made it is so confident it will never break that she’ll repair it for free if it does.
 
I like those wooden bead-and-cord rosaries. I think they’re made by sisters in Viet Nam? Anyhow they’re very durable.
 
Some Rosaries are delicate because of the material/metal that connects the beads…I have read about how some Rosaries were made to be more durable. These Rosaries were made with twisted tri-lobe chains. They are old. The Rosaries were made using this method because people could only afford one Rosary, and they were made to last…my old Rosary has noticeable wear on the beads and, hopefully, it will last thru my lifetime…I cherish it and handle it with love!
 
Yes, I’ve had a lot of past broken rosaries. They either catch on things and break, or they just fall apart with age. I got a paracord rosary from Rugged Rosaries about 3 years ago and it’s very durable and I have not had a problem since.

Just watch out if you have pets because apparently dogs and cats like to chew on whatever resin beads they use - I have read of puppies chewing up the Rugged Rosaries and one of my cats likes to chomp on mine if I don’t keep it from him. He doesn’t chew other things except for papers, so it’s really weird that he’s drawn to that particular rosary.

There are also rosaries made with certain wire-wrap techniques to be unbreakable. Most of them have wire going over the beads somehow. I prefer the paracord as I don’t have to worry about my fingers hitting wire while I’m sliding the beads through my fingers.
 
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I have never broken a rosary before, so if you keep breaking them every six months, that’s probably a good sign that you are using it enough! I think the knot rosary will solve your problem!
 
I had a combat rosary and it broke as well! I was disappointed.

Now, I was gifted a rosary from Rugged Rosaries a few years ago…that thing has held up amazingly well. I totally recommend them to anyone.
 
Hello childinthefaith,
When I was in my religious order, I used to make rosaries for fundraising for our missions so I am familiar with their construction and sometimes our benefactors had similar problems.

My first question would be: where do you hold the rosary bead? Do you only hold the bead itself and let the rest of the rosary hang loose? Do you hold the bead but loop the rosary around your fingers and hold it in your palm? Do you hold the chain or cord between the rosary beads and let the bead rest on the outer edge of your fingers?

How we hold the rosary puts different levels of stress on the closures holding the bead on the rosary and the links of the chain connecting the beads.

Do your rosaries usually break in similar places: near an Our Father, in the middle of a any decade, near the medallion, opposite the medallion in the third decade, etc.?

If we can diagnose where the stress is being put on the rosary, you can be conscious of that and avoid holding it in a way which may compromise the integrity of the linkages.

Also keep in mind, not all rosaries are equal. Most mass produced rosaries, I have found, have inferior linkages. To test a rosary’s integrity before you buy one, there are a few indicators of the quality. First, does the bead slide slightly on the metal link holding it on the chain? Is the eye loop at the end of the beads fully closed (the end of the metal loop actually touches back on itself and there is no gap between the two metal ends)?

God bless,
Ben
 
If you break the paracord one, you will need iron metal chains…

I have never heard of someone breaking a paracord rosary… well yes, there was one, but he used a knife.
 
If the “rugged rosaries,” that I’m guessing you ordered dont hold up, I dont know what will :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
Steel cable?
 
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Regarding the “combat rosaries” sold today, unless you pay a good bit of money to get a vintage one that was actually used in a World War, most of the versions around today are not as durable and do not hold up. Fr. Heilman claims his version is stronger, but I haven’t stress-tested it as I usually use my paracord one.
 
I have enough broken rosaries to fill a small bag. I just keep buying new ones and try to treat them with respect.
I have a paracord rosary. It’s over a decade old and very sturdy. Unhappily one bead broke off so now I can’t use it. I’m hoping to find another somewhere.
 
childinthefaith said:
I tried to repair the combat rosary, but the connection is wayyyyy too small to do anything with using the tools I have on hand. If I had access to an electronic repair shop maybe I could do it
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Get the tools and get it repaired. It likely had some tug on it, pretty hard, that pulled a thin metal piece straight and it let go. Nothing broken, just tiny and difficult to get repaired. It will last a long time again if you do repair it. I had to do this only once in several years.
 
Thanks for that.
Unfortunately, I own all those tools but due to a hand injury in the military, can no longer use my dominant hand for such delicate things, one major reason I’m “disabled” and retired.
Once upon a time, I worked on ballistic explosive systems - ejection systems for aircraft that is, as well as circuit boards and mass spectrometers. Hand won’t allow for small things now.
I do very much appreciate the offering of the “how to” and where to get info. Thank you so very much for taking the time.

FTR, I ordered up a St Benedict paracord rosary from an online company I’ve used for other things and pray that it holds up bettter.
In my personal experiences with paracord, it is pretty durable. I keep at least 50 ft of it around the house and use it probably as much as my redneck kin use duct tape to fix things 🙂
 
  1. Do you pray it with both hands? Subtle tugs take their toll over time.
  2. Note how you hold it: if used in one hand only. Do you grasp the completed beads with middle-through-little finger and “push” on the current bead with thumb and index finger to take up the slack? That will also do it as even paracord is synthetic and the fibers break down from constant flexion.
  3. Have someone observe and note what you are doing with your hands and fingers. The reason is in there somewhere.
 
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