T/HAIUA 002—2024: Holes, Cord, and Dimensions — Reading Three Hard Metrics

In the agarwood bead-string trade, not many people actually read the standard clause by clause. If you do read T/HAIUA 002—2024 Agarwood Bead Strings, you will find this group standard is more down-to-earth than many industry conventions — it does not talk in vague terms, it addresses only three things: holes, cord, and dimensions, and gives a measurable number for each.

It was issued by the Hainan Agarwood Industry Federation, released on March 26, 2024 and implemented the same day, first release.

I. Holes: the column most easily skipped in Table 1 of the sensory requirements

For the drilled hole (thread hole) item, the original text is "centered, axis not skewed, no burrs at the hole edge." The same table also lists four prohibitions side by side: decay, insect holes, cracking, and burrs.

Reading these two together, the conclusion is firmer than either alone: the hole channel is not a question of "whether a cord can pass through," but of "whether this string will later be worn through by this hole."

The cord relies on friction inside the hole, and friction relies on smooth hole walls. Leave a ring of burrs at the hole edge, and the cord moves back and forth there until it finally breaks at the hole mouth — this kind of break has nothing to do with whether the knot is well tied.

II. Cord: two hard requirements in the 5.1 passage

The original text: "Agarwood bead strings shall be processed from independent agarwood raw material and shall not be spliced"; and another sentence: "The cord shall have a certain degree of toughness and elasticity."

One whole piece of material, no splicing; the cord must be tough and elastic. Together, these two sentences effectively define the process route — spliced material cannot support the wording "independent raw material," and a stiff cord cannot withstand the repeated stress of long-term wear.

III. Dimensions: the four tolerance tiers in Table 2, with the direction reversed

Spherical beads are divided into four tiers of specifications and tolerances: diameter within 8 mm, allowable tolerance ±0.03; 8 to 15 mm, ±0.5; 15 to 20 mm, ±0.8; above 20 mm, ±1.0.

What is worth noting is the direction of the gradient: the smaller the bead, the tighter the allowable tolerance. The tier under 8 mm allows only 0.03 mm deviation, while the tier above 20 mm allows 1 mm — a difference of more than thirty times.

This clause is a threshold for factories making small beads and a protection for customers buying small beads — the tolerance of small beads is most likely to fall below the limit of visual resolution and be let through.

IV. Test methods written down to 0.02 mm

How dimensions are measured is given in 6.2: vernier caliper with 0.02 mm precision, each specimen measured once in each of two mutually perpendicular directions, the average taken, and the result kept to 2 decimal places.

Measuring once in each of two directions and then averaging is to offset the bead's roundness error; measuring only one direction makes the reading change with the rotational position.

Visual inspection conditions are given in 6.1.2: under natural light, or under approximate natural light with an illuminance of 300 to 600 lux.

V. What this standard does not cover

A full-text search: the three terms "maintenance," "handling/playing," and "patina" do not appear even once in this standard.

This is not an omission but a division of labor — the standard governs the condition at the factory gate and the inspection methods; how to care for it after wearing is another system of experience, mostly passed on orally in the industry and rarely put on paper.

To assume that having a group standard means having a full set of maintenance specifications is to conflate two things into one.

VI. Three practical suggestions for peers

First, when citing the group standard, do not just copy the number. T/HAIUA 002—2024 is the currently valid version; when citing, write the number together with the implementation date, and do not mix it with the other standards in test reports.

Second, the ±0.03 of the 8 mm tier is already close to the resolution of common digital calipers (precision 0.02 mm). Disputes falling in this tier often cannot be settled by instruments, and ultimately come back to visual inspection and feel — which is also why 6.1.2 in the standard specifically specifies illuminance.

Third, in procurement and acceptance, list "burrs at the hole edge" as a separate inspection item. Among the four prohibitions, decay, insect holes, and cracking are usually discovered at the drilling and bead-turning stages; only burrs often slip through to the last step.

VII. One closing remark

How much a group standard can do depends on whether buyers are willing to ask according to it.

The value of a standard is not on paper, but on the acceptance form.

Report in the comments: does the string in your hand have burrs at the hole edge? Say a word and I will help you see whether it passes.

This article was first published at www.zgcx.net.cn.

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