Schmuckatelli Co. takes its name from Joe Schmuckatelli, the invisible character the founder and his boyhood friends consulted whenever a question had no answer, and the brand grew into one of the best-known makers of skull beads in the EDC world. Every bead is cast in the USA from lead-free pewter, with plating and lanyard fabrication done stateside as well, designed by an owner whose credentials run deeper than jewelry: a sixth-degree Hapkido master who has trained under Ernest Emerson himself and instructs at Emerson's combat seminars, which is exactly the lineage behind the Emerson Skull bead.
Our selection runs the Emerson Skull, the Fang Skull, the intricately twisted Mind Skull in bead and lanyard form, and the Joe Mini lanyard honoring the namesake himself, in finishes from bright pewter to black oxide with paracord in black, red, and digital camo. Each sculpted bead carries a 3/16 inch lanyard hole sized for doubled 550 cord, and the function is as real as the style: a beaded lanyard pulls a deep-carried folding knife from a pocket instantly and hooks around a finger for a secure draw. Small sculptures with a working job, they're the fastest personality upgrade in our EDC accessories, and collectors rarely stop at one skull.