Edo bekko is used in a wide variety of different products such as more traditional wares like combs, kanzashi (a type of hair ornament for women that became widely used starting in the mid-Edo period), netsuke (small ornaments attached to the end of the drawstrings of tobacco pouches and purses that would keep them from slipping open) to glasses frames, necklaces, and broaches. Possible only after the advent of techniques refined over time for affixing layers of tortoiseshell together through the use of water and heat without any other adhesive substances, artisans were able to bring out the distinctive characteristics of tortoiseshell as a medium such as its deep luster and texture, the item’s character becoming even more pronounced the more it is used.

While some say that the shell of the hawksbill turtle, which can grow larger than 1 meter in length, is especially suited to Edo bekko, the animal is currently registered as an endangered species set forth by the Washington Convention and thus procurement of natural tortoiseshell for creating these crafts has proved problematic.