Any chemicals to help with...

wegs

wegs

Matter and Pixie Dust
Valued Senior Member
...untangling two necklaces? I’ve been trying to untangle two deeply knotted necklaces, to no avail. Trying everything - using tweezers, needles to pull the chain knots apart, “massaging” the knots to loosen them etc

This may be a stupid question but is there potentially any combination of chemicals that if I submerge this tangled mess, it would significantly loosen the chains?
 
This is all I could find.


Untangling Necklaces
Use a straight pin to gently pull out all of the knots. If that doesn't work, place the necklace on a hard, nonporous surface such as glass. Apply several drops of baby oil or mineral oil to the chain, then use the pin to untangle the links. Proper storage should help prevent tangling.A
 
Seattle said:
This is all I could find.


Untangling Necklaces
Use a straight pin to gently pull out all of the knots. If that doesn't work, place the necklace on a hard, nonporous surface such as glass. Apply several drops of baby oil or mineral oil to the chain, then use the pin to untangle the links. Proper storage should help prevent tangling.A
Click to expand...
Did you watch the video?

:)
 
Seattle said:
This is all I could find.


Untangling Necklaces
Use a straight pin to gently pull out all of the knots. If that doesn't work, place the necklace on a hard, nonporous surface such as glass. Apply several drops of baby oil or mineral oil to the chain, then use the pin to untangle the links. Proper storage should help prevent tangling.A
Click to expand...
Ah, baby oil. I hadn't thought of trying this. I'll report back with my findings.
 
If the necklaces (necklii?) are made of silver or gold, try Nitric and or Chloric Acid*. That will take care of any knots pretty effectively.

*don't
 
wegs said:
Ah, baby oil. I hadn't thought of trying this. I'll report back with my findings.
Click to expand...
That sounds like a good suggestion, provided the necklaces are not made of plastic or some other substance softened by oil.

If the necklaces are made of metal links, ie. a chain, then I think you need a wet day with nothing to do, a magnifying glass and some pins able to move the individual links gently. To encourage you, all it takes is to release the tension in the knot a little and the whole thing will start to become easier. But finding that first bit that can move may take a long time.
 
BTW, I have a sailor's a trick to untie tight knots.

1. Look for short bows trapping a long strand or strands, like the one circled in pic 1.

2. Take the strand(s) (orange) and bend it all the way away from the bow, as in the middle pics, 2 and 3.

3. Now you can slip the bow (green) off the strand(s), as in the bottom pics, 4 and 5.

This is a great trick because it can work on the tightest knots without having to loosen anything first (which is the problem in the first place - getting anything to loosen up.)

upload_2020-9-10_18-24-45.png
 
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DaveC426913 said:
BTW, I have a sailor's a trick to untie tight knots.

1. Look for short bows trapping a long strand or strands, like the one circled in pic 1.

2. Take the strand(s) (orange) and bend it all the way away from the bow, as in the middle pics, 2 and 3.

3. Now you can slip the bow (green) off the strand(s), as in the bottom pics, 4 and 5.

This is a great trick because it can work on the tightest knots without having to loosen anything first (which is the problem in the first place - getting anything to loosen up.)

View attachment 3635
Click to expand...
Now that sounds like the best suggestion to date, by some distance.

But wegs may need a magnifying glass to spot these short loops, if the necklaces are fine.
 
DaveC426913 said:
BTW, I have a sailor's a trick to untie tight knots.

1. Look for short bows trapping a long strand or strands, like the one circled in pic 1.

2. Take the strand(s) (orange) and bend it all the way away from the bow, as in the middle pics, 2 and 3.

3. Now you can slip the bow (green) off the strand(s), as in the bottom pics, 4 and 5.

This is a great trick because it can work on the tightest knots without having to loosen anything first (which is the problem in the first place - getting anything to loosen up.)

View attachment 3635
Click to expand...
The challenge is that these two necklaces are very fragile, the chains are so tightly knotted, it’s difficult to see where I can slip a pin in to loosen it. It’s coming along but not all knots are created equal. :(
 
So, I used oil last night and it helped loosen some of the knotted spots but I haven’t been able to get even one necklace free, yet.

I’ve been at this for three days.

Necklaces: 3
Me: 0
 
exchemist said:
Now that sounds like the best suggestion to date, by some distance.

But wegs may need a magnifying glass to spot these short loops, if the necklaces are fine.
Click to expand...
Yes, and I have one but not as helpful as I would’ve hoped. I’m not taking this to a jeweler, but I wonder how much more they’d accomplish seeing that we’re both mere mortals. lol What could they do that I’m not already doing?
 
wegs said:
Yes, and I have one but not as helpful as I would’ve hoped. I’m not taking this to a jeweler, but I wonder how much more they’d accomplish seeing that we’re both mere mortals. lol What could they do that I’m not already doing?
Click to expand...
Perhaps not a lot but they may have done this more often than you. Perhaps it is worth giving one a call to see whether this is a common problem and how easy it is for them to fix.
 
exchemist said:
Perhaps not a lot but they may have done this more often than you. Perhaps it is worth giving one a call to see whether this is a common problem and how easy it is for them to fix.
Click to expand...
I’m betting they will charge $100 - this is a wild guess but I would charge that! :D
 
How much are the necklaces worth? Maybe just start over and don't store them like that next time? :)
 
I did it! Both necklaces are free! Yay! That seriously was a lot of work. But I thought that if I loosened all of the knots, then I could locate all the overlaps. And that “strategy” worked. The oil definitely helped. I love these two necklaces although you wouldn’t think it seeing I let them get tangled up like that. lol

#nevergiveup
 
wegs said:
I did it! Both necklaces are free! Yay! That seriously was a lot of work. But I thought that if I loosened all of the knots, then I could locate all the overlaps. And that “strategy” worked. The oil definitely helped. I love these two necklaces although you wouldn’t think it seeing I let them get tangled up like that. lol

#nevergiveup
Click to expand...
Phew, we can breathe a sigh of relief.

I think that, having tantalised us all with this saga, the least you can do is now post a picture of the necklaces.:wink:
 
exchemist said:
Phew, we can breathe a sigh of relief.

I think that, having tantalised us all with this saga, the least you can do is now post a picture of the necklaces.:wink:
Click to expand...
haha I most definitely will. I'm wearing one of them now. It's funny, but I lost track of them, and it took seeing them intertwined in a knotted mess, to rekindle my love for them. :smile:
 
Seattle said:
Just look at the bright side, you have a new hobby untangling things.
Click to expand...
Might seem silly, but I could start a business. I wouldn't charge as much as the jewelers, but I have to say, they earn every penny.
 
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