Pearls broke my pearl reamer - any suggestions?

[taemint-pearl]

Hello,

I've been learning to string pearls for about 6 weeks now and this forum has been a wonderful help (thank you to all .

I have some FW champagne pearls I was hoping to string into a necklace, but when I first tried, the holes would not allow the needle with Serafil 20 weight through twice. Nearly, but not quite. I purchased a pearl reamer and on my first try it broke and the pearl is stuck. After reading through the forum, I image the pearl now lives on the reamer.

Any suggestions to enlarge the holes? It was a Beadlon pearl reamer, so perhaps not the best quality (I'm not sure). Perhaps a much thinner thread? Any suggestions welcome.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Metal contracts when cold. Try putting the pearl + reamer in the fridge for a while to chill the metal. Then, gripping the end of the pearl reamer with a sturdy pair of pliers, and the pearl with rubber gloves that have a textured surface (e.g. Playtex), rotate the pearl (or the reamer) as you pull it off.

Also here is another tool for reaming, which I prefer. It's a pin vise-- esentially a small drill that is hand operated. It's slow going and if all your pearls have a small hole, rather than just a few, you may not want to make the effort. I use it when an occasional pearl needs widening:

Amazon.com

But why not use Serafil 30? That's the medium size, and what I use.

 

[KarinK]

Thinner thread! Unless it is only one or two pearls where it's tight. You do not want to enlarge all the holes.