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.

 

[De Blancas]

Never enlarge the holes my friend. maybe you need to try to use a thinner reamer.

 

[taemint-pearl]

Dear All,

Thank you so much for your replies, and apologies for the very late reply. Ended up unwell but all fine now. I took the advice and switched to a much thinner thread. I've also realized that trying to enlarge with the reamer is a waste of time if it's more than a couple pearls. I will look into the pin vise as it looks like a better experience than the hand reamer, potentially.

The project turned out well considering I'm still very much a beginner (this is my 3rd strand ever). My biggest issue now is not leaving too much space when tying off the final not during the finishing process. You can see here I covered a large knot and gap with a silver crimp cover. Each time I finish a strand, the results are better so I will persevere.

 

[Pearl Dreams]

Nice!

I find the best way to avoid leaving too much space at the final knot is to leave only just the space needed to get the needle into the end pearl, between the gimp and the pearl.

With a thinner thread you can also use a thinner gimp (I use Fine) which is a little more flexible, so you can cut a slightly shorter piece and make a smaller gimp loop.