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Somersetmaker
17-12-2013, 10:25 AM
I use snake chains so this is only about them.

Over a number of years I've been using your 1.0 and 1.6mm diam silver snakes which have generally been very popular with my customers. However the only point of criticism has been the smallness of the catches.

I therefore did not feel we were going in the right direction when the 1.6mm silver snakes I received from you had markedly smaller catches than previously. :(

If your buyer would like to spend some time with me at a show he / she would see the reaction to tiny catches that you need the right length of fingernails and a level of manual dexterity no longer given to some. On behalf of my customers could I say I'd rather pay a few extra pennies (surely the price implication can't be more?) to have more user-friendly catches?

As I've been planning this comment for a bit I was also going to follow up with a few sobs about 9ct snakes as the 1mm ones were vanishing during the mad autumn period (timing!!). However I see you have plans for new just under 1mm 9ct snakes in Jan so I look forward to those.
But another time please could you not run down stocks prior to a change in the run-up to Christmas? Please?!!

theresa
17-12-2013, 12:20 PM
I agree. I buy 1-3mm snakes & I always remove the clasps where possible and add a larger one with a larger ring.

Somersetmaker
18-12-2013, 10:15 AM
Any comments Cooksons?

Jenny M
18-12-2013, 12:02 PM
Good morning,

Thanks for your comments about our range of chains.

I've passed on your comments to the relevant Product Manager and he is reviewing the situation and will look into the size of the clasps. This is the first we have heard with regards to these clasps. As we welcome all feedback here at Cooksongold, we will gladly review the situation and if feasible change the manufacturing process or introduce a new range with bigger clasps.

I hope this helps!

Please don't hesitate to contact us should you need any more information.

Thanks,
Jenny

Somersetmaker
19-12-2013, 09:45 AM
Thanks Jenny. I'm glad you're open to feedback - I'm sure the experience of dealing with customers brings out very different aspects to those concerning your Product Manager! Maybe tell him to ask some of his more mature female relatives about this - or the young ones with long drippy nails!

But bigger clasps really would help - even going back to the ones you used to use on the 1.6mm silver snakes - the new ones are just silly!!

Patstone
21-12-2013, 07:32 PM
I have a gripe about snake chains too, I use them quite a lot and used to make mine up so they could be a bit longer, I have two large customers who regularly need pendants and of course long chains. You can only buy the ends for 1.2mm, 2.4mm and 3 something. The small one is too small, and the middle one is a bit too big, 1.90mm would be ideal, but no ends for them so, she had to have the 2.4mm which is a bit too heavy for the pendant really.

Dennis
21-12-2013, 10:16 PM
As she's a special customer Pat, why not pinch the ends of some short tubes with round pliers and solder on jump rings-- findings made.

For 1.90 mm snake you would need to buy about 38.00 mm of Cooksons RSA 006 tubing. Dennis

Patstone
22-12-2013, 06:40 AM
Hi Dennis, yes I could make some, or failing that as the chain is so long I could solder the two ends together and put a small sliver of tube over the join. This was options that I thought about. I rang Cooksons to find out if they had any ideas and they said they sell ones you can crimp on to the chain Product Code : NVO 116X. My thoughts were it looks a bit unprofessional. They had a bell cap that I wondered if it would look ok, but in the end spoke to niece and she opted for the heavier chain anyway which I think would look better on her, not sure about the pendant though, she has that already so will be seeing them both together on the 28th when we are due a visit from them.

CJ57
22-12-2013, 04:18 PM
I don't find the caps they sell for snake chain very attractive,especially the bigger ones, the smaller seem heavier metal. I often use tubing even without crimping the end it's easy to solder a ring on and if you use a heavier one you hardly notice the open end.
I think the idea of joining the ends with tubing will give a nice clean finish Pat if you don't need a clasp. Just be careful to use very little solder and put more heat towards the tubing, I have found from experience in the past that snake chain attracts solder like nobody's business and locks it so it's no longer snake anymore ! :)

Patstone
22-12-2013, 06:49 PM
Yes done that myself. Totally welded together. She has the pendant on a small chain but it's too small but she has put it on a leather thong until I make her the snake.

Dennis
22-12-2013, 06:52 PM
Just be careful to use very little solder and put more heat towards the tubing, I have found from experience in the past that snake chain attracts solder like nobody's business and locks it so it's no longer snake anymore ! :)

The problem is solved quite easily by using a little fast setting epoxy instead, put up the tube with a saw blade. An added benefit is that should you need to undo it in the future, not much heat from a mini torch allows you to pull it apart without damage. That is why I close the tube end BTW. ;-) Dennis.

CJ57
22-12-2013, 07:38 PM
The problem is solved quite easily by using a little fast setting epoxy instead, put up the tube with a saw blade. An added benefit is that should you need to undo it in the future, not much heat from a mini torch allows you to pull it apart without damage. That is why I close the tube end BTW. ;-) Dennis.
Epoxy Dennis :) did you whisper that? Sometimes if it's not a tight fit I melt the solder in the tube first and then put the chain in and reheat and that stops it running up the way

Patstone
23-12-2013, 07:28 AM
Dennis, I cant believe you of all people told me to use epoxy. Actually I made a ring yesterday that the stone sat a bit low, so i put in a silver disc and expoxyied it tight so it didnt rattle. Apparently this pendant is going to be an heirloom, not quite sure how because she hasnt got any children, but lots of nieces and nephews, so presumably its for one of them. Getting back to chains, she said she is going to wear it day and night, never take it off, so it has to be strong, probably just as well she is having the 2.4mm one.

Dennis
23-12-2013, 08:52 AM
Dennis, I cant believe you of all people told me to use epoxy.

Well, one has to move with the times, Pat. Glues were rubbish once and are still not a good idea for translucent stones, because they interfere with the refraction of light. Even when fixing opaque stones, tiny amounts of excess adhesive will spoil the effect, so I mostly set those.

As I have mentioned above, epoxy is ideal for fixing snake chain into closed tubes and allows for subsequent revisions if required, such as shortening, or replacing kinked chain. I have some rough users, but have never had one returned, because it has come apart at the chain end. I have had some simply broken elsewhere though...

I have also thought about possible, sensitivity to glues, but not one of my wearers sensitive to other things has had a problem.

In fact, soldering snake chain is a compromise, because soldering stiffens it and anneals the adjacent part, causing it to be weaker. To avoid that when using heat, it should be tacked in place by welding, as it is commercially.

While onto adhesives, I could go on about cyano-acrylates (superglue) as a soldering aid too. Regards, Dennis.

theresa
01-01-2014, 11:37 AM
Glad I found this thread because I had problems soldering snake as mentioned above. Will definitely be trying epoxy next time.
Thanks Dennis.

Patstone
01-01-2014, 01:23 PM
I soldered mine ok, trick is to put small amount of solder and keep it close to the end of the chain.