My 13 year old daughter has a really nice Tiffany’s charm necklace given to her by her grandmother, the kind with the super finely braided chain. Because she is 13 she got it hopelessly and horrifically tangled. Because she is 13 she tried to fix it herself and made it infinitely worse. Crying, she brought this mess to me to see if I could fix it. After half an hour of fiddling I got nowhere. My daughter is asking “Is it fixed? Did you get it?” Every two minutes.
“That’s it!” I announce, “I’m going hardcore on this thing!”
“No daddy, don’t. You’lll break it!”
“I won’t”
I get my pedestal magnifier from my soldering kit and I set it up. I get my dental picks. I put on my hardcore 2X reading glasses. I get you bright work light and clamp it on to my flexible extension. I get a cutting board and put a piece of white paper on it. I put the necklace on the paper. I put the paper cutting board necklace under the magnifier. I focus the light on it. I pick up the dental picks and regard the necklace through my reading glasses and the magnifier. My daughter watches apprehensively.
3 minutes later the necklace is completely untangled.
“Oh my God, daddy you are amazing!” Says my daughter with genuine awe as I hand her the necklace.
So here are the takeaways:
This is easily one of my top ten all time achievements as a human being. I am not sure whether this speaks poorly of my achievements as a human being, or well of me that I regard it as such, but the fact is that i am insufferably as full of myself over this as if I’ve invented anti-gravity combined with perpetual motion.
Of course the guy who waterboarded himself for shits and giggles also owns dental picks. I bet you he also owns a few varieties of duct/gaffers tape, because each have their own use.
You can buy them at Harbor Freight for a few bucks. Alot of mechanics have them. My son always asks me for T-pins for something he does mechanically. Chain is seriously hard to untangle.
If they call me from the Nobel Prize board I will give you a good reference, Super-dad!
Within my family, I am also the Detangler, and also the Finder. I have received similar life-affirming accolades when I perform Sherlockian feats of detection, such as walking through the door to the frantic whine of “I can’t find my KEYS and I am LATE!!!” and, without breaking stride, walking to that one coat I had recalled seemed out of place when I noted it hours earlier - reached into the pocket and handed off the keys as she ran out the door. Right when the door clicked shut, the kids went nuts.
You are the second person who seems to indicate that owning dental picks, or more than one roll of duct tape is excessive, or eccentric in some way.
I’m pretty sure I don’t understand the worldview that finds this odd. I don’t wish to be insulting, but how does one get through life without the very easy to Acquire basic tools and skill set to deal with minor repairs and maintenance?
FYI, Nobel prize aside, most jewelry stores will do this kind of thing for free. I had a chain that I spent an hour or so working on, hubby spent maybe an hour on. No luck. Took it to my local jewelry store, they had it done in about 5 minutes, no charge. No clue how they did it, but I was kicking myself for not doing that sooner.
Scylla, that is awesome. I’ll happily nominate you. Nothing for a Daddy like the appreciation of a daughter. Even that of a son is never quite as expressive and heartwarming (though it’s wonderful in its own way).
