Ouchie! BJD collecting is a dangerous hobby

LOL what do go through for the love of our dolls. Wow.. when I had to restring Pipo... my first time stringing... I was pissed. I looked at tutorials over and over agian to made sure I had everything I need. So when the stringing came around.. it took me a good two hours. Crazy times I tell you... crazy times.

 

Several things have helped me overcome my anxiety about re-stringing a bjd.

*Experience--each time it is easier because I gain a better understanding.

*Two pairs of "forcep scissors". Brought these at the local sports shop.

*A strong willing husband!

 

....now i'm scared.....:shiver I'm a lefty also.....*gulps* we all have too restring our dolls eventually...

 

I was pretty lucky when it came to restring Air, the only dangerous bit I get is getting the cap back on the S hook. Twice I've had to take the cap off and twice my fingers have been cut up by the end of the hook diging into my skin. T.T
I'm a lefty too, maybe we're just prone to injury? (I've already managed to break four different bones in a five year period!)

 

Phew, I think I'm always going to use pliers, and hemostats when I retstring my dolls. My hands are really too weak anyways, and using these tools makes it much easier to get a good grip on the elastic and wire.

I just need to find a few more hemostats.. I've only got one at the moment ^^''

 

Oh man, I'm restringing my girl right now and I had to take a break because I was pulling on her arm making sure the elastic was evenly spaced, right? And her whole arm SNAPS back and hits my thumb that was near the socket... really hard OW OW OW OW OW.

 

Is restringing really so painful ? Maybe I should wear gloves so I don´t get cut...

 

I read that quite a few ppl 'like' restringing their dolls. I HATE it!( prolly because I've had the s hook problems too).I've had two dolls( both MSD) where the string has been tight, I've moved them and a s hook has snapped down into the arm or body.I have a whole host of stringing devices, but still hate it.The most recent was my MNF Shiwoo, and when I finally managed to get the string up and his neck piece back on, had to take it all off again because the new thicker s hook wouldn't let the neck lock piece turn enough to get the head cap back on.* sheesh*

 

It certainly can be! I've ended up with quite a few bruised/cut fingers from re-stringing my dolls. Not too long ago I sliced my finger open while adjusting the S-hook in Michael's head. Poor boy was probably shocked to hear me swear like that!

 

Everytime I try to get Ophelia's head of I've got to pull at her elastics a bit with putting my finger on a S-hook. Which is quite painful because her elastics are WAY too tight! O___O

 

Got bit by marianne's S hook once.

I use upohlstry thread to pull stringing through where I cant fit my latch hook or hemostat. Upholstery thread is very strong, but thin so I loop a long length through the elastic, tie it to a heavy needle as a weight and drop it through, cut needle off and wrap thread around a handle to pull so I dont hurt my fingers or circulation.

 

If you use ribbon instead of twine, string or wire to pull the elastic through, you have less of a chance of getting cut or getting other injuries from it. It's also helpful to have someone else assisting in the restringing process. I made my mother stand there and hold elastic while I reattached my boys' hands and feet, and it made getting the S-hooks on a lot easier!

 

I must confess... I actually love and enjoy restringing XD
Especially because I use one of those stringing tools from Luts, and wow, it's the best thing ever!
It still doesn't save me from the ocassional pinched or red fingers though, when I attach the hands or feet ^^;;

Of course, I also use a wire to get the elastic through my AR LF's upper arms ^^

I was terrified of doing this as a newbie, but I know now that it's lots of fun, helps with the bonding and also burns calories!! ehehe!

 

I've never had restringing problems, but I had a ... small mishap when trying to sand down the breasts on my MNF. Let's just say that through my own stupidity and determination I got a slice in my thumb that could have required three or four stitches. I refer to it as my 'Oko scar'.

 

I re-strung my girl the day after I got her. We both loved through it XDXD

I used a ribbon I had to pull the string through. My hands were sore until the next day, but my biggest problem was getting the knot for the arm part into her body.

Definitely don't use anything like twine, or coarse string. It shouldn't hurt you, but that's my experience.

ALSO:
After reading this thread I have a few more comments:
I'm a lefty, and I came out with no bleeding or blisters.
After all the hell I went through, I felt good. Accomplished. I know I could do it again, it was kinda fun. ^_^

 

Oh yeh. I hear you on stereo FM!

Once I was restringing someone (I think it was Marishka or another old-type SD) but the foot came off and bam! the ball hit the end of my thumb. I had an immediate blood blister and it was super sore for DAYS! D-:

Occasionally the seams will cut you too...

ANd if that fails... you can cut yourself with any of the tools... X-Acto Knives, Dremels, Drills and whatnot.. power or otherwise.

Yep! It's a dangerous hobby, and that's why we charge for hazardous duty! XD

haha
Raven

 

I think the only real mishap I've had stringing was the first time I restrung a Delf, one of the old bodies. You've got to put something like a pencil through the s-hook to keep it from going in to the body once the heads off...I don't know why I thought I could use my finger instead of a pencil. Needless to say it didn't work - the s-hook snapped back down in his body and I got my finger stuck down in his neck. I've got no upper body strength and the strings were so tight I couldn't pull my finger back up. It was just the top knuckle that was stuck, and I really thought I was going to dislocate it trying to pull it up. Didn't feel too hot either.

But that was just kind of stupidity on my part, not the normal hazards that go along with BJDs I guess...

 

Restringing has left me with a few sore fingers, I think the worst mishap was a big long scratch I got down my arm from the wire I was using to pull the elastic through.

 

Barely a day after reading this thread and I managed to slice my finger open last night on the stem of one of Lailah's eyes while I taking them out. >.<

I blame you guys, you jinxed me

And holy crap I can see now why people hate restringing after wrestling with her to get her head back on last night after taking her face up off.

 

Now I understand why my best friend hasn't even attempted to re-astring her doll.