What are your go to stringing and hooking tools?

I will swear by the Luts head puller until I die. A lot of people don't need one, but as someone who does, it was a total game changer. It's basically a really strong hook on a handle, and you just lift up the S-hook, turn it slightly, and bam. Head on or off. I can actually change my doll's clothes without struggle now, it's great.

To restring dolls I just use bent wire and bamboo skewers (basically chopsticks). The wire guides the elastic through and helps me pull, and the skewers hold things in place while I prep the next parts or change hands/feet.

 

My makeshift stringing tools are:
* the same piece of garden wire I've used for all of my dolls since I got my first one. The plastic coating is coming off but somehow I don't dare to replace it
* the same 2 pieces of ribbon that are kind of the same as the wire above
* bamboo skewers or brush handles or any kind of capped pen to keep the string in place before hooking things onto it
* a pair of combination pliers to lift and turn the s-hook in the head
* sometimes a large metal crochet hook for the head s-hook if I have it at hand (or I just look some string/wire through the hook if that's closer)

I have to agree with you that it tends to depend on the doll, though! Some have more space in the head than the others (esp when it's a headplate system), hands and feet attach differently, some need a lot more elastic tension than some other dolls etc. If you struggle with grip/hand strength, doll elastic pullers and hemostats are very useful to look into, though.

 

I'm really lucky my Loongsoul dolls came with little bamboo rods to stick in the elastic to be able to get hands/ feet on, and they came with what looks like a giant s hook for pulling the actual s hook up enough to get the head in place xD Beyond those, i use some ribbon i have around the house to pull elastic through the channels in arms and legs mostly. Although I have some hemostats so i might make use of those next timei restring a doll because i always seem to need to call in help to get the bamboo sticks in place at the wrists and ankles so i can hook the hands and feet. It hadn't occurred to me to use those for that lol

 

It should, yeah! Looks like pretty much the same thing, just slightly shaped different. As long as you can hook it around the s-hook, it'll work.

 

I use thin wire or ribbons for stringing. Sometimes I use a crochet hook too, but most of the time it's not needed.
For holding the elastic while hooking on hands and feet I made some simple tools from a short wooden dowel that I sharpend one end of (using a pencil sharpener and smoothed it out with some sand paper) to easier get it into the elastic loop.
For lifting and turning the head hook I use a shoe string tied into a loop. If I need extra leverage for pulling, I stick something to use as a handle into the loop, but most of the time I can pull it by hand.

And I agree that is depends on the doll. Some have their quirks that you just have to work around.

 

I have this exact head puller tool and it works great! Definitely has saved me a lot of trouble since I purchased it.

For restringing, I use some narrow ribbon to pull the elastic through the body parts, and then a pair of straight hemostats to clamp the elastic and hold it at the ends once it's through the piece.

If I can recommend any restringing tool it is definitely hemostats! They absolutely leveled up my restringing game and I find that they're just generally useful to have around the house.

 

I am lower budget than all of you, apparently (apart from the DDE head puller, which I also desperately needed). I put a different pipe cleaner for left and right side, bent in half if the doll is small enough or wound together on one end for use of just about the full length if it's longer. I thread everything, prep whatever hook or resin part that'll hold it at the end, and pull and catch. I reuse the pipe cleaners until either the ends lose their fluff or my cat finds them, whichever comes first.
(Why pipe cleaners? Because some of my dolls are too narrow for ribbons to feed through and I have a giant pack of them from back when...I don't actually know why I have a giant pack of them. I've long since forgotten. But they're finally getting used, one or two at a time.)

 

(Thank you for quoting me. It let me catch my typo )

 

I use rattail ribbon or pipe cleaners to thread the elastic through parts. And hemostats for holding the end loops so I can hook on the hands and feet. I didn’t have a head puller for years but it’s helpful to have and they’re pretty cheap.

 

My short list of tools are as follows:
-a big string puller, impldoll gifted me a couple and they're awesome and have nice big handles
-cheap metal knitting needles, you can buy them secondhand for like $3 and they last eons
-satin ribbon that's pretty much any width
That's literally it

 

I truly don't use much! Just a couple of crochet hooks and spare ribbon lying around. Also to pull the head hook, the Volks puller works fantastically. That's all I've ever needed to restring a doll, and my arm strength is nothing to speak of

 

Hemostats really help, but don't gir the cheapest. You get what you pay for. Had a pair that messed up immediately.

2d doll sent me a hook that I call "the big boy" and has an appropriately big handle. I am by no means a particularly weak person, my job requires some physicality. But this makes it infinitely easier dealing with s hooks on 1/3. Easy to pull then wire or yarn. I bought a smaller one for my msds and it's also great. Just requires less to do more work.

Do you need a hook? Maybe, maybe not though. Are you gonna mess with your dolls alot? Switching heads? Changing clothes that aren't gonna fit over the head? It's an ease thing and considering how many sellers can let you add one for cheap or just straight up send a free one, it's probably worth having.

But I get hand cramps, so grain of salt.

 

ribbons and crochet hooks did well for me in a pinch. I also gave a bit of wire wrapped around a dowel a shot, which did help give better leverage and gave some relief to my fingers, where the ribbon started to dig in. I may end up getting a proper restringing tool to save my hands the trouble

after reading this thread, I think I'll be investing in a hemostat, lol - had a mishap with a hand s hook recently and it sounds like that would have saved me some heartache!!

do you have any recommendations for where to get some decent hemostats for a good price? thanks in advance!!

 

I'd recommend using like fishing pliers they've worked wonderfully for me and I think they're decent prices

 

I use these they haven't warped and still lock. I do SD dolls so you need them to clamp fairly securely to get the 4mm elastic. I have absolutely cheated by pulling the s hook as far I can and had someone clamp right above the neck so I can retie a doll's knot when I felt it wasn't strung to my liking.

Looks like the ones I got are on sale rn too

 

I have a Doll Kit that goes with me to every Con and Event I used to do, and I bring it with me for any dolly days my friends and I have. It's a zipper bag with some specific tools in it.
Crochet hooks, of steel and thick aluminum, in varying sizes.
Hemostats, in three sizes, including a really tiny pair.
a long string of ribbon, woven polyester in a satin finish. Woven ribbon can be incredibly strong and is slightly stiff, making it useful for threading doll parts on.
A string of a braided wire product that is basically a monofilament- almost wirelike, and can take a LOT of pressure on it. This is a bit stiffer than the ribbon and useful when you need to be able to direct a cord through a piece.
A little actual jewelry wire-cord, stiffest of all and useful in the same way.
A bag of varying sizes of s-hook and o-ring, and some silicone kips.
A huge s-hook like "String puller" tool. A smaller puller tool with a hook on one end.

If I have all this stuff, and the right elastic, I can restring anything. I also carry a few chunks of melamine eraser and sometimes a little gel superglue in a bag in there, for dolly mishaps, and some silicone-earplug eye putty and a wig spray bottle.