Layering chains without spending your morning untangling them

Chains tangle when they are close in length, because they cross repeatedly through the day. Two inches is not enough separation; four is. A 16 and a 20 will stay apart. A 16 and an 18 will braid themselves by lunch.

Vary weight as well as length. A fine cable and a heavier rope behave differently and slide past each other. Two identical fine chains will knot.

The reliable trick is a single clasp: join both chains at one lobster clasp so they cannot rotate independently. Every layered set we sell is built this way.

Store them clasped and hanging, not coiled in a box. A chain in a pile is a chain that will need ten minutes and a pin.