Sticky Paterson reels...I've tried it all and nothing works. :(

[Nick_S]

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Since the OP has an excellent Hewes spiral, I suggest locating a nice stainless steel tank like the Kindermann (on the second hand market) or one of the new clones of the Nikor tanks. Hewes also made effective 35mm and 120 film loaders for the spirals, though with a little practice hand loading by feel becomes second nature.

Having tried drying the Patterson spiral thoroughly, which usually cures the issue of sticking films, why get frustrated -- life's too short.

Edited August 10, 2019 by Nick_S

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[dkonigs]

Um... I tried posing a new factor to consider, that's rarely (if ever) mentioned in discussions of this issue. It gets a passing mention, but 90% of the re-ignited conversation doesn't seem to really add anything at all over what was discussed the last time this thread was active.

 

All within the past few months, on the same reels and tanks, I've processed the following films:

JCH Street Pan, Kodak Portra, and CineStill BwXX (Eastman 5222)

It was "crack can open, snip leader, ratchet into reel, snip end, done" with practically no fuss or frustration whatsoever. So easy I wondered why I used to have trouble getting this right.

 

Then, on the exact same reels, not doing my jumping jacks any differently, I loaded Ilford Delta 100 and HP5+. It was "crack can open, snip leader, ratchet onto spool, it jams at 2/3 of the way done, keep trying, unspool and respool, scream profanities, think I'm horribly pinching/creasing the film, maybe repeat a few times, eventually get to the end and snip, and pray I haven't horribly mangled something."

 

Seriously, the only variable here is the film type. Not what brand of reel I'm using (I thought this thread was about the Paterson reels). Not how new/old they are. Not what I used to clean them. Not how dry they were. Not what I ate for breakfast that morning.

[Xícara de Café]

I tried to read through most of these, but did anyone mention that if using a camera that winds the film emulsion-side out on the take-up spool (Leica IIIs for example), it's necessary to wind the film back into the original canister and leave it there for a time, before attempting to load on to the Paterson reel? I've had problems with loading when I've failed to do that.

I've also had problems loading Paterson reels with films taken on a Contax and on a Kiev. Both of these cameras of mine occasionally tear a sprocket hole or two when I wind too aggressively /quickly.

Edited August 11, 2019 by Xícara de Café

[Pyrogallol]

Nice clean cut at the start, possibly trimming the leading corners. Film that has stood in the cassette longer may retain more curl but bending the leading half inch / 10 mm one way or the other helps. All these things have been suggested and more. Perhaps some spirals just don’t like some films at some time of the day, they are just not in the mood, just as you can go in the darkroom some days and nothing prints right and half the paper goes straight in the bin before it even gets as far as the fixer, another day you keep everything.