I want to thank everyone who had suggestions to offer for my little
problem of removing the core from a knot after tying it. Currently
the most convenient method has been the use of water-soluble wax,
which I got from Rio Grande, cast in a silicon mold that I made from
a brass ring of the correct size.
Having succeeded with tying one knot in silver wire, using the hard
wax, I will go on to try it again with gold, maybe changing a few
other variables along the way as well.
The pictures were taken in artificial light, so they’re not real
great, but you can see what I did at
One of the most attractive suggestions that came along was the use
of hard candy in place of the wax, since it would probably be
stronger than wax. I can attest to the fact that rough handling of
the wax rings is a bad idea, and so I may try that, later on, after
I’ve learned to make candy. 
Loren