Teeth and pliers tend to leave unsightly marks on the bricks.
Fingernails don't work too well.
What tool do you recommend to separate them?
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Sign up to join this communityYou could try the great brick separator. Designed for this specific purpose, it's probably your best bet.
I normally use two big bricks: one on the top and one at the bottom. Then you push down while rotating.
Or you could use, guess what, a new brick separator:
There's the great LEGO Brick Separator that can be bought in the LEGO Online Shop:
I love this thing. It's just great if you want to take care of your nails and teeth.
I use a fingernail most times, or a guitar pick if the bricks are stuck too firmly.
I (and my sons) use a plastic knife designed for children. We found ours in IKEA (larger bricks for houses)
I have also used this lego tool with moderate success
A flat-style staple remover (as opposed to the jaws style) does well to maintain the surface of a stuck brickage. It also can be jimmied back and forth without much slippage.
You can always try the Official LEGO Brick Separator. It would probably take a couple to work best on 1x2s though - one on the top, one on the bottom.
Disclaimer: I haven't tried this personally.
You could use two removal-tools (one to grab the top piece, one to grab the bottom piece)
I usually put 1x2 bricks on the top and bottom of the stack of plates. This gives me enough leverage to break up the stack between the two plates. Afterwards, I remove the plates from the bricks.
I've separated several plates (and bricks too) with a simple spring-based hair clip.