The way I see it, you destroy a perfectly useable piece of kit, pass its enchant to another for a limited benefit.

Eh ? Why ? How does this power up weapons/armour in the long run. I just don't get it, sorry.

The higher your enchanting skill and the more perks you have in Enchanter etc. The more powerful your enchantments are.
Say you use two handed weapons and heavy armor but you find a piece of light armor with fortify two-handed. Its rather useless to you. So you disenchanted it and can then enchant your own equipment with it. When your enchanting skill is low the items you make will be weaker then most of what you find. But eventually your enchantments will become equal to your far beyond anything you can find. Plus you can make it on the fly. Once you learn an enchantment you've learned it forever and can make as many items with that enchantment as you wish.

I'll use my Nord warrior Odin as an example of what can be done with enchantment

Helm: Fortify Archery by 40% and Waterbreathing
Armor: Fortify Health by 62 Points and Stanima regeneration by 31%
Gloves: Fortify Archery and Two-Handed by 40%
Boots: Fortify Stamina by 62 Points and Stamina Regeneration by 31%
Ring: Increase Magic Reistance by 25% and Fortify Two-handed by 40%
Amulet:Fortify Stamina by 62 Points and Stamina Regeneration by 31%

I have another set of items with fortify smithing 25% each for a total of 100% which greatly enhances the power of my weapons and the protection of my armor.

Plus, you can use the enchantment again and again. You know it now, so it's yours forever.

You can enchant fortify carry weight on ring, plus neck, plus lightweight boots, so you can don those items after clearing a dungeon and fast-travel back home to unpack.

Early in the game, I always spend about 10-15 levels just crafting and getting myself ready to live in the world....I can't imagine not learning the craft of enchanting to deal with this place!

And, let's not forget: with enough perks/points in enchant, alchemy, and smithing, you can make weapons, items, and armor far better than anything you'll ever find in the game - and as said, customized to your needs.

Not to mention that even on low enchanting levels, Fortify Sneak on just about anything it can be put on fetches a nice price. Enchanting is always part of my early-game money making ventures. And Soul Gems become less rare once a character is strong enough to take on Dwemer ruins.

It would be nice if we could at least keep the base item when unenchanting it. This would only apply to found items, not ones we made.

I found a nice pair of Ebony boots at a low level and would have liked to use them, even though the enchantment served me no purpose (it was a magic enchantment and my character was pure melee). I could have put some other enchantment on them.

Of course, if you are playing for instance a mage and have just finished Unbound and pretty much rely on your Novice Hood and Novice Robe from Helgen Keep, then nobody would suggest that you destroy these items as soon as you find your very first Arcane Enchanter to learn these two enchantments. Keep them, upgrade to better gear as you find it, and learn the enchantments from the lower grade equipment.

Waterbreathing?!? i didn't know you could disenchant that! what did you use?

Don't know about LV, but I've found a waterbreathing helmet at fairly early levels, on a few of my characters. Don't recall the locations but it may be "random cool chest loot", in which case it can turn up in just about any dungeon.

I love Waterbreathing, Muffle and Backstab because they are always 1.0 regardless of your level or size of soul gem, making them cheap to enchant.

I haven't got them either in my enchanting list... after 500 hours i think it's time to go to a wiki or something

I have so neglected these things with my Mage character. My next character is def going to sword & board and I can't wait to see what I can make.

Muffle seems to be one that some people have much trouble finding, while others practically trip over various Boots of Muffle. There's a recent thread about that.

I don't remember where I got backstab BUT I should note that I'm using a mod that allows disenchanting of certain faction armors that are not otherwise unenchantable, so I don't know if Backstab is normally available "in the wild". But Muffle and Waterbreathing definitely are because I used those back before I started using the mod.

I don't use enchanting for RP ethic reasons, but I still think it's a very useful skill for those who invest perks into it.

I always fall into the trap of grinding for decent pre-enchanted gear and arcane smithing to boost the physical stats. The amount of perks the enchanting tree wants scares me off.

Waterbreathing enchanted items can also be bought at shops. Usually in the form of necklaces (for me at least). Muffle and Backstab, however, are really hard to find. And you can't disenchant DB armor to get them. :/

I've discovered that I can personally ignore the two perks on that tree that concern charges (can't remember the names, but one gives more from a soul gem, and the other absorbs a small amount from non-human kills to add to your weapon's charge). I found them to not be worth wasting perks on. The others, however, I've always found worth it for my characters. But then, I love enchanting. I've been a rabid enchanter ever since I started playing Skyrim.

Not that hard. Destroy a good item now to make an epic item later. It helps to max out get Enchanter(All 5 ranks), Corpus, Insightful, and Extra Enchanting.

Here's the enchanted equipment I'm running with my Argonian Pyromancer.(There's no robe slot, because I'll be wearing the Archmages Robes)

Pyromancer's Circlet: Destruction Cost 25% Less, Magic Regen 60% Boost.
Pyromancer's Necklace: Destruction Cost 25% Less, Regen Health 60% Boost.
Pyromancer's Ring: Destruction Cost 25% Less, Magic Resist 20%.
Pyromancer's Gloves: Fortify One-Handed 25%, Fortify Magic 60.
Pyromancer's Boots: Carry Weight, Muffle.

Its nice.

this is most interesting.i didn't have a clue about enchanting,but after reading this thread i will now give it a bash i need something to even the odds with those damned falmer.

U don't have to grind enchant for it to be useful either. The 700-1500'gp seems alot early, but u definitely make up for it during play.

Me too... from the first time i played a TES game i was a junkie... *going on waterbreathing, muffle and backstab hunt*

Must have ALL

Backstab can't be disenchanted without mods

I just bought a new laptop this week , but i'm still on 360 oh well backstab

Muffle was by far the most difficult to get and Waterbreathing was 2nd. I think Waterbreathing was so difficult because I didn't start looking for it until I was in my 50s - most people have had better luck finding Waterbreathing gear in their 20s.

Go with Muffle and Fortify Sneak. They bump into me all the time and keep walking.

If you get Assassin's Blade you should be fine with the 15x. ...especially if you have Smithing skill and improve your daggers.

Got them! Glass Boots of Muffling from Adrianne Avenicci and a glass water breathing helmet from one of the merchants at The Ragged Flagon... after 562 hours

Waterbreathing has been typically rare for me, but I can't run through a blacksmith's shop without tripping over some boots of muffle.