I have a question about soul gems and enchanting.

If you use a petty soul gem for an enchantment, does that mean that weapon/armour's charge is weaker and will therefore have less uses
OR
the effects of the enchantment is weaker (you only get 10 damage of fire instead of, let's say 40 if you used a better soul gem)

The size of the soul determines how good the enchantment is on armor.
The size of the soul determines how many uses you get on weapons.

Okay, so it means I will have to recharge more often if I enchant a bow with a petty soul gem?

I have a related question if someone cares to help...I put 200 hours in Oblivion but was strictly a warrior so I never used these.

When I use a filled soul gem on a magical weapon, does the empty soul gem return to my inventory or is it lost for good?

I have so many in my inventory I can't really tell at the moment.

I need clarification (sorry).

When I'm enchanting, and I disenchant something (let's say a 20% buff to one handed weapons from a gauntlet set) what do I have to do to get that same level of enchantment into the new item? Everytime that I disenchant something, it's always a lower level than the item from before. Not only that, but the "uses" that weapons have, are 2 at the maximum buff...

I don't want to have to keep using my Iron gauntlets with 14 armor for the whole game because of the 20% one hand buff that I don't want to give up, but if I disenchant and try to enchant new ones, the % is only 8 - is that affected by the soul size/quality, or is it my enchantment level?

When I apply the enchantment during the process (before putting the soul gem in the equation) the number is always lower, and the gems never seem to change it.

Sorry if this seems all rambly - I don't really know how to articulate what I'm trying to ask.

It's lost for good.
Unless you have Azura's Star. (Soul gem that never breaks)

@Deffer

I believe you need a greater soul to match the enchanment.
And a grand soul surpasses it.

Yes for your weapon. A petty soul gem will decrease the number of charges you have (10 uses to 5 uses).
But, because armors do not have "charges", a petty soul gem will indeed make the armor enchantment weaker.



Your enchanting skill and perks are the ones that increase your enchantment strength, for both weapon and armor.

That's from what I can tell.

Pretty much. But one petty soul gem would refill it completely.
I suggest using common greater and grand souls because lesser and petty become worthless quick when it comes to refills.

Use soul trap as it is way cheaper then buying filled soul gems.

Each enchantment has a base level and it is this base level that you learn when you disenchant an item. To enchant an item to a higher level you need to take the relevant enchantment perks: extra 20% boost to all, extra 25% to fire etc.

Well darn.. that's what I was worried about. I had started using them willy-nilly and giving magical items to Lydia. Think I'l start keeping 'em for myself :unsure:

Sounds like I need to find Azura's Star....

There are a few things that effect the level. Quality of soul gem, quality of soul inside said gem, you enchanting level and enchanting perks. If you can get enchantment boosters also (like potions), they will raise the power even further.