I was trying to extract a property from a helm. I had all the materials and skill to do it. The property was "Positive attitude add +4 sprint ( out of combat )" and it was on a helm and i used 20 medium helm contraptions and a tourmaline gem and got the message that there was no psychology property on the item to be extracted and it destroyed the item. It isnt easy to find a certain property on a certain item, it took a week or so to find it and now it is gone.
The exact error message was "Fiery goblin cap of calefaction did not have any powers that could be extracted with tourmaline! The item was lost.