Saving antique silk line

I'd be astounded if this hasn't been hashed out here before, but in the
spirit of laziness and convenience, I'll just jump in with it.

A friend gave me an old Medalist reel with a bunch of line on it a couple of
years back. Its old silk line, probably from the 40s based on a thread last
year for dating old Plueger reels. The line is pretty gummy and brittle; a
small piece of the tippet broke off when I tried to unwind it a little, so I
don't want to just destroy it getting it off the reel, which I might never
use anyway. However, it might be interesting to save and restore the silk
line if there is a way to do it. Does anyone have any insights on how I
might soften and loosen the silk line, then restore it to use?

--riverman