Scrap enchantment count.

This system exists solely to escalate enchanting costs to a ‘Too expensive!’ result which adds nothing to the game but frustration. It carries a cost of giving every single piece of equipment in the world file a value that has no other use, adding to bloat for no positive benefit. It makes it impossible to have symmetric information when trading for equipment. Every time a new enchantment is added to the game, the frustration this mechanic causes is escalated. 

Instead of this overcomplicated system, the cost of combining two items should be based solely on the enchantments of the item produced, and it should never be completely impossible to combine two compatible items.