Dispenser/Item-Property Based Nonstackable Sorting

The most versatile method of sorting Nonstackables by item-type is using dispensers. This is because dispensers have special interactions with a certain list of items. 

The following is a list of all items that interact with dispensers in a unique way, as well as their method for sorting using that property 

Note: this list is shown the order that items are typically sorted through in a Nonstackable Sorting System (NSS). Each sorter may not work if all previous item types have not been removed. 

Shears/Brushes/Flint & Steel:

Shears are used by dispensers to interact with sharable mobs, such as sheep, bogged, and mooshrooms. Brushes are used to a similar effect on armadillos for their scutes. Because of this interaction, a dispenser will never shoot out shears or brushes from its inventory. These items can be sorted as shown below by firing a dispenser into a honey block as the item enters the dispenser. Shears and brushes will be left behind in the dispenser and move down into the hopper on the left, while other items will be shot into the honey block to be picked up by the hopper on the right. Note the honey block is not required, but it stops usage of durability on the sorted items, and allows the system to accept liquid buckets.

A shears, Brush, and Flint & Steel sorter.

These 3 items can be further differentiated using their own special properties. 

Flint & Steel:

Flint and steel can be sorted using its ability to start fires with dispensers. As shown below, an observer detects the attempt to make a fire by the dispenser and unlocks a hopper below to remove any detected flint and steel. Note that this uses a durability point of the flint & steel.

A Flint & Steel sorter

Copper Brush:

Brushes are not typically sorted from shears in a storage, but they can be sorted using their interaction with armadillos. The item from brushing an armadillo spawns in a predictable location, so it can be detected and used to allow only brushes through. This is not usually done as it uses a large portion of the brush's durability.

Brush Sorter by FireBee

Shears:

In a practical NSS, shears are not sorted using any specific mathod, instead by removing flint & steel and brushes from the stream. However, it is possible to sort shears only by using the same method as brushes but with a sheep instead. This is impractical because of its speed. 

Bucket of Water/Powdered Snow/Lava:

Buckets with liquid will not be shot out by a dispenser but their liquids will be placed in air, leaving an empty bucket inside the dispenser's inventory. The liquid can also be picked back up by the dispenser, so firing the dispenser twice will shoot out any non-liquid items and leave the bucket with liquid inside the dispenser to be removed by a hopper. 

A liquid sorter.

The 3 sortable liquid buckets can also be differentiated using their unique liquid properties. 

Bucket of Water:

Water is the only fluid that can occupy the same space as another block (with the exception of powdered snow and vines due to a bug). To sort water, use the previously explained method of double-pulsing a dispenser, but face it into a slab, stair, or other waterloggable block that cannot be destroyed by lava. Powdered snow and lava will shoot out into the slab while water will be placed and picked back up, remaining in the dispenser. 

A Water Bucket sorter.

Bucket of Powdered Snow:

Powdered snow can be sorted from lava using the fact that it is a block and movable by pistons. A typical powdered snow sorter will place the liquid on top of obsidian and attempt to activate a piston with a slime block touching the liquid facing downwards. If the liquid is water or lava, the piston will be able to move, as there is nothing in the way of its movement. If the liquid is powdered snow, it will attach to the slime and stop the piston from moving. Detecting when this happens allows the sorting of powdered snow from other liquids. 

A Powdered Snow sorter.

Bucket of Lava: 

Lava is not sorted by property, and is instead sorted by default after all other liquids are sorted. However, it is possible to sort lava by flow speed or sponges, but this is impractical.

Boat/Chest Boat:

Boats and chest boats can be placed on water with dispensers. To sort boats and chest boats, face the dispenser into water with a hopper below it. Any non-boat items will be shot out and picked up by the hopper. Placed boats can be broken by fire, lava, or cactus and picked up with a hopper. Note that the dropped boat item tends towards the south. 

Chest boats can also be sorted from boats. 

Chest Boat:

Chest boats have an inventory, so hoppers or droppers are able to place an item into them. The item leaving the hopper or dropper can be detected and used to sort chest boats from boats. 

Minecart/Chest Minecart/Hopper Minecart/TNT Minecart:

Dispensers can place minecarts into rails. Non-minecart items are shot out. The placed minecarts can be broken by cactus, fire, or lava and picked up as items. 

The four minecart types can also be separated by their properties. There are multiple methods of sorting each minecart. 

Minecart:

Regular ridable minecarts will automatically pick up entities they run into, including armor stands. This can be detected by a pressure plate and the minecart can be diverted with a curved rail. Activator rails will kick the entity back onto the pressure plate. 

Chest Minecart:

Chest minecarts are one of the two minecarts with an inventory. To sort them, attempt to insert an unstackable item into the cart. If this fails, it is either a regular or TNT minecart. Otherwise, it is a hopper or chest minecart. The chest minecart can be sorted from the hopper minecart with a detector rail and comparator. When the minecart passes the detector rail, the comparator reads its inventory. Due to the slot count, the hopper minecart will give the comparator a dust signal strength of 3, and the chest minecart will give a signal strength of 1.

Hopper Minecart:

Hopper minecarts are sorted as a byproduct of the chest minecart sorting process, but they can also be sorted using their property of removing items from inventories above them. 

TNT Minecart:

TNT minecarts' special property (exploding) makes them difficult to sort by property, so they are sorted by removing every other type of minecart.