Deck "wearing in process"?

Does it just come with the territory that the top and bottom corners of decks will end up worn and faded due to shuffling? Only about after 1.5 weeks of use, my MRP Fairytale deck is already starting to show wearing in the bottom and top parts of the deck. The sides look pristine, though (which is surprising because the sides are rubbed against the carpet frequently during shuffling. I do my readings on bare carpet, on the floor.).

I had the Fenestra for 8 months and I worked with it everyday. The top and bottom portion of the deck looks very worn out. The sides are fine. Surprisingly, only my 2nd hand LS Universal Tarot (UT) looks amazing (albeit the sizes looks worn). My friend's UT (a deck she has been working daily with for the last 5 years) also looks amazing.

Im not complaining, I'm just wondering what to expect as what is "normal" for the wearing in of a deck

olivia1 said:

Does it just come with the territory that the top and bottom corners of decks will end up worn and faded due to shuffling?

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Yup. Of course, it's dependent on how hard you shuffle (riffling is fatal) and how often, as well as on the cardstock that the publisher chose.

That, of course, is why all the very *best* decks have borders!! <boom-boom>

I have decks that started showing wear and tear in a couple of months, I have one deck around 15 years old which is greatly loved and often-used which is only just starting to show signs of wear now.

nisaba said:

Yup. Of course, it's dependent on how hard you shuffle (riffling is fatal) and how often, as well as on the cardstock that the publisher chose.

That, of course, is why all the very *best* decks have borders!! <boom-boom>

I have decks that started showing wear and tear in a couple of months, I have one deck around 15 years old which is greatly loved and often-used which is only just starting to show signs of wear now.

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Thanks, Nisaba. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I remember reading on here that very few people will actually use a deck enough to wear it out... so I began to either I was

A. just unlucky

B. had a different definition of what "wearing a deck out" means.

Thanks again for your helpful reply

My Liber T has wore like this too - the edges are very battered and the fronts are starting to look a little faded. I've never had a deck go like this before but I really like the look. Its took 2 years of daily use

When a deck has defective cardstock they start to chip and fray from only after a few uses, and you can tell that its not from wear. My Tarot of the New Forest was like this, very dark green cards that started to chip from the first shuffling, it took me a few minutes to realise that I had a deck with every shade of green you could image on the backside.

olivia1 said:

Thanks, Nisaba. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I remember reading on here that very few people will actually use a deck enough to wear it out... so I began to either I was

A. just unlucky

B. had a different definition of what "wearing a deck out" means.

Thanks again for your helpful reply

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I think Tarot decks are maybe kinda like bikes. Most people who own a bike and just ride it once in a while for fun or on weekends or buy it and then never use it...they'll never wear it out. Then there are a few who are reaaaaallly serious bikers, and no matter how well-made their bikes are, eventually you're gonna start seeing some wear. It doesn't mean they're doing something wrong; they're doing something right! You're supposed to ride your bike.

Most people who own Tarot cards don't use them enough to wear them out, either, or they own one deck that they use "a lot" and the others just kinda sit on the shelf. Personally, I use most of my decks; I use some much more than others but I don't have any that are just for sitting on the shelf, and I have at least 20 decks at this point. Whether they wear out quickly has to do with both how the cards are made, and also how MUCH I use them...not whether I'm using them "wrong" or something.

And also, yeah, some people's definition of "worn out" is much different than others. To some, a deck is "worn out" as soon as someone else touches it; to others it's in "great shape" unless a card is ripped or missing.

It sounds like your cards are well loved. Keep loving them!

Does anyone else notice those tiny, dark specks which appear on the cards. Im pretty clean about where I place the cards, and never shuffle with dirty hands (nor do I let other people) but with time I get these mysterious specks on the images of the cards. Hardly discernible at first. Then they reproduce and spread

I wonder where they come from?

Le Fanu said:

Does anyone else notice those tiny, dark specks which appear on the cards. Im pretty clean about where I place the cards, and never shuffle with dirty hands (nor do I let other people) but with time I get these mysterious specks on the images of the cards. Hardly discernible at first. Then they reproduce and spread

I wonder where they come from?

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Aren't these defect in the lamination? I usually see white spots, not black, where the lamination forms some 'bubbles'...

Or it could be the ink flaking off? Have tried cleaning the cars with a soft washcloth to see if the spots move around or if you can scrub them off?

You should see which decks exactly have the black spots and what do they have in common...if they stored in the same place, or are published by the same company, if they are new or oldies etc. That should help at least to know the nature of the problem, if not a solution...

Oliver Danni said:

I think Tarot decks are maybe kinda like bikes. Most people who own a bike and just ride it once in a while for fun or on weekends or buy it and then never use it...they'll never wear it out. Then there are a few who are reaaaaallly serious bikers, and no matter how well-made their bikes are, eventually you're gonna start seeing some wear. It doesn't mean they're doing something wrong; they're doing something right! You're supposed to ride your bike.

Most people who own Tarot cards don't use them enough to wear them out, either, or they own one deck that they use "a lot" and the others just kinda sit on the shelf.

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Oliver Danni, you made an EXCELLENT point I completely forgot that a lot of people do own multiple decks and work with multiple deck hence the whole, "I've had my deck for years and it still looks almost new." I, on the other hand, own work with one deck.

When I first got this deck, I wanted to get a second copy- in case I wore this deck out, I would have a back up. someone told me that there is no way that I would use this deck enough to need a back up..to do that, I would need to literally shuffle it thousands of times...that I would have to be a professional with lots of clients to put that kind of damage on a deck. Well, it's already been a little over a week and the top and bottom corners of the deck are already starting to fade, peel, and show wear. I could only imagine how this deck will look in 8 months. I'm guess I'm going to need to buy a back up copy of the deck, after all.

Le Fanu said:

Does anyone else notice those tiny, dark specks which appear on the cards. Im pretty clean about where I place the cards, and never shuffle with dirty hands (nor do I let other people) but with time I get these mysterious specks on the images of the cards. Hardly discernible at first. Then they reproduce and spread

I wonder where they come from?

Click to expand...

If this only happens when you leave a spread out for a day or two, I'd suspect flyspeck (you know, what happens to fly-food later on).

Or perhaps, unknown to yourself, you are the Master Guru of the Universe, and all the little microscopic black holes that one branch of science posits are sleeting through the universe all the time, are lovingly drawn to you and your playthings, and will gobble up first your cards, then you, then the whole world! Muahahahaha!

olivia1 said:

Oliver Danni, you made an EXCELLENT point I completely forgot that a lot of people do own multiple decks and work with multiple deck hence the whole, "I've had my deck for years and it still looks almost new." I, on the other hand, own work with one deck.

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I bought the Morgan Greer decades ago and I only used that one deck for 13 years and while it look used and loved it looked great. You've only had your deck for a week or so right? That seems strange it's already starting to show signs of any wear. I really think it's a factor of things, how much or exclusively you use the deck and the lamination type. My Old Morgan Greer has no lamination.