On not rounded borders

Is it okay to trim a working deck and leave the corners straight instead ou rounding them? Would those pointy corners get damaged by shuffling or would any other problem present itself?

I bought that new edition of Tarot of Ceremonial Magick from Thelesis Aura. It's the most poorly printed deck I've had. The cardstock is fine, but the prints are skewed (only the backs are perfect) and the borders are huge. Cutting out those borders and leaving only the images themselves would leave the cards on a size more comfortable to handle and the skewing would only be noticeable on the backs.

I just can't evenly round the corners with scissors and can't find those angle eater things. Most online stores don't ship to Brazil either.

It's my favourite reading deck, it gets shuffled often. May I go ahead with the trimming without rounding or would that mess the corners of the deck - remember, there's important correspondences on 3 corners of each card.

EDIT: the upper border of the Fool came damaged too, slightly torn. 45 dollar deck and it comes all messed up...

There's no problem at all with having pointy corners, although they can *catch* and bend sometimes.

I had a deck like that and eventually with a small pair of scissors I gently rounded the very tip. Once you do it a few times you get into a rhythm and know how much to take off, what angle to "attack" the card. It isn't an exact science, but I preferred my card with gently - and slightly uneven corners - than pointed.

but if you can deal with them pointed, it's fine!

Would a nail clipper take off too much ?

antique playing cards had square corners and if you google search you can see how soft and fluffy they got, which is what I'm sure led to printers rounding the corners.

If you don't want to invest (5-ish bucks) in a corner rounder, send the deck to me and I'll round it for you.

I left the corners square on my Place Vampire deck, but I'd only be using it one week a year so not much worry there wearing it out.

Akk, I see you are in Brasil, Lillie used nail clippers on hers and it worked ok.

Welcome to AT!

I hadn't considered nail clippers.

I'll keep looking for a place that sells scrapbooking material like those guillotines for the straight cuts and corner rounders and ships woldwide. It'll be expensive but I can live with it.

If can't find I guess I'll buy a cheap set of playing cards, a big pair of scissors and practice until I feel confident enough.

Thanks for the help, everyone, and thanks for the welcome AJ.

I wouldn't use a nail clipper. It's too big and nowhere near sharp and strong enough.

I saw a you tube demonstration on rounding card corners with a scissors and it's great except I can't find the darn thing. I'll keep looking.

Here's the instructions and it's really easy and I've tried it and it works great.

This is if you're right-handed and hold scissors in your right hand. Use a regular scissor--not a teeny tiny one, not a rounded nail scissor. A regular scissor.

Put the scissor at the very top of the right side of a card, just a tiny bit below the pointy corner.

Close the scissor slowly, and as you close it, rotate the card up and to the right. It will take off a very tiny bit of the corner. Very tiny. Very tiny. Barely anything.

Don't try to move the scissor around the card. Pivot the card around the "V" of the scissor.

It's great. Quick, easy, looks good.

Pointy corners would probably get damaged, that's why they round them off. Also it makes the cards easier to handle. Pointy corners are sharp and can jab.

Debra said:

I wouldn't use a nail clipper. It's too big and nowhere near sharp and strong enough.

I saw a you tube demonstration on rounding card corners with a scissors and it's great except I can't find the darn thing. I'll keep looking.

Here's the instructions and it's really easy and I've tried it and it works great.

This is if you're right-handed and hold scissors in your right hand. Use a regular scissor--not a teeny tiny one, not a rounded nail scissor. A regular scissor.

Put the scissor at the very top of the right side of a card, just a tiny bit below the pointy corner.

Close the scissor slowly, and as you close it, rotate the card up and to the right. It will take off a very tiny bit of the corner. Very tiny. Very tiny. Barely anything.

Don't try to move the scissor around the card. Pivot the card around the "V" of the scissor.

It's great. Quick, easy, looks good.

Click to expand...

Good advice. I remember, that's what I did. I swivelled the card and didn't move the scissors. Once you get a rhythm going, you can kind of go into a trance doing it.

I did one of my decks (Crystal) once with nail clippers but the corner didn't look very natural. If you trim the *very* corner with a nail clipper there's no visible curvature. It looks like it's been trimmed off straight. I soon got myself a corner rounder and tidied it up.

Scissors are fine. Trust me. And Debra. Think of it as something approaching meditation.

I only have one pointy cornered deck (vampire tarot) and it's a pain to shuffle - but then, the cards are also very large.