Scratches on the cards

Does any of you worry if the backs of your cards have a faded white line at the side? I tried fanning it out and I can clearly see the lines on several of the cards. Is this a cause for worry in case you keep avoiding that card because of the scratch or if I keep picking that card.

Does anyone have that problem? What should I do?

I like to call those lines 'battle scars' for my decks. To me they represent the little moments in life when I may have neglected my deck and/or left it (several times) in my backpack to get rough-housed. It can also mean your deck has been love for a very long time and is starting to show it

I don't really think it's a bad thing, but if it really disturbs your flow of using the deck then consider getting a replacement/second copy of the deck.

I feel the same as Yineth, and it is the same for my books. The more battered they are the more loved they are. Though my mother would not agree, the more pristine they are the more loved they are in her eyes. So it's a personal matter, I think.

I don't worry about it. A flat out bent and creased card would bother me, but just the little dings and scratches from use don't bother me at all. I couldn't even tell you where they are, precisely, just from memory.

Grizabella said:

I don't worry about it. A flat out bent and creased card would bother me, but just the little dings and scratches from use don't bother me at all. I couldn't even tell you where they are, precisely, just from memory.

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Yeah, don't worry about it. The only time I did was when my Druidcraft Ace of Cups got bent completely in half & flopped, making shuffling difficult. (Thank you Rodney, for the replacement.) That deck has a tendency to be vincible. The Victorian Romantic is even worse - ask Griz. I think she's said hers is now like pieces of floppy paper but she still manages to shuffle & use them successfully & accurately. I'd be really scared they'd fall apart in my hands.

The more you use your cards, the more scratches, dings, tears (you can fix those with nail glue so they don't spread), fading, etc. happens. You probably will learn to love each & every wrinkle; they add character to a deck. I think that you only have one blemish right now is what's bothering you. Perhaps like looking in the mirror & finding your first wrinkle. More will come if you use them. Erm, look up aging your cards. Many TRY to make their cards look more used.

Canid, I don't use either copy of my VRGold's anymore. They're put away. I can't stand trying to shuffle what feels like floppy pieces of fabric now. They almost immediately became soft like that. The Bohemian Gothics I had never did that no matter how much I shuffled them, but I asked once why the VR was like that and was told it was the exact same card stock as the Bohemian Gothics I had. Go figure! I know I saw others say the same thing about the Victorian Romantic. I had, at one time, almost all the MRP decks and none of them were like the VR and VR Gold card stock for going limp.

Take some thick fabric and try shuffling a 78-piece card sized stack of heavy fabric. That's what it's like.

That did bother me. Scratches and other signs of wear don't bother me.

I don't fan my cards, so I don't have that particular issue. My most used deck is worn and shows it, though. When I was reading multiple people one time I had just read someone else with that deck. So when I switched querents I switched to a newer version of the same deck. The person I was reading for, though, felt that because the older deck was more worn that I'd be more accurate with it. So sometimes a worn deck can show that you're an experienced reader and instill confidence in the person you're reading for.

Thanks for all your replies, the cards are all right except for the scratch and I suppose more cards will be like that in time, making all the cards look alike. It is the first deck I have that I can read just by looking at the cards and don't want to stop because of scratches.

I am thinking of getting the miniature Rider Waite soon. Going to see some pictures.

I think I know what you mean, A while back one of my new decks, the Deva, came with a couple of white blobs on the backs of two of the Swords cards, it meant that I knew what cards they were, it did bother me so I went over them with a sharpie and made them match.

I think it's different if it happens with use, my Liber T is pretty battered now but I wouldn't be able to identify any of the individual cards from all the dings and scrapes on the backs.

If a few of the cards are marked then it won't be that obvious what card you are drawing.