Card Care (coatings)
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 01 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| Macavity |
01 Feb 2003 |
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I was recently having a look at the state of the surface of some of my decks. They still have rather minimal use (Compared to most folks!) I noiced that most of them seem to be holding up rather well - Except for my AGM Crowley Thoth. Maybe it had more use intially? Maybe my uhm "bodily secretions" (eew!) are reacting with the card surface? Maybe they are slightly different to Lo Scarabeo cards? But my Thoth now seems slightly sticky and with more of a (gunge?) matt finish. I "cured" one of worst cases (the Fool!) by giving it a bit of a "polish". Hmmm Bad idea - He started to fade away slightly LOL. Aaargh! Look on that as a minor warning folks? Hmmmm, maybe acquiring some sort of "patina" is part of the process of the REAL tarot reader deck? }) Fwiw, I've resorted to keeping my favourite decks for "meditation" purposes and having a couple or three(?) "archetypal" decks i.e. Thoth, Waite, Marseille to throw around in the learning process! :D
What do you do with your decks? Do "collectors" take special care of them? (Ack, shades of QVC!) Do active READERS have any specific thoughts on card care? The "Breaking in" process? Dealing with Shine, Gunk, Stiffness etc. Any Preferences? Potential pitfalls? etc.
Macavity
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| Aoife |
02 Feb 2003 |
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I decided - with some trepidation - to try Umbrae's method for preparing cards [cited in one of his 'process' threads] because I was fed up with the number of 'flying cards' I get when shuffling. I have short fingers and have yet to find a deck that sits comfortably in my hands.
Anyway, I can't believe the difference it's made to the deck - it now feels pliable, responsive, 'right' and for the first time ever I've experienced that sensation of the shuffling being complete/ right/ ready. It was a bit time consuming and has left a slight bend on the cards so I won't be doing it with decks bought for the love of the art. But perfect for a 'working' deck.
I've not come across the powder Umbrae mentions but if my memory serves me right, it may be the powder that sprinkled onto the navels of newborns to dry them out. If so, a perfectly innocuous substance.
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| Macavity |
02 Feb 2003 |
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Yes, I received a powder PM from Umbrae and a kind offer of help as needed. Thanks Umbrae! I suspect one moral of the story re. "cleaning" is - If in doubt DON'T! Visions of dry bathing a struggling cat? :D
I will have to try some of the card preparation techniques. I have an old set of playing cards to have a go at in - in case I pull one in half. Like most NEW things, I suspect it's the same for many... making that transition between just "looking" at the cards and actually *using* them for their intended purpose! And I'm working on that... ;)
Non sine pulvere (sic!) palma? Heheh })
Macavity
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| Hedera |
02 Feb 2003 |
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Here's a link to the thread you're talking about, in case other people are interested (I was, and it took me rather a long time to find the right thread).
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9501&highlight=process
I'm busy reading all the "Process" threads now, they're great!
Has anyone ever cut off the white edges of cards to make them fit you hands better? I'm talking strictly reading-not-collecting decks ofcourse, and I would want to have a 2nd copy of the deck before I tried anything like that...
I just really dislike the white borders most cards have, and I strongly prefer my reading decks (as opposed to meditation, etc) to be smallish.
:) Hedera.
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| Sulis |
03 Feb 2003 |
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There have been a couple of threads about cutting off the borders on cards, you`ll find them HERE and HERE
Love and light
Crystalmynx xx
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| Kiama |
03 Feb 2003 |
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Maybe it was just me, btu I didn't quite understand what Umbrae meant when he described how he prepared the cards. I couldn't work out quite what to do to my deck! I sat at teh table, sliding the cards this way and that, bending them, scraping them, breathing on them and rubbing them...
They are still sticky and stick together in big clumps... :(
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kiama
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| Umbrae |
03 Feb 2003 |
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When you first “stress” your cards, you will most likely cry.
By bending them along all four axis upon the table edge, it will leave each card with a different ‘bend’. The deck will appear to be twice as thick because of all the bends.
This will disappear after a week or so, shuffling a bit each day. They will become soft and supple.
What? Oh, they’re still sticky?
You need to find a magician’s supply store. Not a Crowley kind of magician, a Penn and Teller kind of magician. Go there, (or call them) and ask for Fanning Powder (back in the old days they used Zinc Sterate – I don’t know the current compound used). Fanning powder is used by card manipulators to keep a deck ‘smooth’.
The first person to get some Fanning powder (about $3.00) let me know – I’ll post how to use it…
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| Dark Inquisitor |
03 Feb 2003 |
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Deck will naturally get dirty & dull with enough use.
I clean mine using baby wipes. (non- alcohol type) Wipe front & back, dry immediately with towel . Then I lay the cards out to air on a towel overnight just to be sure there is no moisture lurking when I put them back together.
But, as I have said before, rotating deck use with a number of decks reduces wear (& dirt accumulation) for all of them. Buy more decks & use all of them !
Tarotphelia
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| Hedera |
03 Feb 2003 |
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Teehee!
But, as I have said before, rotating deck use with a number of decks reduces wear (& dirt accumulation) for all of them. Buy more decks & use all of them !
Now THAT'S what I call great advice!
Thank you for the threads, Crystalmynx - I might be brave enough to try and liberate one of my decks, some day.....
:D Hedera.
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| ShorTerM |
03 Feb 2003 |
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Before reading Umbrae's thread in which he described a method to break your cards in, I had noticed that my deck was very slick and often the cards would stick together when shuffling and some would inevtiably pop out...
After getting the idea of roughing the cards up a bit i developed my own technique to break them in...
Well, I have recently purchased a Djembe (a type of african drum) so i decided to use it to rough my cards up... The Djembe has a circular top with a drum skin of some sort of leather hide. What I did was take each card and vigourously rub it in a circular pattern on the drums surface, clockwise and counterclockwise, then up and down, side to side, and along both diagonals, making sure to go over the edge to add some bend to the cards... then I repeated the process for the reverse side of the cards...
Before I did this all of the cards had the exact same bend in them, and they were extremely difficult to shuffle, after I did this they became significantly easier to handle, also not one of the cards got ripped, torn or creased, but they all possess unique abrasions which prevents them from sticking to each other as much... And as a bonus, my djembe now has more energy put into it from my tarot cards and the labour I put into preparing them...
Now having said that I am not suggesting that you go out and buy a djembe to do the same thing as I have done, but rather, take a look around your room, and I am sure that you will be able to find something that you could use to do a somewhat similar preparation of your cards with...
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| Alex |
18 Apr 2003 |
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this stuff is really great. My deck feels way better than a new deck now.
Alex.
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| jlbvt |
18 Apr 2003 |
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I used Umbrae's break in process on two of my decks, and I added my own twist- I rubbed Jasmine oil on my palms first, and made a point to smear a little of the oil on each card as I was giving it the table edge rub. I don't know if the oil is a good idea really since I guess it could make the color fade or some such thing, but it makes the deck smell wonderful ! ;) JOAN
Thank you Umbrae!
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| skytwig |
18 Apr 2003 |
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I wonder, shortT, if the use of the djembe is equivalent to multiples handlings, in that leather is skin! I wonder if the same thing would occur using a leather book or a piece of suede......
hmmmmm...... I wonder, too, if suede would clean the cards..... :)
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| Kiama |
19 Apr 2003 |
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I never got round to getting any of that powder Umbrae was speaking of...
But, I have now got a deck which is no longer stiff and sticky...
All it took was hours and hours and hours of idle shuffling whilst watching films, in lectures, chatting to people online...
My deck has white edges to it though, so all around the edges are little spots of blackness, that come off if you scratch them off, but I don't want to... They give the deck the 'I've been used for years' look. Which it has.
The original post asked what we collectors do with our decks to keep them in good condition...
Well, I only use a few decks out of my collection, so my collection decks don't get shuffled. Ergo, they don't get sticky, etc.
With my reading decks, I figure they can stay sticky and stiff (Though so far it;s only the Robin Wood that's done that) cuz it makes them look nice and worn... :D
Kiama
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| Alex |
19 Apr 2003 |
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I'm telling ya, this stuff is fantastic. I wish I had more decks just to put it on. The cards feel sort of smooth, even... heavier a bit... but so great to manipulate.
Alex.
Originally posted by Kiama
I never got round to getting any of that powder Umbrae was speaking of...
But, I have now got a deck which is no longer stiff and sticky...
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| ferrous |
18 Jul 2004 |
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That UK site has some stuff to rub into your hands to give a bit of 'grip' on the cards, too. I wouldn't mind finding some of that locally (Brisbane, Australia). It bugs me when my hands are so dry (especially in this windy, winter weather). The only solution I've found so far was to lick my fingers. Not so pleasant for others I suspect & not so pleasant for me when I've recently been changing my baby's nappy. rotfl! :D
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| September Pixie |
18 Jul 2004 |
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Originally posted by jlbvt
I used Umbrae's break in process on two of my decks, and I added my own twist- I rubbed Jasmine oil on my palms first, and made a point to smear a little of the oil on each card as I was giving it the table edge rub. I don't know if the oil is a good idea really since I guess it could make the color fade or some such thing, but it makes the deck smell wonderful ! ;) JOAN
Thank you Umbrae!
Thats a great idea but I wouldn't apply it to the cards surface but perhaps maybe the edges? :) I also wanted to say, you can get close to the same effect by putting the herbs in a plastic baggy and closing it in with your deck for a few days :) I'll try the oil on the edges of one of my raggedy RW decks and see what happens :)
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| Umbrae |
18 Jul 2004 |
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Side note: I store my reading decks in cloth bags. Into the cloth bags I stuff Spanish Lavender (when it's blooming). Rose petals also work, as does pipe tobacco. Different decks get different scents.
Oh...and stuff that lets you 'grip' the cards is glycerin based. I don't use it, I don't like the feel...and if you shake hands with the sitter...neither do they.
:smoker:
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| September Pixie |
18 Jul 2004 |
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here's what I am going to try...
I'm again scraping my cards clean (I use an old cdrom, its useless now anyway) to gently rub down the edges, the caked on gunk falls off easily, I will pack them in an open top'd box, and place them in a cool but dry place with a few silicon packets around them (to absorb ANY oils or dampness), I am ordering some of the faning powder here: http://www.magictricks.com/accessories/fanpowder.htm
and when it arrives, dust it with them.. I will forego sticking anything in with them and see what happens.. I just hate to lose a deck i am so connected to, ya know?! :)
Oh...and stuff that lets you 'grip' the cards is glycerin based. I don't use it, I don't like the feel...and if you shake hands with the sitter...neither do they.
LOL I will remember that too! :D
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The Card Care (coatings) thread was originally posted on 01 Feb 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.
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