Laura Borealis
I often find myself wishing some of my decks had a more worn, well-used appearance. A patina of age, something that evokes the fortune-teller's dim, incense-scented tent at a traveling carnival, or a pack of cards handed down within a family of soothsayers...
I know many tarot enthusiasts want to keep their cards in as nice of a condition as possible. And I do too, for certain decks. I'd die if I spilled something on my 1st edition Tarot of Prague, for instance. And I have other decks that I'd rather keep pristine. But when I take out my RWS, the desire for a bit of scuff and stain returns.
Cards are made with such protective laminate these days, I have never been able to get much of a patina on cards just by shuffling and handling them excessively -- and I've tried! So I want to try to artificially age a deck... sort of an anti-bling.
I found some ideas on how here. I think I'll try the steel wool (or a very fine grade sandpaper) and brown shoe polish diluted with clear polish, at least for starters. I just need to decide which deck to experiment on, in case it goes terribly wrong.
So, I know some of you "break in" your cards... do you ever age them? If so, what methods do you use? Thoughts on sandpaper vs. steel wool (aka wire wool)? What about staining agents? The link I found suggested graphite as well as shoe polish...
I know many tarot enthusiasts want to keep their cards in as nice of a condition as possible. And I do too, for certain decks. I'd die if I spilled something on my 1st edition Tarot of Prague, for instance. And I have other decks that I'd rather keep pristine. But when I take out my RWS, the desire for a bit of scuff and stain returns.
Cards are made with such protective laminate these days, I have never been able to get much of a patina on cards just by shuffling and handling them excessively -- and I've tried! So I want to try to artificially age a deck... sort of an anti-bling.
I found some ideas on how here. I think I'll try the steel wool (or a very fine grade sandpaper) and brown shoe polish diluted with clear polish, at least for starters. I just need to decide which deck to experiment on, in case it goes terribly wrong.
So, I know some of you "break in" your cards... do you ever age them? If so, what methods do you use? Thoughts on sandpaper vs. steel wool (aka wire wool)? What about staining agents? The link I found suggested graphite as well as shoe polish...