How to artificially break chips in? (1 Viewer)

[ttt]

I got about the responses I expected... but to get to the right question, one must sometimes ask the dumb questions Sorry for not finding that other thread, I should learn to use Google when the built-in search finds nothing.

I think I will give up on this idea and instead just judge the samples I have based on their mint/excellent condition. I may shuffle them whenever I find the time and let my opinions change over time, which is fine.

Still searching for that unicorn clay chip that shuffles smoothly without needing a ton of wear/breaking in, if anyone has opinions I’m all ears.

 

[warewulf]

My method for this is shuffling. If I have chips that are sharp and nasty, I'll take a rack to work and shuffle 16 at a time until they handle a little better.

If you've ever handled mint BCC chips, it takes some skill to even shuffle them. They're so chalky and dusty that after shuffling them for a few hours, I wipe the faces and edges with cloth to remove the dust.

I can break in a rack within a few weeks depending on how much I get stuck on phone calls lol.

I've thought of trying the pillowcase idea, but don't want to do any actual damage to the chips. Just want to get them so they can be handled without people complaining about them. I don't want to hear how nasty the chips are for their first 20+ games.

 

[Warcat666]

As a newbie I am wondering why do we need or want to break in chips? Just to remove dust and smoothen the edge?

 

[Solanthos]

Yeah, and to perhaps sand down or smooth out the surface texture a little bit.

 

[allforcharity]

As a newbie I am wondering why do we need or want to break in chips? Just to remove dust and smoothen the edge?

The dust can be removed with light oiling. Sharp edges are an appreciated feature of new chips so I don't know why you'd want to prematurely wear them down. That's just crazy talk!

 

[ttt]

Sharp edges are awesome aesthetically, but I've yet to find a chip that shuffles well in minty not-yet-broken-in condition. Gemaco promo chips and CSQ come close, but I would like something less slippery.

 

[warewulf]

The dust can be removed with light oiling. Sharp edges are an appreciated feature of new chips so I don't know why you'd want to prematurely wear them down. That's just crazy talk!

Some appreciate sharp edges, some don't.

It really depends on the chips. I've had Paulsons, CPC, and many others (bud jones, ceramics, Matsui) that handle nicely when mint. I've handled others that don't handle well. I don't like sharp and chalky. I don't mind if there is some sharpness, just not to the point where the chips are unpleasant to handle.

I got some blank BCC flame mold chips recently. They're so sharp and chalky that it is difficult to shuffle them. So I'll handle them and shuffle them for a couple days to at least get them to the point where I can shuffle them with ease. Additionally, I might label these. I would think the dust would make a label less likely to stick.

Another reason I've preferred chips to be broken in is hot stamps. Even if they're scraped, sometimes the hot stamps will make them wobbly in stacks. I've found breaking them in wears down the stamp and makes them stack better.

 

[ttt]

Some appreciate sharp edges, some don't.

Curious, does anyone think that razor-sharp edges look worse than any amount of beveling?

On another note, I may have jumped the gun on making this thread. I've shuffled my CPC samples some more and they're definitely getting there, so I think the answer is just to shuffle more.

 

[abby99]

A damp cloth is more than sufficient to take care of a chalkiness problem.

 

[joeyshin]

Here’s an idea I think we can get behind...maybe after stay at home orders


How about shipping the chips to someone who hosts a regular game. Let them use them for a few months then they ship it back to you. Win/win to me

 

[warewulf]

Here’s an idea I think we can get behind...maybe after stay at home orders


How about shipping the chips to someone who hosts a regular game. Let them use them for a few months then they ship it back to you. Win/win to me

I've done something similar -- loaned them to someone for 10 games or so.

 

[joeyshin]

I've done something similar -- loaned them to someone for 10 games or so.

Me too

If by “loaning” you mean you sold them to someone then regretted selling them and bought them back later.

 

[PlaidDragon]

How to artificially break chips in?

Just give them to my kids for a few hours. They'll look like bicycle tires after that.

 

[Coyote]

The next thread will be asking how to best produce wrinkles on the face of a 20-year old bride.

 

[upNdown]

Maybe you’re coming at this from some bad assumptions. How much wear do chips get in home games? I’d suggest very little. I think putting ten hours of nonstop shuffling on the same stack is probably simulating like 5 years of actual home use of chips, give or take, all things considered.

 

[allforcharity]

The next thread will be asking how to best produce wrinkles on the face of a 20-year old bride.

...

...

...

actually marry her?

 

[RainmanTrail]

The rock tumbler thing is actually an inside joke or a callback from a few years ago. I don't think anybody actually supports putting clay chips in a rock tumbler.

I would definitely do it. I would have done it with a rack of Outpost 50¢ chips already if I didn't just so happen to find exactly one rack of lightly used 50¢ chips already. Most of the Outpost sets I shipped to people had used $1s through $20s with dead mint, uncirculated fracs. If I had been one of the buyers of one of those sets instead, my fracs would have already been in a tumbler.

I also have considered putting my CPC customs through a tumbler just to break them in a bit more. But it's too much work to do that with thousands of chips, so I won't do it. But I definitely prefer playing with buttery chips over sharp edges.

 

[junkandjunk]

rock tumbler?

Apparently this is an inside joke, but I actually bought a rock tumbler specifically for this reason.

I wanted to see what the wear characteristics of a bunch of samples I had were before buying thousands of them.

Now... I'd never do this to Paulsons but Chinese ceramics? 100%.
Especially something like Scroll ceramics which have that weird "ridged" texture on them.