China Clay Greek Key mold, I like them! Worth any effort? (1 Viewer)

[Jake14mw]

Hi all,

Some of you are aware that Gene from ABC recently offered any remaining of these chips for 5c each before tossing them in the garbage. It didn't sound like too many people took him up on the offer. I initially ordered the purple and grey chips and liked them so much that I ordered enough for a tournament set. Upon receiving them, I understood what some had complained about. Some of the colors were literally crumbling. But here's the thing - I really like these chips! I like them enough to consider making labels for them. I really like the colors. I like the weight (about 10g each). I like the feel. They look and feel more like clay to me than other china clays. So here is my question...

Will I be dissapointed if I put any effort in trying to create labels for these? The brown and blue chips seem to be too brittle to bother with. But I really like the other colors and think I will be okay making a tourney set out of them. I am okay with the fact that a chip will occasionally break. What I don't want is to deal with crumbs from the chips all over the table.

Any opinions on this? Did any of you own these in the past and got rid of them? The only negative is that the recessed inlay area is 1 1/8 inches wide. So the 1" labels that I would print myself would not fit perfectly. I would love people's opinions or feedback. Thanks!

 

[allforcharity]

I've never had these in hand, but I understood that these Greek Key CC's had a pretty good reputation. I was contemplating getting a set myself a long time ago before I got compression clays in hand.

Is it difficult to do 1 1/8" labels?

 

[Jake14mw]

Well, I use Avery.com to print labels. They don't have 1 1/8" labels. Also, I already have some 1" labels I was going to use for another project.

Does anyone out there have a labeled set of these?

 

[Josh Kifer]

Hi all,

Some of you are aware that Gene from ABC recently offered any remaining of these chips for 5c each before tossing them in the garbage. It didn't sound like too many people took him up on the offer. I initially ordered the purple and grey chips and liked them so much that I ordered enough for a tournament set. Upon receiving them, I understood what some had complained about. Some of the colors were literally crumbling. But here's the thing - I really like these chips! I like them enough to consider making labels for them. I really like the colors. I like the weight (about 10g each). I like the feel. They look and feel more like clay to me than other china clays. So here is my question...

Will I be dissapointed if I put any effort in trying to create labels for these? The brown and blue chips seem to be too brittle to bother with. But I really like the other colors and think I will be okay making a tourney set out of them. I am okay with the fact that a chip will occasionally break. What I don't want is to deal with crumbs from the chips all over the table.

Any opinions on this? Did any of you own these in the past and got rid of them? The only negative is that the recessed inlay area is 1 1/8 inches wide. So the 1" labels that I would print myself would not fit perfectly. I would love people's opinions or feedback. Thanks!

These are some of the best china clays ever made IMO. All of the V8 runs held up well and played fantastic. I never had any issues ever and had 3-4 different sets. These are one of the few that don't have the same fragile crumbling issues some other CCs had.

Make some customs, love them! Do itttt!

 

[allforcharity]

These are one of the few that don't have the same fragile crumbling issues some other CCs had.

But aren't they, in fact, crumbling?

 

[Jake14mw]

Here are some pics of them

 

[TheBigTater]

Fair warning to @Jake14mw

Just to clarify the Med Greek Key CC's pictured above are not 8V's. I'd agree that the 8V's are probably the best CC's that have been produced. Be careful, both chips may look similar but were not produced using the same material or process. There was a reason the Gene sold these with an upfront warning and then tossed the remaining inventory into the dumpster.

These Med Greek Key CC's (see below vvvv) are probably some of the worst IMO. They will crumble and flake and eventually turn to dust, once again IMO.

These are Med Greek Key 8V's (see below vvvv). They have problems as well as do all CC's but they will hold up to play without crumbling to pieces.

I have owned both and threw away the top ones while I still have a rather large set of the 8V's.

 

[MatthewTreeTree]

Those aren't made by the same manufacturer as Sprint/Spirit Molds, are they?

Sprint/Spirit Durability <-

 

[TheBigTater]

Those aren't made by the same manufacturer as Sprint/Spirit Molds, are they?

Sprint/Spirit Durability <-

I don't know if the Spirit Molds were made by the same manufacturer.

Just about ever batch of CC's vary wildly and are not consistent being made by a bunch of different Chinese companies.

 

[Josh Kifer]

But aren't they, in fact, crumbling?

There were a few CCs made that in fact turned to dust as you played.

 

[RussB42]

They are the very best CC's made...

 

[Jake14mw]

Now I have to try and think of simple labels to make to experiment with these. I don't want anything with my name or cardroom, already have old Nexgens with that and Cards mold chips. I am thinking of maybe Rounders labels. Mostly white, less ink to waste if these chips turn out to be a bust! Does anyone have artwork for Rounders type labels, know where I can get some, or any other suggestions?

 

[Jake14mw]

Any label suggestions?

 

[Jake14mw]

Just found out that these are clones of the Casino De Isthmus chips. Didn't even know that. Too bad I don't like those labels.

 

[CrazyEddie]

Well, I use Avery.com to print labels. They don't have 1 1/8" labels. Also, I already have some 1" labels I was going to use for another project.

Does anyone out there have a labeled set of these?

I'm working on a set of labeled Spirit molds right now. Those also have a 1 1/8" recess. After digging through a bunch of PCF threads, and doing a bit of googling, I learned that precut labels just don't seem to come in that size.

I found this round paper punch on Amazon that is reportedly the right size. I paid $13. I don't know for sure that it'll work; I've got it ordered and hopefully can test it out very soon. Also punches go dull, apparently; some people report success in sharpening them by punching tin foil or aluminum soda cans. Maybe I'll be able to keep it sharp, or maybe even if it goes dull it'll still make an acceptable cut. We'll see.

Some people have used leatherworking and metalworking punches to cut labels, and they come in a wide variety of sizes. 1.125 inches is 28.5mm, so a 28mm punch should work very well, making a circle that fits in the recess with just a tiny bit of room to spare. You can get a 28mm punch from McMaster-Carr for $24, but that's just the punching head; you also need the body/handle, which costs $70. I haven't tried this, but might try it if the papercraft punch doesn't work out.

Papercrafters use Cricut machines to create custom-cut designs of all sorts, including cutting labels. Here's a very small unit for $150; most units are larger and more expensive. You can also use a laser engraving/cutting machine to cut paper, including making custom-shaped labels; I found some for $110-$150 but they had extremely poor reviews, and better units cost $300 and up.

@TX_Golf_N_Poker used 1" labels on his 8V greek key cc's; they don't fill the label recess, but they look good anyway: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/which-claysmith-chips-you-prefer.44495/page-6#post-1258988

Label vendors like Gear can of course make labels in the exact size you need, whatever size that might be.

@Fishmonger had this to report:

I know this is an old thread but I used an auto wrap place to print my inlays for my 8v set that I bought from ABC. I wanted a cheap alternative to cheap chips. But didn't want to try to print my own. Because I know I would of messed that up. I paid $50 for 2000 inlays. So for 2.5 cents an inlay, im real happy with the results. He used 3M scotchcal vinyl. Found him on eBay.

They were cut to my specifications. There is no choice of textured vinyl. The vinyl that its printed on most closely resembles " glossy vinyl smooth laminate". And they are fairly thin. So it will show imperfections in the inlay area. I posted pics because all the 8vs have a ring on one side. But I just made it like a border for the text.

So there are options! Hopefully one will work for you (and me!).

 

[bigdonkey]

Spirit and Greek Key molds have a 1.1" recess. I can say with 99.99% certainty that there are no stock 1.1" labels available. The closest I have been able to find are 1.125" inch labels at sheetlabels.com. They are ever so slightly larger than the recessed area but appear to be the same size as the stock labels that come on the chips.

The labels do affect stackability, if you are trying to build the Tower of Babel. But from a practical standpoint it won't affect playability stacking barrels on the table. You can't really tell due to the glare, but this rack is labeled.

 

[LeLe]

I like the “animation” of the donkey design of every chip

 

[CrazyEddie]

Spirit and Greek Key molds have a 1.1" recess. I can say with 99.99% certainty that there are no stock 1.1" labels available. The closest I have been able to find are 1.125" inch labels at sheetlabels.com. They are ever so slightly larger than the recessed area but appear to be the same size as the stock labels that come on the chips.

Thanks for the pointer to sheetlabels!

I've got two colors of spirit molds that came with the Casino da Vinci stock labels. The recesses and labels all measured approximately 1.125" but I measured with a cheap ruler and not calipers. Interestingly, the labels on the blue chips were slightly undersized and fit into the recesses perfectly, while the labels on the white chips were slightly oversized and sat just barely outside the recess. The blue chip labels were stuck quite firmly to the chip and were hard to peel off; the white chip labels came off easily, probably because they couldn't lie flat within the recess and therefore never got firmly pressed into contact with the chip's surface, resulting in lousy adhesion.

 

[Jake14mw]

I'm working on a set of labeled Spirit molds right now. Those also have a 1 1/8" recess. After digging through a bunch of PCF threads, and doing a bit of googling, I learned that precut labels just don't seem to come in that size.

I found this round paper punch on Amazon that is reportedly the right size. I paid $13. I don't know for sure that it'll work; I've got it ordered and hopefully can test it out very soon. Also punches go dull, apparently; some people report success in sharpening them by punching tin foil or aluminum soda cans. Maybe I'll be able to keep it sharp, or maybe even if it goes dull it'll still make an acceptable cut. We'll see.

Some people have used leatherworking and metalworking punches to cut labels, and they come in a wide variety of sizes. 1.125 inches is 28.5mm, so a 28mm punch should work very well, making a circle that fits in the recess with just a tiny bit of room to spare. You can get a 28mm punch from McMaster-Carr for $24, but that's just the punching head; you also need the body/handle, which costs $70. I haven't tried this, but might try it if the papercraft punch doesn't work out.

Papercrafters use Cricut machines to create custom-cut designs of all sorts, including cutting labels. Here's a very small unit for $150; most units are larger and more expensive. You can also use a laser engraving/cutting machine to cut paper, including making custom-shaped labels; I found some for $110-$150 but they had extremely poor reviews, and better units cost $300 and up.

@TX_Golf_N_Poker used 1" labels on his 8V greek key cc's; they don't fill the label recess, but they look good anyway: https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/which-claysmith-chips-you-prefer.44495/page-6#post-1258988

Label vendors like Gear can of course make labels in the exact size you need, whatever size that might be.

@Fishmonger had this to report:



So there are options! Hopefully one will work for you (and me!).

Wow. This has to be in the running for the "most useful reply to a thread of the year" award! I really appreciate it. A lot of good information for me to review!