Dunes vs Pharaohs? Advice (2 Viewers)

[rainy_trails]

Hey, this is my first post here after browsing on this site for the past few months! So, to get straight to the point. I recently received Dunes and Pharaohs samples. I'm having a hard time picking between both! At first I was dead set on buying Dunes, but here are some things I noticed.
- .25 and $5 seem too similar (pink and red)
- the value number on the label is a little too small (might be hard to see)

With that in mind, the Pharaohs make more sense to my liking. I see people saying that the durability on the Pharaohs are okay. I don't see how they could chip regularly on a foam poker table, but that's why I'm here. Anything I'm overlooking here?
Last 2 things
- I noticed that the mold on the dunes is deeper than the Pharaohs. I saw comments referencing this, and they said that the depth of the Dunes make it harder to clean/oil. But... I heard the same thing for the Pharaohs.
-And finally a lot of the forums are years old. Does anyone know if the current batches of these CC chips are better or worse than before? Or is more of a matter of design. In that case, I would go with the Pharaohs. I appreciate any insight, thanks for reading

 

[Sal Bandini]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I have the original China Clay Pharaohs and added on to them with the newer ones, There is a definite difference between them. The original are a slightly different composition and feel more chalky, are more grippy, and do flake a lot. They also break more easily. However, they do stack great. Those are the ones people complain about.

The new ones do not have the breaking and flaking problem. They are similar to the new Dunes. The only problem is they are more slippery and don't stack as well as the original ones.

If you like the design of the Pharaohs I would buy them. I doubt you will regret them. What I did for my new chips is I ran them across some sandpaper a few times. They become noticeably less slippery. Just a few light swirls on each side is enough. I think I went as rough as 400 grit and they came out fine.

 

[rainy_trails]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I have the original Pharaohs and added on to them with the newer ones, There is a definite difference between them. The original are a slightly different composition and feel more chalky, are more grippy, and do flake a lot. They also break more easily. However, they do stack great. Those are the ones people complain about.

The new ones do not have the breaking and flaking problem. They are similar to the new Dunes. The only problem is they are more slippery and don't stack as well as the original ones.

If you like the design of the Pharaohs I would buy them. I doubt you will regret them. What I did for my new chips is I ran them across some sandpaper a few times. They become noticeably less slippery. Just a few light swirls on each side is enough. I think I went as rough as 400 grit and they came out fine.

I really appreciate it! I have seen some suggestion towards sanding down with 400 grit; I presume that doesn't mess with the stackability?

 

[KHarp1]

Where did you order these samples from? Are the Pharaoh's you received Paulson Pharaoh's, or, China clay Pharaoh's?

 

[rainy_trails]

Where did you order these samples from? Are the Pharaoh's you received Paulson Pharaoh's, or, China clay Pharaoh's?

Sorry, I forgot to mention that they are both the Apache CC chips.

 

[Sal Bandini]

It improves the stackability. In stock form I found all of the new China Clays too slippery, Pharaohs, Dunes, Majestics, Royals. They will stack better after light sanding.

 

[KHarp1]

One of the regular games in my area uses Royals, relabeled, and I love those chips. They handle and stack great. So much so that I'm thinking about ordering a set for relabel. I had Majestic's a while back, but, the smell was something I couldn't live with.

 

[rainy_trails]

One of the regular games in my area uses Royals, relabeled, and I love those chips. They handle and stack great. So much so that I'm thinking about ordering a set for relabel. I had Majestic's a while back, but, the smell was something I couldn't live with.

Nice! Do the majestics have a particular smell or are you referring to CC chips in general?

 

[KHarp1]

Some people complain about the smell, but, many say it goes away, or lessens, eventually. They're from China, who knows what in them. I haven't had to many, but, they all have some level of "plastic" type smell. There have been other odors described as well. There are a ton of them out there being used, it can't be too bad.

 

[MichaelBubly]

Make sure you're considering threads about Apache CC and not Paulson. As some have mentioned, both are originally a Paulson set and quite a few threads discuss the original clay chips and not the China Clay version.

I don't think the mold depth will affect the overall ability to clean or oil the chips. Could use a very light touch of oil on the edges, but likely won't need much. If you haven't got a sample of these yet, I would start with that first as the feel is quite important to a lot of people and will give you a better idea of your preferences.

The overall quality of the batches will likely be pretty similar. Colors could always vary slightly, but overall it should be pretty similar.