Pharaoh's disappointment & more (1 Viewer)

Retiarius

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Today's package, first impressions.
My latest chip order just came in today, (I own only samples for a total 450+ chips, never bought a single playable set yet).
One of the samples I was very keen to acquire are the china clay Pharaoh's...so I open the box, unwrap the first random pack of chips and...I do not recognize them at first glance from the side, so I turn them facing the inlay and, what? They are the actual Pharaoh's ?! The colours are so dull (except the $1000) compared to the pictures online (and even in my picture they look better than IRL).
My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
But honestly, this is why I buy only samples for now. I just started my chip collection like this and I've just avoided getting burned from a possible set I would have hated.
But that's not all from todays' package! There is more to look at. Let's see.
ProGen80, china clays. Sort of ancient greek scroll mould. Ok these look way more vidid than the Pharaoh's, same rubbery smell though. They do not come with inlays (stickers). Colours are better than the Pharaoh's and they cost almost half the price...mmmh, interesting. They feel kinda heavier unfortunately.
But then, the rockstar. Nevada Jacks, finally on my table.
These grew on me over time, until they looked so attractive I had to get samples. And IRL they go beyond my expectations, I adore them. Beside the striking design, they feel so light and shuffle so good. These are a serious candidate for my first playable set. We'll see in the future.
 

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I'm not a fan of the china clay pharaoh's but having said that, take a cloth and a little warm water and clean off that factory dust, even a dab of mineral oil and they will be much brighter. I'm not suggesting you change your mind or anything but they do have the ability to look much better than they do now. The smell is another thing altogether. I would go with just about any ceramic over china clay based on smell alone. I have been fairly successful at countering much of the smell by a proper cleaning and I would store them in open air for a long period of time. Also if you like the ceramic chips, try BR Pro poker, they are a vender here and have a wide selection of ceramic chips.
 
+1000, they’re not actually that color. They just have “factory dust” on them. Somewhere in a sales thread of mine is a picture of new un-cleaned chips and cleaned ones that I oiled (don’t need to oil but some like myself prefer it). The difference is night and day.
 
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The $5 chip definitely looks wrong though. Hopefully cleaning it fixes it up.
 
Below are pictures of my Pharaohs that I sold last year. The $5's were cleaned and oiled. Half of the quarters were cleaned and oiled, and the other half were not. You can really see the difference it makes.

Nice chips, but you gotta put the work in to make them look nice.


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Ceramics cost just a bit more than China Clays, but are so much better in terms of durability and feel, IMO. China clays, which are the fake Pharoahs that you purchased, Milanos, Majestics, and Royals, among others, are a nice change of pace from the typical dice chip and slugged plastic, but many, including you apparently, find their scent and chalkiness off-putting.

Both @ABC Gifts and Awards/BRPRO POKER and @SUN-FLY Poker Chips offer excellent products at a great value and can make something fully custom for you.
 
Thank you all for your advice; @Pinesol13 I can see what difference cleaning makes, I will try this on my samples.
However
There are chips out there that look nice withouth requiring work to do, I would only excuse casino-used dirty chips to be cleaned, but a brand new product should perform a bit more imho.
 
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Clean and oil your china clays!

That being said, I sold mine because of the smell I couldn't get rid of.
Colors and feel are really great though. :)
 
Thank you all for your advice; @Pinesol13 I can see what difference cleaning makes, I will try this on my samples.
However
There are chips out there that look nice withouth requiring work to do, I would only excuse casino-used dirty chips to be cleaned, but a brand new product should perform a bit more imho.
Even expensive high-end clay chips require work -- shuffling and breaking-in to improve feel, and cleaning/oiling to improve looks and provide protection.
 
Below are pictures of my Pharaohs that I sold last year. The $5's were cleaned and oiled. Half of the quarters were cleaned and oiled, and the other half were not. You can really see the difference it makes.

Nice chips, but you gotta put the work in to make them look nice.


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Who knew a guy named Pinesol would have cleaning tips? :wtf:
 
Thank you all for your advice; @Pinesol13 I can see what difference cleaning makes, I will try this on my samples.
However
There are chips out there that look nice withouth requiring work to do, I would only excuse casino-used dirty chips to be cleaned, but a brand new product should perform a bit more imho.
If you're looking for permission to move on from the china clays, you have it! I've only handled a couple of different china clays, but I hated them and I hated their price point. I'd rather buy ten cent plastics, until I was ready to spend more.
 
If you are as demanding as you sound, get some real "casino clay" samples.
It's easy to do from CPC; you just pay (mind you: these require a shower and oiling to reveal their beauty).

For Paulsons, it's much harder. The best feeling and sounding (and more durable) Paulsons are THCs (in contrast to RHCs).
If you 're conscious about all that crap and you have $10K to spend (which you 'll most probably do, eventually) just wave that kind of money under people's noses and you 'll probably be rewarded.
 
If sticking with the china clay, you'll want to clean and oil them, it helps.

If you find you're getting pickier over time like I was, you may wish to jump straight to Paulson clay chips. Something like Horseshoes or Jack's are pretty good, very reasonable priced and much more readily available than most other sets.

I started with China clay -> CPC -> Paulson chips..
 
Love my Royals. Would never trade them.

Pharaohs are the worst of the CC IMO. The mold alone doesn’t allow for proper oiling in those grooves. Over time you can see how the grooves have a different, dustier look. I also don’t like the thinner chip edge. Design, colors are very average.

I way prefer my Milanos over pharaohs, but Royals take the cake.
 
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Love my Royals. Would never trade them.

Pharaohs are the worst of the CC IMO. The mold alone doesn’t allow for proper oiling in those grooves. Over time you can see how the grooves have a different, dustier look. I also don’t like the thinner chip edge. Design, colors are very average.

I way prefer my Milanos over pharaohs, but Royals take the cake.

Yeah I must admit the Royals look way better (at least online!), I own only Majestics samples from the same manufacturer. If the quality is comparable they are quite tempting.
 
I was stuck between the pharaohs, milanos, and royals.

I decided on Royals as I love the 43mm chip and the bold colors (very chalky when I received them)

I will reiterate what others have said. Some mineral oil will make those colors pop. I followed apachepokers recommendation for my royals. Although I had to oil some chips a 2nd time, they turned out great!

1-2 tablespoons of high grade mineral oil in 1-2 gal of water. Swish around 50-100 chips until they feel oily...should only take a minute or so. I placed them on towels to absorb excess oil and dry water. Flipped over after 1 day (also oiled the chip racks after reading that tip on here). Night and day difference. The extra oil will eventually absorb into the chip.

Now if I can only finalize my sticker design
 

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@Retiarius From my limited experience, oiling chips does not affect the integrity of the label. Chips are only submerged for a few minutes max. I've also read numerous threads on here that support it will not harm the labels.

I read one of Gears threads that says it doesn't matter if you oil then label or label then oil. As a matter of fact, he recommends labeling then oiling so any excess oil doesn't mess with adhesive. Mine will be sitting for weeks before label design finalized, sent to Gear, and printed so that won't be an issue for me!
 
@Retiarius From my limited experience, oiling chips does not affect the integrity of the label. Chips are only submerged for a few minutes max. I've also read numerous threads on here that support it will not harm the labels.

I read one of Gears threads that says it doesn't matter if you oil then label or label then oil. As a matter of fact, he recommends labeling then oiling so any excess oil doesn't mess with adhesive. Mine will be sitting for weeks before label design finalized, sent to Gear, and printed so that won't be an issue for me!

So I assume cleaning with water doesn't affect the label? I already labeled a bunch of my Majestics (25 cent blue) but didn't wash them yet.

I must have Covid cause I've never noticed the smell of my Majestics.
 
@VarmintCong Correct, you shouldn't have any issues.

I washed mine with small amount of dawn and warm water before the oiling process (although mine are blank).

Note that dawn and warm water will not remove the chalkiness, you need the mineral oil.
 
@VarmintCong Correct, you shouldn't have any issues.

I washed mine with small amount of dawn and warm water before the oiling process (although mine are blank).

Note that dawn and warm water will not remove the chalkiness, you need the mineral oil.
Is the washing pre-oil useful for the smell?
 
The whole prewash/oil process seemed to reduce the smell a little bit but you can definitely still smell the chips. It doesn't bother me that much. Will see what the guys think once thyre in play.
 
I stayed away from CCs because they weren’t the original/authentic chips, and I thought they’d just fall apart or dissolve if used too much. HAHAHA

I still have my Nevada Jacks Skulls after many years - never disappointed with them! The plaques are pretty nice, their bounty/rebuy/etc. chips have dark, saturated colors, and they even make custom colors/denomination chips too! I was lucky to have found the GRAY .25 chips back in the day. They have a different sound than the originals but still a great chip.

I’m looking to get a custom set by modding LGK chips, but I’m still looking into designing a full custom set.

Finding the “right” set is difficult, and samples definitely help.
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Today's package, first impressions.
My latest chip order just came in today, (I own only samples for a total 450+ chips, never bought a single playable set yet).
One of the samples I was very keen to acquire are the china clay Pharaoh's...so I open the box, unwrap the first random pack of chips and...I do not recognize them at first glance from the side, so I turn them facing the inlay and, what? They are the actual Pharaoh's ?! The colours are so dull (except the $1000) compared to the pictures online (and even in my picture they look better than IRL).
My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
But honestly, this is why I buy only samples for now. I just started my chip collection like this and I've just avoided getting burned from a possible set I would have hated.
But that's not all from todays' package! There is more to look at. Let's see.
ProGen80, china clays. Sort of ancient greek scroll mould. Ok these look way more vidid than the Pharaoh's, same rubbery smell though. They do not come with inlays (stickers). Colours are better than the Pharaoh's and they cost almost half the price...mmmh, interesting. They feel kinda heavier unfortunately.
But then, the rockstar. Nevada Jacks, finally on my table.
These grew on me over time, until they looked so attractive I had to get samples. And IRL they go beyond my expectations, I adore them. Beside the striking design, they feel so light and shuffle so good. These are a serious candidate for my first playable set. We'll see in the future.
I have a bog aet of the paulson pharos and there probably is no comparison looks/quality wise but i have played with the china clays a lot and i dont think they play too badly - it is a decent chip and it is clay. It is much more inconsistent on colors and even chip size but they do actually play pretty decently….at least from my experience (i play in a game that uses the milanos And they play really nice - a bit off on the colors sometimes - might have 15 perfectly red $5 chips and then get one that is more pinkish. But functionally they play pretty good).
 
Pharaoh's have good beveled edges but are dull in color though the variety of images and edging is nice....Nevada Jacks feel much better though...
 

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