Sleeving cards without nicking their corners

[Elessar's Socks]

One of my pet peeves while sleeving cards is getting a corner nicked. Maybe it's just the sleeves I use, but sometimes one side of the opening seals shut, and coaxing it open with the card makes me nervous. So, here's a process that's a bit time consuming but has worked so far:

- First, get the smoothest material you can find (the card will be sliding against it). I used an untextured sandwich bag.

- Cut two rectangular pieces out. Their width should be about the width of the sleeve's opening (since sleeve widths aren't exact, cutting it too close might result in slight scrunching). Their length doesn't matter so much... about an inch should do.

- Fold each piece down their length. The fold is just to prevent the pieces from sliding in with the card.

- Then for the actual sleeving procedure, slide the pieces in together up to their fold, with the folded part angled away from the opening. These basically form lips for the sleeve.

- Finally slide in the card. The lips form a smooth opening so the corners won't catch. It works for foils heavily bent lengthwise, too--just kind of just roll it in, one side to the other. When done, slide the pieces back out for reuse.

One thing to watch out for is that the pieces might stick to your hand (especially on hot days), which might slide them out prematurely. Usually it doesn't matter, but for some cards with worn edges, I like to protect those as well.

/random post of the day

[ket_the_jet]

If you use good (expensive) enough sleeves, you shouldn't have this problem. Also, and this comes from my early years of collecting baseball cards, keep your collection in a relatively cool, dry place. But even if the room is a little warmer, make sure the temperature is held at a constant.

You should be good to go!
-wtk

[ket_the_jet]

I hate to disagree with you, but Dragon Shield are slightly better than Ultra Pro. Much more expensive...

Actually, Dragon Force sleeves retail at $9.99 for 100 sleeves. This also includes a "Dragon Force Deck Box."

Ultra Pro deck sleeves retail at $4.59 for 50 sleeves. The cheapest model of an Ultra Pro Deck Box retails at $2.29.

So, in fact, you are getting the same thing for a dollar and change cheaper. I think it just seems more expensive because you are getting more.
-wtk

[ket_the_jet]

...and a brief search online shows Ultra Pro deck sleeves at $2.99 for 50. So still, they come out to about the same price.
-wtk

[rubbercarp]

Most of decks are sleeved in "Penny Sleeves"
I'm such a savage =)

[putridbreath]

mine too.
.79 cents for 100 or so sleeves
-they work great but some need replacing after being used in multiple games.

[ket_the_jet]

I find it is much easier to shuffle in stronger sleeves. With Ultra Pros, I never worry about damaging the cards, although I am still gentle with the shuffle.
-wtk

[legolas3333]

I sleeve my collection in 'penny sleeves' but my decks are in the nice ultra-pro ones

[Kev-La]

I keep the first non-foil and foil copies of each card in the binder, with up to 3 copies in medium-thickness deck protector sleeves (mostly Ultra-Pro, but I've found also Dragon Shield to be great, too). The rest are just kept loose in shoe-boxes

[rubbercarp]

The rest are just kept loose in shoe-boxes

Keepin' it classy =)

[Kev-La]

Keepin' it classy =)

Haha! Oh, I keep them in good condition, all in order in neat little rows. But when I already have 4 copies in near-mint condition, its just not economically viable for me to store any more copies in classy sleeves

[Witchkingx5]

I've got around 1500 Sleeves or so, but still, it would be impossible to Sleeve my whole collection of TCGs. 5000 MtG, 3000 Yu-Gi-Oh, 1000 Pokémon, 1000 Star Wars and of course, around 8000 LotR. You can imagine how my room looks like. just cards everywhere... ask Anvar

[Elessar's Socks]

Whoa, topic shift by... is that quote splicing?

The Ultra Pro clear sleeves I'm using were bought probably a decade ago. They came with a purple/yellow cardboard backing, and the sleeves were a bit taller (3 3/4") and thicker than the penny sleeves they produce now. Haven't seen their likes since then.

I might try out the plain, solid-backed Ultra Pro or KMC / Player's Choice sleeves one day. Any quality difference between white and black colors, or textured and untextured ones?

...Have to say though, not liking that Ultra Pro sticker.

[Kev-La]

Have to say though, not liking that Ultra Pro sticker.

Annoying, aren't they?

[ket_the_jet]

I actually like that. Then again, I am American and advertising brand-loyalty is one of the many things the rest of the world hates us for.
-wtk