Tarot Trimming Tools-- Rotary Cutter & Corner Rounder

[moonmorgan]

I was wondering whether anyone has tried using a stanley-knife and running it along the edge of a ruler, or something like that for the long-cuts.

Nisaba, I ALWAYS use a scalpel and change the blades regularly, so a stanley knife is not much different, just a bit more cumbersome, and a steel straight edge (from a DIY shop) rather than a ruler, so the blade can't 'attack' the ruler as easily.

Use the breadboard so I don't damage the table, and voila! A perfectly trimmed deck.

FaireMaiden, I've got a corner cutter thingy just like yours, and it finishes off the job perfectly - and brilliant, step by step photos, from you, too

 

[nisaba]

Nisaba, I ALWAYS use a scalpel and change the blades regularly, so a stanley knife is not much different, just a bit more cumbersome, and a steel straight edge (from a DIY shop) rather than a ruler, so the blade can't 'attack' the ruler as easily.

Cool - I'm glad it works.

The ruler I had in mind was my own - a 30cm carbon-steel number, not one of those temporary plastic thingies or those antique wooden thingies (which I believe are becoming collectible now).

(All this being said, I am not a trimmer - but you never know when I might take leave of my senses, or become possessed by the dibbuk of a deck-trimmer).

 

[FaireMaiden]

Thanks for the kudos everyone, *s*. I was hoping the post would be helpful to those wanting to give trimming a try. Strangely, I found the whole process quite relaxing and enjoyable... once I took a deep breath, bit the bullet, and made that first cut! *lol*. It only took a couple of hours, (with a few breaks in-between), to complete the whole deck.

wow, thanks for the research FaireMaiden. I have been wanting to trim but everyone seems to say 'scissors' and I know what would happen if I did it that way!

I knew I could never use scissors either, Alta... I'm just too high-strung! *lol*, so was glad to find this rotary trimmer. It was a breeze to use, as was the 'Angle-eater' corner rounder as well.

I would suggest that anyone wanting to do this, to make at least 10-or-so practice cuts with a deck of cards they don't mind screwing-up... just to get the hang of the rotary trimmer. Perhaps a deck that is already incomplete... or one they don't like much to begin with.

As well, it's especially helpful to make note of the alignment, (measurements), you use with that first cut, such as 3 1/2, or 3 3/34, etc. so that you know exactly what measurements to use with the following cards.

As willowfox said, if you want absolute exact precision, take your deck to a printer for a professional cut. However, if you don't mind a bit of 'craftsy' impreciseness, then doing it yourself is an enjoyable endeavor. I was concerned whether the cards would be too imprecise... as in some bigger than others and sticking out terribly making the feel of the deck yucky, and the shuffling erractic. Surprisingly, there is a wee bit of 'offness' on some of the cards, but frankly, the deck feels and shuffles wonderfully, *s*.

Of course, I did this on the only deck I read with; one that is easily, and cheaply, replaced... in case I screwed-it-up completely. If someone is wanting to trim an expensive or rare deck then, yes, I would definitely take it to a printer, as one really bad mistake will find you up the creek.

 

[strings of life]

The next great tool is a Corner Rounder that I found also at Amazon. It's called an 'Angle Eater'. It's 'rounding-size' is 'Small'-- 5mm-- and works like a charm! I wrote a Review of it over there. It's $5-bucks plus shipping, (it's not available for free-shipping as it's sold by SuperMart). It's the 'Green' one only! The Red and Orange ones are too big... up to 10mm and will eat too much corner!

FaireMaiden, thanks so much for posting this! I just bought the corner rounder that you recommended. I had a Fiskars corner rounder, but it would add kcicks of sorts in the corner punches at times. Yes, I did punch foil in attempts to sharpen it in between punches, but using the puncher with inconsistent results was a headache. I ended up tossing it.

I have trimmed my past two trimming projects with scissors, but finally bought the same Fiskars Rotary Trimmer that you listed. I'm yet to use it, but will be trying it out on my Faerie Tarot (Natalie Hertz). I have a deck that I use for note cards for trades/sales, and will test it out on some of those.

 

[FaireMaiden]

Oh, good, aurarcana... let us know how it goes for you!

 

[strings of life]

Oh, good, aurarcana... let us know how it goes for you!

The corner rounder has arrived!

I'll post my Faerie Tarot (Natalie Hertz) trimming results in the appropriate thread .

 

[TomTom]

I have a rotary cutter.
I have a paper cutter.
I have a corner cutter.
What I don't have is patience.
I take the advice from willowfox

 

[strings of life]

^ . It's a wonderful deck bonding process. It becomes yours in a new way...

Oh, good, aurarcana... let us know how it goes for you!

It went extremely well! This was my first attempt at using a rotary cutter and I can't believe that I trimmed my previous two decks with scissors. The horror! The cards came out exactly the same size - how perfect!

That corner rounder you recommended worked amazingly well too. All of the corners cut perfectly, and I liked how you you could see the card's corner being punched. Many other corner rounders are bottom loading, which makes it harder for you to see what you are doing.

Here are my results:

Faerie Tarot (Natalie Hertz) - before
Faerie Tarot (Natalie Hertz) - trimmed (sides and top border; bottom border with title left intact)

 

[FaireMaiden]

Oh! those turned out great! Well-Done!!! I enjoyed the process too... once I had the proper tools, *lol*. I'm so glad you found the rotary cutter and corner-rounder both easy to use and accurate in their precision, *s*.

 

[Mi-Shell]

I really liked the corner cutter and tried to order one, but they do not ship into Canada.
Does anyone here have any idea, iffff this tool is available anywhere else, that would ship here?
Thanks!