Hand Cutting Advice - 1958 Rekord Pele
DEFPOTEC
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Recently submitted a hand-cut soccer card to PSA. Cut it myself. Grade just popped: PSA 5. I was hoping for higher, maybe a 7, but all in all not too surprised.
Question for those with experience grading hand-cut cards...
I used a Fiskars SureCut, and, while it came out looking nice (see photo), there was a clear “ridging” effect on all four edges evident on the reverse (zoom in on the photo of the reverse). How much might that have affected the grade?
Note that I selected no qualifiers, so I’m also wondering if the ink smudge on the reverse (above the signature line on Pele’s side) was a PD in disguise, knocking it down from a 7.
Thanks!
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Comments
I don't like the Fiscars Sure Cut at all for cards, fine for cutting up photos etc. but not PSA .
You achieved good centering, but to be honest, your card edges look "wavy" and you have "tails" on all four corners.
"Ridging" in my experience occurs anytime you don't have a sharp blade and cut the card on a single pass.
Get a metal ruler and use these blades;
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5pc-X-ACTO-XZ211-Z-Series-Zirconium-Nitride-11-Knife-Blades/114509297796?epid=662930605&hash=item1aa9493884:g:DFsAAOSwaYVfqZ-X
Cut one side and turn the card counter clockwise (assuming you are right handed) cutting each side. This way you are removing the "tail" that often happens when you get to the end of the cut.You won't believe how nice of a cut you get!!!
Don't use the blades for more than one card, two at most. Very thin cards can tear at the first sign of dullness and the reverse on a thicker (Post cereal type) can also tear even if the front looks perfect while cutting.
It takes a little practice, but you can get great results!
P.S. I would take another crack at that card, it looks like you have enough border to remove the ridges.
Thanks so much! I almost went the X-Acto route the first time. And, yeah, I left quite a bit of red border thinking I might need to give it another go to get a cleaner cut. Wanted to leave that option open.
I see what you mean about the wavy edges (goes hand in hand with the ridging) and tails. I used a brand-new blade, albeit still a little SureCut one. And you’re exactly right...I made single passes on all four edges.
In your experience what would cleaner edges (no ridging, waves, or tails) mean grade-wise?
Will think about it while the package makes it’s way home! Tempting to give it another go if it means a 1-2 grade bump.
Thanks again!
This appears to be a fairly expensive card (a PSA 4 just sold for $3,000), so the only tool I would use is a guillotine type cutter. You want this cut to be in one quick strike, not dragged out along a ruler hoping you can stay pressed up against it for the whole length of each side.
I have cut many hostess cards (worth way less than your card) and have always had success using a guillotine cutter. Good luck whatever you decide.
I used this. It has that piece of rubber to hold the cards in place when u cut them. I don't like the slide cutters because they seem to leave rough edge. BGS gave me a 9 & 9.5 on all the ones I cut...but PSA may grade different!
https://kennerstartinglineup.blogspot.com/
nam812 and vols1, thanks for weighing in. I’ve seen mixed reviews on the guillotine cutter option. But definitely something I could experiment with in addition to the X-Acto option. I have the rest of the magazine cover this card was cut from, so ideal for practice. We’ll see if I can work up the nerve for another go. And if not, no worries as I still have a sharp looking PSA 5!
Agreed with all the responses here. I have cut many of the cards from this set, including several of the Pele. The amount of red border you left was pretty much exactly right. The reason for your grading being capped at a 5 is the ridging, which is to say how each of the four edges looks like it has a curl to it along the entire length when observed from the back side. It is very easy to feel when in hand too. This effect occurs with the type of cutter you used. You won't get higher than a 5 with ridging, regardless of the other aspects.
If you crack and recut with a guillotine, there would be a big potential that you'd have to trim a bit more of the red borders than you should and then your grade would not be as high due to that.
My advice would be to pick up some of the inexpensive commons from the Rekord Journal set and practice some cuts on those. Doing that, my cuts improved from 4's and 5's to getting 7's, 8's and even a couple 9's. I wish I hadn't cut my Pele ones until after I had more practice! I ended up with mostly 5's on those too so I learned the hard way as well.
I’ve received many 9s and 10s using the guillotine cutter. Many box bottoms came out perfect.
Yeah, recutting with a guillotine would be tricky. I think I’ve got some border to spare, based on the highly graded ones I’ve seen. But not sure I could trim so little with a guillotine. X-Acto should still be an option, though.
I’ve got the rest of the cover this was cut from, so I’ll do some experimenting while deciding what to do.
Thanks, everyone!
With lots of practice on less valuable cards you will be able to. I've cut off such little amounts off of hostess cards, 1984 Nestle cards, box bottoms, etc... that it looked like 1 strand of curly hair.
Edited to add: On the PSA 10 example shown on ebay (added scan below) it looks like the red area on the top, left, and right is the same thickness as the white area nearest to it, so you may not have as much "meat" left over as you think you do so be careful if you choose to crack it out and give it another try.
I agree with the comments from the other posters. I almost mentioned the guillotine type cutter as that would be cutting more like cards were originally cut, and there should be no ridging. I haven't used one on cards, but used to use one at work and wouldn't recommend it for trimming of edges.
If you go the xacto route, spend the extra money and get the Zirconium blades. They are unbelievable!
You guys have been terrific. Thanks! Will experiment on the excess magazine. Will report back in a few weeks!
Be careful and don't cut yourself! ;-)
I’ve got fingers to spare. Haha.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Promised to report back. So here it goes...
I cracked out the PSA 5 and retrimmed with a Dahle after lots of practice. It turned out beautifully. Clean cuts with no ridging whatsoever. Still plenty of red border and such. I was super excited to regrade. Well, no more! Grade just popped...a 4?!?!?!?! Haha. I’m really to curious to get it back in hand and see how it looks. It was still immaculate when I sent it in. Could they have wrinkled it? Anyway, here are the photos. Thoughts?
I feel your pain. I used a guillotine type cutter on mine about 5 months ago. I made sure there was not a single wrinkle from what I can tell. Im still dumbfounded why this card received a 3. Im going to eventually resubmit.
Wow. That’s a ridiculous grade. Simply inexcusable based on PSA’s own published criteria. So what gives? I guess that’s the lesson with nontraditional, hand-cut stuff, ie PSA standards don’t apply. So then what standard do they use?
I mean, here’s a PSA 9 that sold for $17,500 as a best offer a few weeks back. Cuts aren’t straight, only a sliver of red here and there...can’t see the full border all around, which per PSA’s published guidelines could even mean only an “Authentic” grade. But it was a 9 at the time? Laughable when stacked up against yours (and mine).
Sigh. Lesson learned.