How to Crack a Golden Age Slab Safely? 2 2

[Sqeggs]

Maybe CGC should offer a service of cracking books out and returning them to you.  Dopes like me would probably use it. 

[MrBedrock]

11 hours ago, Wayne-Tec said:

So does that mean that wherever there is an insert, you can’t cut along that edge, be it along the spine, the bottom of the book or both?

Because some GA books are heat sealed so close to the actual paper, that using a knife or pair of scissors looks to be risky.

If you can’t cut along sides supported by inserts, that forces you to cut on the top and on the right side of the inner well, regardless of how close it is to the actual paper, no?

The spacers are sealed in at the edges. You can cut through them inside the heat seals, you are simply cutting through extra layers. Try cutting completely across the top and then down on the sides to the spacers. Then open and slide the book out being careful not to catch any paper on the edges.

Edited November 22, 2017 by MrBedrock

[Bomber-Bob]

2 hours ago, Sqeggs said:

Maybe CGC should offer a service of cracking books out and returning them to you.  Dopes like me would probably use it. 

This is not a bad idea. I would probably use it also, especially with the new slabs. The early, old label slabs were soooo easy to remove. The inner well would peel right off, you didn't even need to cut. After safely removing maybe a hundred slabs in my lifetime, I recently had a small mishap on one of the new slabs. I'll expound upon your idea. CGC shows up at a lot of conventions. Why not offer, for a nominal fee, a service to remove your book while you wait. They don't need any special equipment = no overhead. I bet many of us would use the service and it would probably pay for their visit ! Hey CGC, what do you think ?

[Randall Dowling]

12 hours ago, Wayne-Tec said:

So does that mean that wherever there is an insert, you can’t cut along that edge, be it along the spine, the bottom of the book or both?

Because some GA books are heat sealed so close to the actual paper, that using a knife or pair of scissors looks to be risky.

If you can’t cut along sides supported by inserts, that forces you to cut on the top and on the right side of the inner well, regardless of how close it is to the actual paper, no?

They are very close.  I recommend using a metal straight edge with an x-acto knife and even then, you have to be cautious.  It's a very narrow margin of error.

[Bomber-Bob]

45 minutes ago, MrBedrock said:

The spacers are sealed in at the edges. You can cut through them inside the heat seals, you are simply cutting through extra layers. Try cutting completely across the top and then down on the sides to the spacers. Then open and slide the book out being careful not to catch any paper on the edges.

I recently had my first mishap, slightly catching the bottom of the comic on the edge of a 'spacer' (I think CGC calls it a wedge?). I had opened up the top and right side but not the bottom. While slowly pulling out the book, with the top and right open, the natural inclination is to slightly angle the book to the open right side. I think I paused or maybe moved slightly horizontal and the wedge caught the bottom of the book, incurring a tiny tear.  In the future, I think I will also cut the bottom, thus having 3 sides open to remove the book. 

[Point Five]

1 hour ago, Bomber-Bob said:

I recently had my first mishap, slightly catching the bottom of the comic on the edge of a 'spacer' (I think CGC calls it a wedge?). I had opened up the top and right side but not the bottom. While slowly pulling out the book, with the top and right open, the natural inclination is to slightly angle the book to the open right side. I think I paused or maybe moved slightly horizontal and the wedge caught the bottom of the book, incurring a tiny tear.  In the future, I think I will also cut the bottom, thus having 3 sides open to remove the book. 

Woof, sorry to hear. I think you're right that three sides open to remove the book is best, but I've tried to skate by with two sides as well. Intuitively it feels like "the less cutting is going on 1/16" away from my beloved book, the better".

 

[Zolnerowich]

On 11/22/2017 at 10:39 AM, Sqeggs said:

Maybe CGC should offer a service of cracking books out and returning them to you.  Dopes like me would probably use it. 

Dopey me use it too. I want to read and smell real GA pulp. And the interiors, I think there’s pages with cool art in the interiors. 

[Sqeggs]

On 11/22/2017 at 12:58 PM, Bomber-Bob said:

This is not a bad idea. I would probably use it also, especially with the new slabs. The early, old label slabs were soooo easy to remove. The inner well would peel right off, you didn't even need to cut. After safely removing maybe a hundred slabs in my lifetime, I recently had a small mishap on one of the new slabs. I'll expound upon your idea. CGC shows up at a lot of conventions. Why not offer, for a nominal fee, a service to remove your book while you wait. They don't need any special equipment = no overhead. I bet many of us would use the service and it would probably pay for their visit ! Hey CGC, what do you think ?

The idea of walk-through service at cons is a great idea. 

[Sqeggs]

13 hours ago, Zolnerowich said:

On 11/22/2017 at 10:39 AM, Sqeggs said:

Maybe CGC should offer a service of cracking books out and returning them to you.  Dopes like me would probably use it. 

Dopey me use it too. I want to read and smell real GA pulp. And the interiors, I think there’s pages with cool art in the interiors. 

I've heard that rumor, too.  Think there could be any truth to it? 

[Zolnerowich]

On 11/25/2017 at 11:25 AM, Sqeggs said:

I've heard that rumor, too.  Think there could be any truth to it? 

Nah. The interior pages are blank -- they're just used as filler so that the comic book fits nice and snugly in the plastic case!