Angled tears on edge -- dull trimming blade? Production defect? 0

[Carlucci54]

I've seen this on a number of comics over the years, including some I've bought new at comic book stores, and I've always assumed that it was caused by a dull trimming blade, and so was a production defect of some kind.  It finally occurred to me to ask the experts here on the boards.  Two examples below.

      1)  What does cause this?  Is it considered a production defect?

      2)  What effect does this have on grade?

thanks in advance for any info.

 

[The Lions Den]

I see this a lot on Silver Age Marvels and on Skywald magazines, to name a few. I always assumed it had to be caused from an overtaxed cutting blade during the trimming process. It usually does affect the grade, since there are likely copies which don't have this flaw.

There are folks here with extensive knowledge of the production facilities that were operating during this time period; I'm sure they could shed more light on the subject. I look forward to their comments...

[joeypost]

I always thought them to be production related. Would love to hear from someone who knows why they happen. 

[theCapraAegagrus]

12 hours ago, joeypost said:

I always thought them to be production related. Would love to hear from someone who knows why they happen. 

[BronzeBruce13]

On 11/17/2019 at 8:29 PM, joeypost said:

I always thought them to be production related. Would love to hear from someone who knows why they happen. 

Agreed. I always assumed it was due to a dull(er) trimming blade. What else could it possibly be? I can't even come up with an alternative explanation.

I do believe it definitely impacts the grade and have avoided submitting books that have them on any FC edge, breaking color. I have subb'd some books with just a few small ones on one back cover edge (in white areas) and if memory serves some (that had notes come back) said something to the effect of... "small/tiny tears top edge back cover" listed in the grader's notes. I don't recall ever seeing it referred to a "production tear" in the notes. Anyone else have them addressed in the notes?

Edited November 19, 2019 by BronzeBruce13
typo

[James J Johnson]

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 3:28 PM, The Lions Den said:

I see this a lot on Silver Age Marvels and on Skywald magazines, to name a few. I always assumed it had to be caused from an overtaxed cutting blade during the trimming process. It usually does affect the grade, since there are likely copies which don't have this flaw.

There are folks here with extensive knowledge of the production facilities that were operating during this time period; I'm sure they could shed more light on the subject. I look forward to their comments...

These are the Bronze age equivalent of the Marvel "pre-chipping" most typically seen on the right edges and slightly less often seen on the top edges of Silver age Marvels.  Marvel pre-chips being defined as diagonal tears in the edge, creating the effect of chips that have not detached, the beginning and less invasive version of chips, actual missing pieces.

[The Lions Den]

On 11/18/2019 at 1:20 PM, BronzeBruce13 said:

Agreed. I always assumed it was due to a dull(er) trimming blade. What else could it possibly be? I can't even come up with an alternative explanation.

I do believe it definitely impacts the grade and have avoided submitting books that have them on any FC edge, breaking color. I have subb'd some books with just a few small ones on one back cover edge (in white areas) and if memory serves some (that had notes come back) said something to the effect of... "small/tiny tears top edge back cover" listed in the grader's notes. I don't recall ever seeing it referred to a "production tear" in the notes. Anyone else have them addressed in the notes?

We used to just refer to them as "small tears". Very rarely would we classify them as "production tears" (even though that's what they are). I suppose part of that is because it takes longer to type in "production tear" than "small tear."   

[The Lions Den]

5 hours ago, James J Johnson said:

These are the Bronze age equivalent of the Marvel "pre-chipping" most typically seen on the right edges and slightly less often seen on the top edges of Silver age Marvels.  Marvel pre-chips being defined as diagonal tears in the edge, creating the effect of chips that have not detached, the beginning and less invasive version of chips, actual missing pieces.

I'm always happy to see confirmation from "the God of paper..."   

[James J Johnson]

57 minutes ago, The Lions Den said:

I'm always happy to see confirmation from "the God of paper..."   

I've risen uncommonly far, elevated to great heights, since the days of my youth as a common paper-boy!

[BronzeBruce13]

13 hours ago, The Lions Den said:

We used to just refer to them as "small tears". Very rarely would we classify them as "production tears" (even though that's what they are). I suppose part of that is because it takes longer to type in "production tear" than "small tear."   

Do you mean you worked for CGC as a grader at some point in the past or...?

[The Lions Den]

11 hours ago, BronzeBruce13 said:

Do you mean you worked for CGC as a grader at some point in the past or...?

Yes.