How do you handle expensive cards in the hand?

[whiterabbit]

No matter how gingerly you handle your cards…PSA is still gonna handle them with their greasy bare hands. PSA Sports Trading Card Grading Process. - YouTube

And plop them into their cases to boot!

[smpratte]

Bare hands is how you should handle cards.

[azulryu]

@smpratte

Bare hands is how you should handle cards.

Just like how you should handle your fried chicken.

If only Inspector 34 knew this before hand…

[megazone]

@smpratte

Bare hands is how you should handle cards.

…though disposable surgical gloves (non-powdered!) are acceptable as well.

[sophieexmachina]

@megazone

@smpratte

Bare hands is how you should handle cards.

…though disposable surgical gloves (non-powdered!) are acceptable as well.

I always get scared that my hands are very oily somehow. No they don’t feel oily at all but then I wash my hands well with soap and dry them every single time and still when I go touch a card it leaves like this small imprint on it for a second that fades away.

The fear of damaging the cards through my hands (which is highly unlikely I believe as I did a thing where I continuously handled a common card for 10 minutes to test how easily damaged they are from just putting them on a paper and out of a paper and so forth and I had zero damage pretty much) is enough for me to consider getting surgical gloves for handling cards.

[megazone]

@sophieexmachina

The fear of damaging the cards through my hands is enough for me to consider getting surgical gloves for handling cards.

When I came back to the Pokémon TCG hobby a few years ago, I did the same thing. I noticed on my old cards from my youth that there were some finger prints on my cards. Not sure what the process was that established these marks on my cards, but I was sure to prevent that from happening by not touching them with my bare hands anymore.

So I looked at other hobby’s and found that they handled coins in the coin collecting hobby with special gloves. I ordered a pair and found that these were leaving small fibers every now and then, so I stopped using those. Then came the disposable surgical gloves, which were used by people on YouTube opening vintage Magic products. That went well, but after longer sessions of opening and handling cards, my hands would become quite sweaty and even though none of it touched the cardboard, the feeling was simply messy (especially when you’re opening up products for a few hours). Besides, the skin would wrinkle afterwards and get really dry.

So now I’m down to handling each card by holding them perpendicular to my fingers, if that makes sense. Here’s a picture to explain it better (though I’m holding them only with my fingertips, you’ll get the point):

[xzini]

I don’t handle expensive cards

[Fireftw_TCG]

@chok

I recently had to handle the most expensive ungraded card I have come across to send it for grading. It was sealed in a case and I had to unscrew it.

1. I get ready penny sleeves and some card savers (even for just one card),
2. I washed my hands prior to the entire process,
3. I unscrew the case with a screw driver and use my fingers when the screws are lose enough,
4. I washed my hands again because the screws were dusty,
5. picked the card by the edges and slide it in to a sleeve,
6. inspect for dirt and dust while the card is 1/4 into the sleeve,
7. placed pull tabs on the sleeve and insert into card savers and off to PSA it goes

In all honesty, you just have to have a ‘just do it’ attitude when dealing with uncomfortable situations including handling expensive cards. Just think that it’s a good thing that you get to handle an expensive card

You’re such a tease!! What was the card?!! I know it was a japanese trophy I can sense it!