Traditional Cut vs. Standard Cut

[Zenneth]

Hey guys,

I am in the process of making a new deck- The Project C deck...it's going to be a 5000 decks run on Bee stock.
This deck is primarily developed for working magicians and cardistry practioners, so I want to make sure this deck is great to use and handle, that's why I have asked for a "Traditional Cut" for them.

However, here is some very interesting facts about the "Traditional Cut" from USPC:

Hello Zenneth,

As Ashley eludes in her email below, USPC has not perfected implementing the “traditional cut” method in our current machinery. Therefore, it is a bit risky to ask for a non-standard cut as we cannot guarantee this in our process, and you may end up with a mixed order.

Is this critical to your decks? If not, I would recommend our face-up cut.

Please let us know your thoughts.

I reconfirmed this with a very reliable source and received the same answer, apparently, "Traditional Cut" does help out the execution of certain table moves, but it will also make the decks end up with an inconsistent edges, so when you handle the decks, they will give you a feel as if you are handling a stripper deck.

Anyway, I end up decided to go for smooth edges instead of taking chances.

Zenneth

[NathanCanadas]

Honestly, Traditional cut doesn't make a huge difference for me, but I would like to have smooth edges much more. So I would go with Standard Cut. But I don't really care all that much either way.

[Don Boyer]

It boggles my mind that they're suddenly having a problem creating traditionally-cut decks.  The Tally-Ho brand is being made in Erlanger, and it's a traditionally cut deck.  I also discovered that US-made Streamline decks are also traditionally cut - and they only sell for a dollar per pack at WalMart.

Before deciding to shelve the idea completely, check out the CARC decks.  To my knowledge, they're all printed on Bee Casino stock and are all traditionally cut.  I have yet to hear a single bad review about them, and certainly not one that mentions inconsistent edges.  They are making them at the Erlanger plant these days.

It can't possibly be a stock issue.  Streamlines use a smooth version of Bicycle stock, Tally Ho uses a slightly stiffer version of Aristocrat, and the CARC decks I mentioned are made on Bee Casino.  I have not noticed a single edge inconsistency in any of them.

Is there any way you could get a few blank sheets made with traditional cuts, just to see what they'll look like?  Just have them mark up one side with a pen or a marker so you can tell the difference.

[Zenneth]

I too am very surprised about this...

I recently played around with a Professional Bicycle deck from CARC,
it does have a small inconsistent edge problem, though, nowhere to an extent that will give you any problem when doing sleights. 

There is die line on both the face and back when you receive the digital soft proof anyway...

The weird thing is, there is no extra charge for "Traditional Cut",  so I don't really see any reason for USPC lying to customers...

My friend said Bill Kalush has some tips to get a better result out of "Traditional Cut", but still it's not as perfect as standard cut..

hmm.....

[Don Boyer]

I too am very surprised about this...

I recently played around with a Professional Bicycle deck from CARC,
it does have a small inconsistent edge problem, though, nowhere to an extent that will give you any problem when doing sleights. 

There is die line on both the face and back when you receive the digital soft proof anyway...

The weird thing is, there is no extra charge for "Traditional Cut",  so I don't really see any reason for USPC lying to customers...

My friend said Bill Kalush has some tips to get a better result out of "Traditional Cut", but still it's not as perfect as standard cut..

hmm.....

Thus far, I have yet to notice a significant issue with any traditionally-cut deck I've obtained from them, whether they were made in Cincinnati or Erlanger.  I *love* traditionally-cut decks not just because they can be weave-shuffled or faro-shuffled "face down".  The decks even riffle shuffle better.  If I'm not mistaken, their own Mandolin Backs are also traditionally-cut - no surprise since Richard Turner was one of the magicians involved in the creation of the deck.  NOBODY loves a traditional cut as much as he does!

For the life of me, I'm STILL trying to figure out their claim that using the modern cut through the card back is somehow more efficient than the traditional cut, which is why they adopted the new cut sometime in the early 1990s, if my memory is correct.  Isn't it simply a matter of flipping the sheets over as they run through the machine?  Or is there some arcane science behind it that I'm not aware of? 

Here's an idea.  Ask the Custom Department to send you a few examples of decks that had these terrible issues they're talking about due to being traditionally cut.  Let you be the judge if they meet your standards for your new deck, instead of taking someone else's word for it.  There's nothing in the world like first-hand knowledge and experience.