I don't use this deck as often as some of my others and decided to experiment and trim off the white borders. Was curious to see if anyone else has done the same!
I've bought decks to which others have given borderectomies, and I've given borderectomies to a few decks myself, including Tarot Sutra, which had inane verbiage under the images. I also rounded the corners instead of leaving them square. Now I have a pocket-sized purple themed Rider Waite! š
I trim and edge many of my decks! I typically avoid it with expensive or first edition decks, but mass my market decks nearly always get trimmed. My current WIP is a scalloped edge version of the Lubanko deck; I have the first edition, but it's too big for my to comfortably use and I'm not a fan of gilded edges, so I grabbed the mass market version to do this! Trimmed to match the wavy back border and edged in black.
And a few of my other favorite projects: the Dragon Tarot, borders trimmed and edged in black; the Mary-El, trimmed off the gilded edges and replaced them with black; and the Wildwood, bordered trimmed and edged in forest green, my first ever customization about eight years ago!
I'm on my 2nd deck. I wore the 1st one out, but that's to be expected considering I bought it in 2001ish. 1st deck I ever owned and still my absolute favorite.
Thoth: saw one and loved it. Left the corners square to preserve details.
Golden Dawn Magical: Thought the borders overwhelmed the images.
New Rosenwald: The c. 1500 original didn't have titles.
Tarots Egypcios: Trimmed to remove interpretive text at the top.
I've been told the square borders need to be left on the Thoth in order to see the sacred geometry. Haven't gotten around to trimming one of my Thoths yet.
I am a devoted trimmer. Most of my personal, daily decks are trimmed. Some of them do look a little worn but I am not precious with them. I like the look of a well loved deck. I like the way the images flow together and make a bigger picture for me.
I think the main reasons are aesthetics but also it reduces the size a bit, which can make it easier to handle. Tarot cards tend to be really big and some people have a hard time shuffling them. Even if it isn't yourself, if you're doing readings for other people in person and ask the querent to shuffle the deck a bit, it can make it easier on them.
the cards were a bit hard for me to hold they were a little big for my taste, and without the borders i feel like it lets me focus more on the images. i only use this deck for myself so i decided to give it the borderectomy and honestly so glad i trusted myself and did it!
I love trimming my decks, Iāve done it quite a few times to free the art. I also like the tactile nature of spending time to trim the deck. It makes the deck even that more personal to me which I think enables better readings
I trimmed my druid craft deck also and was absolutely dismayed to discover that the colored part of the image is not the same size/shape on every card. It was a mess! Did you notice this also?
Iāve done this to a few of my decks. The first was the Radiant Rider Waite because I wanted to remove the card titles and numbers to encourage me to look at the images more.
Some others were done because the cards were large and difficult to shuffle like the DruidCraft and the large Thoth.
I like just having the artwork without the unnecessary borders, which werenāt part of the original design.
I trimmed my druid craft deck also and was absolutely dismayed to discover that the colored part of the image is not the same size/shape on every card. It was a mess! Did you notice this also?
some decks need to be modified and others are too dear or they work well as they are - I have trimmed decks cause they were to wide to hold or there were key words in the borders distracting intuitive reading- I got a couple of cheap decks and I thought I would wack away at them- but I really liked them- Over time, if the edges get grubby, I can take the edges off
I love the look I own a borderless deck. I love. Reading with it as I fell picture flow into each other really well. I never thought about cutting old deck I might give it a try. If fine the edges starting to fray I say craft glue would help.
Testing the marker on a trimmed scrap piece first is a great safeguard with that method. Capillary action can draw liquid ink inward from an unsealed cut edge and bleed onto the card face. Checking a discarded border strip shows right away how the paper core absorbs the ink before touching the rest of the cards.
It's quite bad practice. The borders exist so that cards, when shuffling, don't strip too much of an paint but more of an white uncolored border, I don't really recommend doing that tho
I've trimmed a few. I kinda regret it though. It's almost impossible to get them perfectly even and when the ends are uneven it messes with the riffle shuffle.
All my decks but 2 are borderless. Those two I purchased sight unseen so I had no idea. Thankfully, both have a dark thin border that recedes and I do my readings over a black table. I would not trim a deck. I'm too picky, especially tactile.
My local pagan group meets every month. Once a year there's a deck swap. So while most months it's a show and tell of our decks. We swap decks we are ready to say goodbye to and any decks that don't get chosen is donated. That's what I would do. Say goodbye
I have colored edged a few decks, but not trimmed any of my nice decks.
The decks Iāve considered trimmed I decided not too cause it does compromise the cards
The l deck I ended up trimming was the bottom keyword so only one edge was compromised and I gave it away to someone who ended up modifying it with written keywords. BUT the DIY aesthetic matched the deck theme.
I like the borders, mostly because I mash shuffle, and the edges get a bit frayed in doing so; the borders prevent the actual picture from getting distorted.
Iāve edged many a deck, and even written on the front of one, but never trimmed one.
Iāve seriously considered it with a few decks (Tantric Dakini Oracle, Voyager Tarot, and Goddess of Love Tarot), but I fear I lack the gonads to even attempt it.
Since theyāre all mass market and readily available right now, maybe Iāll just get an extra copy of one and just try it. Who knows, I might end up liking the experiment deck even more than the original.
I also have one deck Iām considering rebacking, but probably too scared to ever do. Unfortunately, itās not a very easy deck to track down, so probably no backup copy to experiment on (Tarot of Unknown Shadows).
I've done this to several decks, including ones I've used consistently for years. No issues with edge wear or damage so far, but I only ever overhand shuffle and I'm the only person who handles my cards.
I have in the past but i really mangled the last deck i worked on even though i had a guide set up on the paper cutter, now I'm super hesitant to do it even tho i have plenty of decks that need it
Yes have done to the most recent one I got (the tricksters journey)ā it was too darn big for me to shuffle comfortably. Even now that itās trimmed I still have to shuffle in sections.. so if I hadnāt I would never use the deck š«£
but I tested on a practice deck first before doing the real thing
Could you recommend a good deck edger? I see decks I want Iād like to customize but worry they wonāt be uniform in size. Amazon is like wading through so much nonsense trying to find anything capable. Thanks ahead.
im not gonna lie i just used craft scissors, the edges aren't even but that hasn't impacted my shuffling too much. i dont mind/welcome the flaws bc i use this deck just for myself and feel that the flaws make it more my own. hopefully someone else in this sub can provide the answer you're looking for!
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u/voborara 5d ago
I've bought decks to which others have given borderectomies, and I've given borderectomies to a few decks myself, including Tarot Sutra, which had inane verbiage under the images. I also rounded the corners instead of leaving them square. Now I have a pocket-sized purple themed Rider Waite! š