[H4tfan]

ABC’s 39mm Custom Poker Chips (10pc. Sample Set)

Manufacturer: Undisclosed
Retailer: ABCGiftsAndAwards.com
Average Price: 10pc. Sample Set $11.95 shipped(US)(CA +tax)
Material: Ceramic
Member Review by: H4tfan

Looking at ceramics for a chipset? Don't forget your ABC's. These ABC custom ceramics look to be a good value and are very good looking at that. The Sample Set contains a nice selection of color, texture, lettering and print quality. The sample chips are supplied as 5 pairs. One chip in each pair has a smooth face while the other has a textured face.

All of the photos I've submitted were taken in the aftermath of my tests. These are nice chips. The following photos show them at their worst.

10pc. Sample Chipset:

Price

10 Pc. Sample Set $11.95 shipped(US)(CA +tax)
Custom Chips - Quantity priced from .62¢-$3.29 each +shipping(CA +tax)
No minimum quantity per order and the advertised price is what you pay (there's no added setup or artwork fees).
ABC now offers edgespot matching for an added .15¢ each with a minimum order of 100 pieces.

Feel

These chips have the option of textured or smooth faces. The smooth faces feel like chalk and have an ultra-smooth rolling edge. The textured faces feel like ultra fine grit sand paper and have a nice smooth rolling edge. All of the chips have a manufacturing nipple spot on the rolling edge. I can't feel the nipple, but I can see it if I look for it. At one of the rolling edges there's a manufacturing seam. The smooth chip seams are flattened and hard to feel. The textured chip seams are slightly pointed and I can somewhat feel it's one edge sharper than the other.

Stacking

I don't know about the chip's true stacking ability since I have a limited quanity in my possession. With the 10 piece sample set squeezed in a stack I attempted to slip the chips from themselves and found a textured chip would move first. With the sample set split into 2 stacks, one textured and one smooth, I bumped the table until the chips moved. The textured stack would slide apart before the smooth stack.

Sound

These chips have a high/midrange clack to them. I assume this is normal for ceramics, but I don’t have the experience needed to be the judge. The textured chips have a slightly lower sound than the smooth chips.

Looks

Simply put, these chips look great. The colors are rich and full. The photo quality is exellent. However, the chips are not flawless. The dark colors on the chip’s face are bleeding into the rolling edges. This bleeding is very noticeable on the light colored rolling edges. A few changes in the artwork would eliminate this bleeding. The rolling edge on a smooth chip looks very shiny. The textured chip is shiny too, but not as shiny as the smooth. The chips have an O.D. of 1.55" +/-.001 with a face thickness of .129" +/- .001(smooth face)/ .132" +/-.001(textured face). The chip's inner faces are thinner than the outer faces.

Security/Originality

The chips have the option of textured or smooth faces and offer full custom printing on all surfaces. Lettering is available on the rolling edge and ABC currently offers matching edgespots for an extra fee. Of course, ABC refrains from reproducing or distributing a customers personal artwork without permission.

Durability

I tested the chip's ability to resist damage and it's overall strength. My theory is: 99% of the chip's wear is from other chips, so my main concern was how much damage these chips can do to themselves. The tests were as follows;
TEST #1
I put the sample set into an empty oil filter box, sealed it and juggled it for 1/2 hour. When I emptied the box I could see the flat rolling ends were fine. The chip edges were fine and some faces showed some wear. The only noticeable markings were on the faces of the smooth chips. While looking directly at the smooth faces I didn't see 'slide marks', but when looking from a hard angle I could see them.

TEST #2
I put them back into the oil filter box. This time I played handball with it. I hit the box from hand-to-hand and then to the floor. I'd slam it up and as it fell, I'd slam it to the floor over and over. I don't know how long I did this because I was focused on breaking the chips. When I emptied the box I saw some particles (small ones, very few). None of the chips were broken. A few had chipped corners. I could see color transfer(on the white faces) and dents(only the textured faces). There were scratches or slide marks on all of them and the rolling ends were fine.

TEST#3
This time I tested the chip's strength. I placed two chips flat on a counter and away at a distance just short of one chip length. I then placed each of the other chips, one at a time, on top of the two chips like a bridge. Placing my two thumbs on the bridged chip I applied force in an attempt to break the chip. I failed. None of the chips broke. At this point I simply used a couple pairs of pliers to break a chip. The inner make-up of the chip looked uniform and solid.

TEST#4
I performed a knife test on one of each textured and smooth type of chip. Using the sharp edge of the knife I slid the blade sideways along the faces (right chip scratch in photos). Then, using the pointed edge of the knife I slid the point sideways along the faces (left chip scratch in photos). The knife marks on the textured chip catch my eye more than on the smooth chip. This test was pointless since my chips would never see this type of abuse, but it's interesting to see the different damage from textured to smooth.

Reviewers Comments

These chips have great looks and the print quality is exellent. My favorites are the 'Text Test' chips as they offer an exellent lettering comparison from textured to smooth faces. I'm not crazy about how ultra-shiny the rolling edges are on the smooth faced chips. The smooth faces seem to scratch and show-up when looking at the chip from an angle. I feel these smooth chip scratches may occur during regular use, but don’t effect the printing of the chips. On the textured faces, if there is chip face damage, it's visible at any angle. I believe the 'thickness' of the texture allows some 'texture dents' to occur. I don't think this is a big issue since I can't imagine these dents occurring during regular use. I like the option of ordering one or two custom chips for testing and comparing my artworks. With features like the available rolloing edge lettering, photo printing and the latest edgespot matching the doors are open for endless custom ideas. All in all, I'm more than satisfied with these chips and will be placing an order in the future.