Buffing ceramic edges? (Venerati inconsistencies)

[MrBo1011]

I recently pulled the trigger on a little add-on to my set of Veneratis from SidePot, which have by far been my favorite ceramic, and I'm really not a big fan of ceramics to begin with. Most of the chips I received were virtually identical to the previous batch I had and equally as lovely. However, some of the 5's and 1000's did not quite seem to fit in with the rest. Instead of having edges with a glossy finish they have more of a matte finish, the faces seem a tad faded in color, and there is a noticeable difference in how they shuffle and splash out, tending to stick together more. Here are some pics:

New batch in middle, old on outsides


New vs. Old


Old vs. New


New vs. Old


New vs. Old


Any suggestions on how to handle this? Is there an easy way to buff/shine them up myself or should I just contact Stephan and try to trade them for a better batch? It's a total of 110 chips that I have issues with.

[tim722]

How far apart did you place your orders? I think this is fairly normal, given different batches of blanks, ink, etc. It's hard to tell much difference at all from the pictures. I can see some slight fade between new and old, but not much.

Given the process involved, I would expect some variation. It's like going to the store and buying paint. You buy some custom colored paint, take it home, and half way into it, realize you need more. You go back and get another can of paint, and it could be slightly off from the first batch.

[MrBo1011]

This was my 3rd order of Veneratis from SP, the last two being in mid-August and September of last year, respectively. There were no variations between those two orders and there were also no apparent variations between the rest of the chips that I just ordered from their newer batches (.25's, 1's, 25's, 100's, 500's... all look and feel the same)

I know the pictures make it seem like I'm really nit-picking here, but I think it's the difference in feel and how they play (shuffling, splashing, etc.) that irks me more than the faded and matte look. It just seems like they were accidentally not put through some sort of "finishing touches" stage. If you look at the new batch you can also see how much more visible the dimples on the sides are (especially the 1000's), and they're a tad rough when you rub your finger over them.

Call me finicky but these are simply not up to snuff given the quality of chips I've gotten from SP before.

[Sweet]

Before modifying them yourself, I'd contact the supplier first to see if they can match them up. If that's not possible then try to modify them. I don't know how much success you will have polishing them, they may wear through to the blank underneath.

[BGinGA]

Given your descriptions (dimples, finish, feel, etc.), it's most likely a different set of blanks used for those denomination chips. Those types of things happen with a budget chip.

[JM]

^^^this

AFAIK, there is no 'finishing process', they get printed and they're done.

[BPTDirector]

Originally Posted by BGinGA

Given your descriptions (dimples, finish, feel, etc.), it's most likely a different set of blanks used for those denomination chips. Those types of things happen with a budget chip.

Doesn't necessarily have to be a budget chip for this to happen. I have a set of custom Chipco's and there are two different kinds of blanks in it. My orders were about 2 years apart, and you have to nitpick to notice, but I know...the addon order of 200 chips also had spinners, there were no spinners in my original order of 1200 chips.

And I don't call Chipco a budget chip - you may, but I don't. But I agree, there will be variance. OP can ask SP if they can be replaced, but I'm not sure what the practice would be. I know with clay chips it would be, "Different batches, sorry...".

BPT

[toonexile]

Wow, you should have been here a couple of months ago. A member sold some Archetype chips from Sidepot to someone who promptly told him that they were fakes. Some of the members suggested that there could be differences due to different batches/inks/ etc. I think that the points made were exactly as you have described. The only difference here is that you have purchased all your chips directly from Sidepot so you know that they are all original.

As others have suggested, I would contact Sidepot first to see if they can offer any explanation for the differences that you have noticed.

Edit - that thread was about Archetype chips from Sidepot not Veneratis

[MrBo1011]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I just sent SP/Stephan an email and will let you know what feedback I get.

Budget chips or not they were the first non-cheapo set of chips I drooled over and I still enjoy everything about them, though since then I have also come to enjoy the company of Paulsons SidePot does offer a 15-day 100% satisfaction guarantee, so seeing as how I'm dissatisfied with this particular batch I'm hoping that I can just return them for new ones that fit right into the look and feel of the rest of my set.

[palmimports]

Originally Posted by MrBo1011

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I just sent SP/Stephan an email and will let you know what feedback I get.

Budget chips or not they were the first non-cheapo set of chips I drooled over and I still enjoy everything about them, though since then I have also come to enjoy the company of Paulsons SidePot does offer a 15-day 100% satisfaction guarantee, so seeing as how I'm dissatisfied with this particular batch I'm hoping that I can just return them for new ones that fit right into the look and feel of the rest of my set.

Being somewhat vaguely familiar with the process- theres a few reasons why same artwork edges may look different

1- mixed blanks- but unlikely this happened but it could have- there is a NON gloss ceramic edge blank made- but probably what happened is:
2- pressing/cycle time variation OR temperature variation
If the surface of the chips in question are identical- then #2 is probably what happened

just had some idol time so thought I would offer a solution