Cracking the Slab Tutorial

[JollyElm]

Forgive the raspy voice, but I did a short tutorial on how to quickly (although I really took my time here to do it right) and easily crack a card out of its slab. The goal was to break out my 1968 Topps Willie Mays and get it ready for Bobby's group submission...

https://youtu.be/ynvzyfNcIVM


And what the heck. This one is pertinent to the topic at hand...

175. Removey Mogul (also Davy Crackit)
A collector who insists on freeing all of his cards from their TPG holders.

See also: Crackpocket - a collector who must break each of his cards out of their slabs to return them to their natural habitat, ensconced in binder pages.

See also: Crackitect - someone who offers step by step instructions on how to free a card from its plastic prison.

See also: Humblemished - the deflated feeling associated with actually damaging a card during the slab-removal process.

[Kutcher55]

Nice job. Nice video. That tool is quite beastly. Comparing your style to my own, you took a bigger bite out of the corners than I do. Seemed to work for you. Good luck with the regrade. Would be curious to see how you remove the schmutz.

[Elberson]

If card cracking doesn’t work out for you…..I can see hand modeling in your future lol , good luck with new grade, maybe 8.5 or 9?

[cgjackson222]

Thanks for posting! Been wondering how people go about cracking slabs.
Good luck with the Mays.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Kutcher55

Nice job. Nice video. That tool is quite beastly. Comparing your style to my own, you took a bigger bite out of the corners than I do. Seemed to work for you. Good luck with the regrade. Would be curious to see how you remove the schmutz.

I knew I should've rolled tape on the de-gumming, dagnabbit. Did the Mays and a Bench Rookie, and both went swimmingly. When I find another card with residue all over it, I'll go "Lights!! Camera!! Action!!" all over it!!

[G1911]

I’ve always used pliers to twist off the upper right corner, and then the screwdriver. Yet to damage anything after a few hundred of them. The bag is a must, or I’d have pieces of slab in every nook and cranny of the house. Good guide.

PSA and SGC are easy but Beckett slabs require the use of my chainsaw or an AK to get them out…

[cgjackson222]

Originally Posted by G1911

I’ve always used pliers to twist off the upper right corner, and then the screwdriver. Yet to damage anything after a few hundred of them. The bag is a must, or I’d have pieces of slab in every nook and cranny of the house. Good guide.

PSA and SGC are easy but Beckett slabs require the use of my chainsaw or an AK to get them out…

Good to know about the Becket slabs. Was considering cracking one out and sending to SGC, but now I'll just pass.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by cgjackson222

Good to know about the Becket slabs. Was considering cracking one out and sending to SGC, but now I'll just pass.

More seriously, they’re probably easier if one has stronger snips than I have in the garage. Becket slabs I do use a small handsaw to cut in half right below the seal, haven’t hurt anything yet. After experimenting I found this to be the quickest method without going and getting new tools. I don’t like card grading personally, but if one just wants to ensure their card can survive anything, a Beckett slab does the trick. Those honkers are built like tanks.