Need High Res Photos Of Edges

[Ninpin]

This is something that has been bothering me ever since I started collecting pins - you often hear of how scrappers have "rough edges", yet every time I see photo comparisons, the photos are too crappy for me to tell the difference between them. The edges look the same to me. I can see differences in the lines separating colors, as well as color differences, streaks, back pattern problems, etc... but just not the differences in edges!

I would really appreciate it if someone with a good camera and with an authentic pin and a scrapper of the same pin could take some high resolution photos of the edges and truly point out the differences!

The reason this bothers me so much is because I have rack pins my friend bought from WDW (and yes, I know they are notorious for having flaws), but the edges aren't perfect like my DSF pins, and it just makes me curious what scrapper edges are supposed to look like compared to the "normal" flaws a lot of pins have nowadays.

And do people mean the 90 degree POINT of edges being rough? Or do they mean the side of the pin that is flat metal is rough?

Thanks in advance if anyone can take the time to post the photos!

 

[StitchTrader]

I recall a thread on here that had this actually. What I do is drop the pin, a cast member told me about this early on in my pin trading days. If the pin makes a funny sound, its because it isn't Cloisonné Something like that! I wish I had the time to search for that thread for you - I know it is here though! Good and bad pics, very close shots.

 

[MaidMarian]

I'm looking at a scrapper or counterfeit right now (a Hidden Mickey), and while I don't have a camera with me that can take the kind of pictures you're looking for, I can tell you I notice this: when I look at this pin, even though the edges have been smoothed, you can see a seam on the side where the mould would have been pressed together. The real pins descend smoothly from the top edge to the base of the pin because they have been stamped from a sheet. Now, I'm not saying they are always perfect, and I won't promise that Disney never uses a factory that moulds pins instead of stamping them, but that is what I notice about this pin. I am sure it's a counterfeit because the back looks nasty, with an illegible backstamp with misshapen Mickey ears in it.

Two exceptions in my own collection: I bought some Best Friend mystery pins from Disney merchandizing and they *might* have been made using a mould -- especially the Mike & Sulley pin, which is the one with the worst quality overall (unfortunately for me, the one I was buying the pack for in the first place) -- and Tokyo Disneyland pins appear to have a seam, so they may be made using a mould, but the quality is quite high otherwise. It's probable that the Tokyo pins are made at totally different factories from those made for the US, since there are some other differences in manufacturing style as well.

I think sometimes people are referring to the flashing (from the mould seam or possibly from the bottom edge of a stamped pin) not being ground down and leaving a sharp pointy bit on the edge. It's not what you'd call "Disney quality" to not finish the edges, so it's one sign of a counterfeit, but I've felt things that stick out on pins I bought from Disney before, so it's just one indicator. Basically, I no longer believe there is a "smoking gun," unless it's a totally illegible, lumpy backstamp, and it just takes experience to learn to spot fakes. But I'm new to this so please take all this with a grain of salt.

 

[Ninpin]

I recall a thread on here that had this actually. What I do is drop the pin, a cast member told me about this early on in my pin trading days. If the pin makes a funny sound, its because it isn't Cloisonné Something like that! I wish I had the time to search for that thread for you - I know it is here though! Good and bad pics, very close shots.

Yeah, I have a true counterfeit where I can tell all sorts of differences in weight, texture, size and crappy line work compared to my authentic version HM. I'm more interested in the would-have-been authentic but not-meant-to-be-sold scrappers that were discarded on production, but sold illegally afterwards. With those, people always mention the edges being rough and I'm just really curious what that is supposed to look like for future reference. I'll do more digging for good photos though. Thanks.

I think sometimes people are referring to the flashing (from the mould seam or possibly from the bottom edge of a stamped pin) not being ground down and leaving a sharp pointy bit on the edge.

That would make perfect sense to me, and it is what I assume people mean when they mentioned it. I just wish the photo comparisons were more clear so that I knew for sure what they were talking about. But yeah, if that is the case (rough edges = extra flashing not ground down properly) then that's all I needed to know!