Opening a Beckett Slab

[Exhibitman]

The Dremel tools are great but they do generate a lot of friction heat and the slab will melt, as will the bits of plastic the tool kicks off. Just be careful to stay away from the card itself with the tool. Go to town on the top of the flip then hand-crack the rest. I usually snap off bits of edge around the corners before trying to crack it open. And goggles are a must even if you wear glasses. You will get shrapnel.

[G1911]

I use pliers and a screwdriver for SGC and PSA, but with Beckett, I just use a table saw. Overkill, but it's fast and makes it easy. Pliers can be a pain sometimes on their thick slabs.

I don't like grading, but credit to Beckett on a bullet proof slab. That thing will protect a card through a lot.

[GasHouseGang]

If I was Beckett I would love this discussion. It shows their slabs must be destroyed to be opened. Shouldn't they all be that way?

[RCFire82]

Bolt cutters along a corner work great to create a starting point. Then, as mentioned, it's a flat head screwdriver to pry around the rest.

[Frankish]

Tile nippers.

[BobC]

On a bit of a tangent, anyone ever have a terrible outcome and damage a card they were trying to free from a Beckett holder?

May be a positive in that by explaining what had been done that ended up causing card damage, it could be a good example for others of exactly what NOT to do in trying to open a Beckett holder.

[scotgreb]

Originally Posted by RCFire82

Bolt cutters along a corner work great to create a starting point. Then, as mentioned, it's a flat head screwdriver to pry around the rest.

This has worked well for me to open any TPG slab. Scott

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[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

The Dremel tools are great but they do generate a lot of friction heat and the slab will melt, as will the bits of plastic the tool kicks off. Just be careful to stay away from the card itself with the tool. Go to town on the top of the flip then hand-crack the rest. I usually snap off bits of edge around the corners before trying to crack it open. And goggles are a must even if you wear glasses. You will get shrapnel.

Great point.

But I guess the fact that it is so difficult is a testament of them and how “secure” they make it

[Kzoo]

I use a band saw at work. Trim each side and the center comes apart pretty easy.

[jchcollins]

Dremel tool might prove quicker, but is unnecessary. Snip off an edge and then get to work separating the two halves. The Beckett slabs look intimidating in that the plastic is thicker, but it is generally very brittle plastic. Once it starts to cracking it's not markedly more difficult to open a BGS slab than any other. The one difference I would note is that Beckett's slabs work kind of like the lid on a shoebox. One side of the slab fits into another that way. Once you take the corner off and begin cracking around with a flathead screwdriver (up by the flip and not down near the card, of course....) - you should begin to intuitively see how it's put together. Some and the "lid" side of the slab just lifts off easily.

Of course the true PITA about Beckett is the card that will eventually be yielded from the scary slab is sealed in a thick plastic sleeve, almost reminiscent of a mid 1980's album page. It's sealed all the way around, so you will have to cut the card out - but this should not be difficult unless you are being just really careless.