Now comes another add on to the ink to stock debate that makes the idea technically true to this extent.
For the sake of everything, assume a black sharpie is used and we're talking USPCC cards
Sharpie Methods, the method of using a permanent marker to color the edges of your deck, does not affect the handling of your playing cards if your deck was already black. The feel is not 100% the same but the handling is very identical to the unsharpied deck. To sum it up for the black decks, additional ink don't do a thing.
Sharpie a white deck though, then the handling is reportedly inferior and that's because of the additional ink. The ink soaking in the edges reportedly makes for bad fans according to CardsRFun, concerning white decks of course.
The reasoning behind this?
Black decks were designed to have ink all over the cards.
White decks have a finish designed for only the ink on the cards.
I'm gonna have an experiment with the UV500 Shadow Masters and the UV500 Blue Masters using the same brand sharpie. They both have the same exact stock and finish so technically the handling for both decks should be impervious to the ink.
We might learn a thing or two, maybe even find out the truth. Do black UV500 ellusionist's decks really have the same finish as the white UV500 cards?
EDIT
After about 5 minutes of searching for a UV500 Shadow Masters deck, I can say without a doubt that they are very hard to find.
I might do the experiment with the modern black and white arcane decks being of course probably the most ideal decks to test anyways
UV500 is Cincinnati, and our knowledge of how USPCC worked back then is very, very convoluted at best.
We know exactly what USPCC does in Kentucky. Two coatings: Magic and Air-Cushion. Two stocks: Bicycle and Bee (Aristocrat has been "discontinued" and Bicycle stock is now using the old Aristocrat paper). Then there are Casino grade stocks. Then you can choose textured or smooth cards.
Finishes are not applied to the edges of cards, which is why a tiny drop of water on the surface of a card can be quickly wiped off, while a drop on the edge soaks all the way through and ruins the card.
As for sharpie-ing a deck on the edges, this is easy to test. I don't really trust CardsRfun's opinion on the matter, since his video is years old, based on Cincinnati, and he was reviewing in a time where having facts was next to impossible.
I did just Sharpie a Vortex before writing this post, seems to still handle fine. No idea how it will stand the test of time, though.
I did some Googling, it seems that Sharpies are aqueous based inks, and cannot apply on UV-coating.
UV Coating is a slick, glossy coating applied to the printed paper surface and dried on press with ultraviolet (UV) light. The high gloss surface of UV coating makes it eye catching, and therefore very popular for printing the covers of paperback novels and other print products that are meant to gain immediate attention.
UV Coating is mainly popular among club flyers and other promotional items. It is not suggested to get commercial products or postcards. You cannot write on UV coating, not even with a Sharpie™ Marker.
Either way, this is all Cincinnati talk.
Ellusionist has stated in the past that their UV500 stock was the source of the ultraviolet light reflectiveness, not the finish. The finish was "Air Flow", which is probably just another marketing term for Air Cushion. People do write on UV500 Air Flow cards in sliver Sharpie ink and it comes out just fine. I've even seen red and blue, though they certainly don't stand out as much.
As far as performance with a marker-edged deck, they'll shuffle OK, the edges will feel different, much of the characteristics will be the same, but any kind of weave shuffle (including a faro) would be pretty difficult. The ink does soak in at the edge of the card and cause some "damage," much like water does but it doesn't cause the same level of damage as water. With irregular thickening of the edge, it's like trying to faro a pack of Chinese-made Streamlines... (Trust me, it just doesn't happen...)
