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Handmade dice making is really popular. Like, thousands of makers popular. Thousands of people spending hundreds of dollars to learn a new craft and wanting to make back some of that $ to keep going. I get it. Been there. Am there. Unfortunately, this can cause some issues. 
First and foremost, I think going into an entirely new hobby with the idea of turning it into a business is a risky way to approach things. Do you even know if you’ll like using resin? Do you have a place, equipment, and PPE to do it safely?
If you’ve used resin before, do you know if you like making dice? There’s an amount of precision involved and bubbles can be a lot more troublesome when tiny numbers can be distorted and corners can go missing. By all means, give it a try! But know, it’s ok if it’s not for you.
There’s no way around it, most handmade dice are going to have “flaws”. Tiny marks of the maker. Hell, even mass produced dice have flaws. As long as it doesn’t drastically alter the dice I really don’t care personally. But these cosmetic flaws aren’t the big problem.
A lot of people buying handmade have received sticky or soft dice in the mail. There are a few causes for this, but one of them is far more worrying than the others and some buyers may not know about it.
1: The resin used has a lower heat deflection temperature. For example, mine can get soft and pliable at 130F. Mail boxes sitting in the hot sun at 100F+ outside temps get that warm. If you open your dice mail and they’re soft, let ‘em cool and see if they harden back up.
2: An excess of pigment (alcohol ink) has inhibited their cure. Dice with this problem may never harden fully, and personally I wouldn’t send them out and instead repurpose them into another art piece!
3: 2-part epoxy ratios were off or not mixed properly, or casting environment introduced too much moisture through humidity. This is the most dangerous one because it can leave whoever holds the dice in contact with dangerous, toxic, uncured resin that they could be allergic to.
You can develop a resin allergy at any time, whether your exposure was minimal or you’ve worked with it for years. It’s gotten wildly popular and I constantly see people making really cute things with it...without gloves. Safety is no joke and not featured or talked about enough.
As a seller, knowingly sending out soft dice is an obvious error and cause for extreme concern. So, if you’ve received dice that are soft or sticky PUT THEM DOWN and back in the box/bag from whence they came and reach out to the seller.
We want to know when there’s an issue with our products, and we are here to help make it right. A lot of time, energy, and passion goes into our creations and the last thing any of us want to do is put someone in harm’s way who has supported us.
