Sending and Receiving from Paper Wallets

[Galahad]

I did a search on paper wallets here and got some good info but I still need some confirmation about my understanding, mainly about sending and receiving.

1. If you have a paper wallet, people can still send "to" your address and that money will effectively be inside your paper wallet?

2. It's impossible to spend the money unless I import the private key into another wallet such as BlockChain MyWallet (and ALL of its balance to prevent a loss.) So it essentially becomes a receiving function for long-term increasing numbers of BTC for storing?

3. But I can check the balance using Blockchain My Wallet anyway without importing the private keys? If so, what else can I do without importing?

[astrolabe]

1) Yes, if you give people the bitcoin address corresponding to the paper wallet then they can deposit into that address.
2) Importing the private key into another wallet is probably the easiest way to spend from a paper wallet, but once you have done this, the wallet is less secure so it's best not to use it again.
3) You can type the bitcoin address into http://blockexplorer.com/ to see all the transactions that have happened involving that address.

My top tip is to try out using a paper wallet with a small amount of bitcoin and check that you can retrieve it after you've sent it to the paper.  After you've checked the process, send larger amounts to new paper wallets for long term storage.

You can actually split the wallet up into pieces such that you need some pre-defined number of those pieces (for example 4 out of 6) to reconstruct the key https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=104086.0

[Galahad]

Thanks for the clarification.

So if I spend from the wallet I should get rid of that wallet and get another one. But if I make another wallet on blockchain won't they just give me the same private keys? Or do you get new ones, thus making it a new wallet?

[DannyHamilton]

Thanks for the clarification.

So if I spend from the wallet I should get rid of that wallet and get another one. But if I make another wallet on blockchain won't they just give me the same private keys? Or do you get new ones, thus making it a new wallet?

If you spend from a paper wallet, you should get rid of that paper wallet and make a new paper wallet.  You can keep the original blockchain.info wallet if you like.  There is no need to get a new wallet there.  A wallet can have more than one address (and therefore more than one private key, since each address has its own unique private key).  Blockchain.info provides the ability to generate additional addresses in the "Receive Money" section.  You also have the ability to delete old addresses that you intend to never use again there as well.

[coqui33]

that money will effectively be inside your paper wallet

It always sets my teeth on edge when someone says this. The money is not in the "wallet". The money is in the cloud. The wallet simply holds a number (a private key) that enables access to the money.

It as if you write the number of your secret offshore bank account on a post-it note, hide the post-it note in the fridge, and then say that your money is in the fridge. It is not. It is in an offshore bank.

[DannyHamilton]

- snip -
The money is not in the "wallet". The money is in the cloud. The wallet simply holds a number (a private key) that enables access to the money.

It as like you write the number of your secret offshore bank account on a post-it note, hide the post-it note in the fridge, and then say that your money is in the fridge. It is not. It is in an offshore bank.

And with bitcoin, the money isn't even in the cloud.  The money doesn't exist at all except as an abstraction we humans use as a way to talk about a transfer of value.

What exists are transaction outputs in the blockchain that every full peer maintains a full copy of.  When you create a transaction, you don't spend bitcoins. It's probably more accurate to say that you spend a transaction (or rather a transaction output).

[coqui33]

And with bitcoin, the money isn't even in the cloud.  The money doesn't exist at all except as an abstraction we humans use as a way to talk about a transfer of value. ...

Yes indeed. Come to think of it, speaking of the offshore bank account... <grin>

[Haole]

Does it really matter how one stores their private keys on paper wallets?  Mine are recorded in 52 characters base58 (beginning with "K" or "L") currently as that's what Qt gave me with the dumpprivkey command.  I noticed some of the great web-based paper wallet generators like the beauties at bitcoinpaperwallet.com come out in 51 characters base58 (beginning with "5").  They are both considered as being in WIF format?  Is there a difference in functionality for the purposes of importing them for use?  In the event I wanted to use the coin on one of my paper wallets, would my 52 character private key be easily imported into any client or web-based wallet?  

I know this is a glowing green n00b type of question but I'd appreciate some clarification if someone can spare a moment.  Thanks  

[scab]

Good information, thanks.

[Galahad]

that money will effectively be inside your paper wallet

It always sets my teeth on edge when someone says this. The money is not in the "wallet". The money is in the cloud. The wallet simply holds a number (a private key) that enables access to the money.

It as if you write the number of your secret offshore bank account on a post-it note, hide the post-it note in the fridge, and then say that your money is in the fridge. It is not. It is in an offshore bank.

Yes but it's just a figure of speech, I know that the numbers on the piece of paper do not store the transactions and value of the wallet but is just an identifier etc. I'm saying the money's in the wallet because it's a good way of comparing the system to real world objects and thus simplifying it. In the real world I keep cash in my wallet.

Anyway, I wanted to get back to paper wallet talk as I've recently bought 1 bitcoin to try it out. I made a paper wallet on Blockchain and printed it. But now the tutorial says to spend a small amount of btc. (I had never intended to spend my money but to treat it as an investment initially). I thought that to spend anything in a watch-only address you had to basically end the wallet, as per our discussion above. But now their saying to spend a small amount, I'm confused..

Can you spend a small amount from a paper-wallet / watch only address or should you redeem the entire thing before using it?