color doesn't affect the grade. a long time ago (2 years) there used to be two separate PZ Kut products: Orange, and White.

The orange was stiffer and waxier, and generally preferred by knife carvers. It was better for carvings that involved a lot of fine detailed lines and very few large inked areas. Large inked areas tended to have a problem with the ink beading up, with different amounts of severity depending on whether the surface had been sanded or given an acetone wash before carving, whether the stamp had been seasoned with permanent ink after carving, and what sort of ink you were trying to stamp with...but most people agree it was ideal for lots of fine detailed lines and very few inked areas.

the white was the second-stiffest product easily obtainable. it was softer than the orange, and generally preferred by gouge carvers. it was also very good for carvings involving lots of fine detailed lines, and only occasionally had beading problems on large inked areas.

both were sold as grade A or grade B, depending on the perfection of the surface when inspected through a magnifying light.

there was one batch of PZ Kut white that went wrong, and was realeased as "Mystery material". I never carved on it, but am told it was firm like orange PZ, but elasticy. many people liked it. the Firm Kut is supposed to be very similar to it. I haven't carved on Firm Kut yet, because I haven't yet come to the end of my hoard of original PZ White.

fyi, other easily obtainable carving media are:

speedball's speedy stamp, which later changed its name to speedy-carve it is pink, and is softer than PZ Kut white. it is used by both gouge and knife carvers, is much better at large inked areas, and good at holding details, though its softness makes it more challenging to carve super thin fine lines. it is commonly called "pink stuff"

speedball also has another block called speedy cut, which is white, grey, or beige, depending on who you ask. it crumbles easily after extended uses, especially if being inked with markers. don't buy it, it's a waste of money.

staedtler makes a thicker block of white-ish carving material that is the softest available. it claims to "cut like butter". it's very easy to carve and seems to hold up all right in boxes, but care must be taken when inking it with markers.

romana (did I leave anything out?)

thanks, romana, that was really helpful!!
tigs

I heard that Master Carve has been discontinued, is this true? And what of Moo Carve, was that the replacement for Master Carve? Is it made by Statdler? HL carries that, I believe. I have not tried it....

And what of Moo Carve

I tried it in 2009 and wrote up a review with pictures. It was awful. If you clean the stamp by rubbing it with a sheet of paper towel or whatever, it will crumble. I still have the stamp I carved. It's in my car somewhere. It's holding up possibly, but that's because nobody has used it. I ended up making a different stamp for the letterbox.

Here is the link:
http://www.atlasquest.com/boards/message.html?gMsgId=471167

Thanks for the refresher. Blek! Good to know....no emergency is worth that junk...

Does the color affect the grade of the material, or is that just how you differentiate between the two? And how do you grade it, meaning, what causes one product to get a "lesser" grade than the other? I'm only asking out of curiousity...

No, the color doesn't affect the grade. The orange has slightly different properties than the white blocks. The thing that makes it grade A or grade B has more to do with imperfections in the block surface that need to be planned around when placing images, so I mark those sheets down in price.

Webfoot

staedtler makes a thicker block of white-ish carving material that is the softest available. it claims to "cut like butter". it's very easy to carve and seems to hold up all right in boxes, but care must be taken when inking it with markers.

Staedtler no longer makes MasterCarve. That's why I don't have it at Stampeaz any longer.

Webfoot

I heard that Master Carve has been discontinued, is this true? And what of Moo Carve, was that the replacement for Master Carve? Is it made by Statdler? HL carries that, I believe. I have not tried it....

Yes, it's true MasterCarve has been discontinued. Moo Carve was a Korean knock off made by a company that used to manufacture MasterCarve for Staedtler a few years ago. I guess they thought they could go head to head with Staedtler, even using the classic Staedtler blue and white packaging, but their product wasn't nearly as good. They wanted me to carry it, but it didn't meet quality standards for me.

Webfoot

Thank you Romana and Webfoot for the fantastic history lesson! I've used the pink stuff, avoided the speedy-cut, and did my first carve last week on the FirmKut. I've also tried different erasers and some rubber cove base from HD. And out of everthing I've used, by far the FirmKut wins hands down!

Moo Carve...preferred by Holsteins and Jerseys everywhere and endorsed by the Bovine Letterboxing Society...

If it doesn't, I'll just go with the orange and keep on working on the white some more

Does this mean the orange is ready...? And available...???????

-Cat Eyes

Does this mean the orange is ready...? And available...???????

Not available ... yet. I have a conference call tomorrow with the folks who will be manufacturing for me to work out details of test runs, pricing, quantities, etc. If the test runs go well, then I'll have large runs done. Really large. It may be a few more weeks -- everything takes longer than I think it will -- but the light is beginning to shine at the end of the tunnel. (Can you hear me beginning to breathe again???)

Webfoot

Staedtler no longer makes MasterCarve

I didn't know that. I like going to the dollar store at back to school time and getting the two-packs of staedtler white erasers. size is limited, but I like the carving surface.

That's why I don't have it at Stampeaz any longer.

Didn't know this either. Ryan needs to change the stampeaz marketplace page here at AQ then, which shows master carve and a sampler pack that includes a sheet of white PZ, a sheet of orange PZ, master carve, and a sheet of pink (among other products).

romana

If anyone is really desperate to get their hands on some MasterCarve (HA!) let me know. I have about 10 4x4 blocks of it. I'm sure we can work out some kind of deal.
:)

I didn't know that. I like going to the dollar store at back to school time and getting the two-packs of staedtler white erasers. size is limited, but I like the carving surface.

They still make the erasers. Just not the carving blocks. Why? Who knows!!

Ryan needs to change the stampeaz marketplace page here at AQ

Actually, I need to do that -- but I thought I would wait until I had the new product for a new sampler pack. :)

Webfoot

They still make the erasers. Just not the carving blocks. Why? Who knows!!

Perhaps they're gearing up to introduce a 1/4" thick version! I can hope, can't I?

Perhaps they're gearing up to introduce a 1/4" thick version! I can hope, can't I?

Just as long as you don't hold your breath!

Webfoot

Sara,

Housepitality Hostess told me that she uses vellum and that is cheapest at Michael's, with a coupon. around $5.99-9.99 in cost but that package will last you forever

maybe she has a sheet or two you could borrow to try out.

Parchment Paper transferring (called "Vellum" at MICHAEL'S I believe...) is nice because the paper is thick enough to withstand the pressure of the pencil tracing, clear enough to place over an image to trace, and when flipped over to transfer onto a piece of pink stuff, you can tell EXACTLY where the image will go!

I'd be happy to share! Just LMK! :-D Boxing Blessings,

Housepitality Hostess

Parchment paper and vellum are different papers, but either would probably work for this transfer method.
You can get a roll of parchment paper at the grocery store where you get aluminum foil and waxed paper. They also sell it whereever you find cake decorating supplies. Walmart's craft department or Hobby Lobby's baking aisle. Parchment paper has silicone in it, which is what makes the ink not want to stick to it.