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Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486655 by Romana
Feb 1, 2010 5:48am
Thread (disabled) Board
What Romana said, and get a good magnifying lamp. I also recently learned to needle carve (thanks RaqsEnigma for a great class at LBCon!) and that has made it easier to get fine details. :)
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486688 by Casa del Sol
Feb 1, 2010 6:40am
Thread (disabled) Board
I've seen LBCon mentioned before, where is it held? Is there a link to info about it?

thx.
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486693 by nosox
Feb 1, 2010 7:12am
Thread (disabled) Board
lbcon was last year
live and breathe the year before
They are not annual events
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486645 by storm rider
Feb 1, 2010 7:22am
Thread (disabled) Board
I think, especially with lettering, we all tend to want our product to be perfect. But, these are hand-carved stamps, are they not?

Cut yourself a little slack and do the best you can. All those 'imperfections' like the thickness not uniform, or the dots missing for the letter I only add to the character of the hand-carved stamp. I have said it before, but it bears repeating: if I wanted a perfect stamp, I'd drive to my local craft store and buy one.

just my opinion,
~SHH :-)
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486633 by We 5 Weeks
Feb 1, 2010 8:13am
Thread (disabled) Board
some tips

I use Mistral font, carve upside down and here is something that seems like it doesn't get mentioned sufficently...

Sharpen your nibs and blades. Often then more often and then sharpen again.

A sharp tool can carve any material...well maybe not plumbers gasket.

Don
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486714 by Don and Gwen
Feb 1, 2010 8:46am
Thread (disabled) Board
Why Mistral font in particular?

Bluebirdlover
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486714 by Don and Gwen
Feb 1, 2010 9:42am
Thread (disabled) Board
A sharp tool can carve any material...well maybe not plumbers gasket.

Or linoleum. Carving linoleum is more like pushing the material out of the way rather than cutting it. I fail to see why that stuff is considered usable for stamp carving. It's like carving silly putty.
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486728 by bluebirdlover
Feb 1, 2010 10:13am
Thread (disabled) Board
because mistral is uneven, fat and skinny, and uneven in height also.

If your handwriting is at all legible, carve your own handwriting rather than a computer font. the carving will have all the "realism" of hand-written letters (because they are) and your hand will be easier able to follow the curves because it made the curves to begin with.

romana
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486693 by nosox
Feb 1, 2010 11:29am
Thread (disabled) Board
Look Up the LBCON event in July 09. You can read about it there. There was talk about having it ever so often and a planning committee discussed but I do not know if it ever got off the ground????? any body else have a clue if it will appear again?
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486663 by Janila
Feb 1, 2010 11:34am
Thread (disabled) Board
I was just watching a TV show last night about a forger who copied signatures upside down. He stated that when you copy them right side up, you are trying to copy someone's font. When you do it upside down, it is like copying art which is much easier.

White Collar is a great show. ;)

And I agree - don't look at them as letters. They are just another image to carve. Just don't forget to reverse the letters so that when you stamp it, you can read it correctly. :D

TG
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486699 by SHH
Feb 1, 2010 11:40am
Thread (disabled) Board
I really liked SHH's comments about the "perfect" stamp. Thank you for that. -storm rider-
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486728 by bluebirdlover
Feb 1, 2010 11:44am
Thread (disabled) Board
Why Mistral font in particular?

Curvy letters and it is just oddball enough that when you screw up (and you will) most folks can't see the screwup.

Don
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486804 by Trekkie Gal
Feb 1, 2010 2:12pm
Thread (disabled) Board
White Collar is a great show. ;)

Thanks! I couldn't for the life of me remember where I heard it, I think I was drifting off to sleep and it stuck in my mind!
Re: Carving Letters
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486805 by storm rider
Feb 1, 2010 9:28pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I really liked SHH's comments about the "perfect" stamp. Thank you for that. -storm rider-

You are very welcome, my friend :-)
carving Linoleum
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #486748 by Kirbert
Feb 2, 2010 6:00am
Thread (disabled) Board
Or linoleum. Carving linoleum is more like pushing the material out of the way rather than cutting it. I fail to see why that stuff is considered usable for stamp carving. It's like carving silly putty.

I carved a perfectly good image into speedball linoleum a few days ago.
It was much nicer this time than last time I tried about 2 years ago.