Skip to Content
Register · Login
About Theme

A Letterboxing Community

Atlas Quest
Search Edit Search

Read Thread: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests

Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Mar 26, 2018 6:39pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I just posted the first four responses from the tan material sample tests. I've scanned a few others, but I thought a number of shorter (it's a relative term) posts would be more readable than a couple novel-length ones.

Tan Sample Material Results - Round #1

I've never seen work from some of these carvers before the testing began, but I have to say that it's a pleasure to have these land in my mailbox. I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my postal carrier every single day.

Once again, don't hesitate to correct anything I may have gotten wrong, over or understated or otherwise messed up. Or to ask questions about anything I have rendered as clear as mud. :)

Many thanks to my Merry Band of Testers. They're doing a great job and giving me a lot to think about.

Webfoot
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958416 by Webfoot
Mar 27, 2018 5:55am
Thread (disabled) Board
Interesting about the tar comment. I keep describing it as clay...carving clay. It's definatly a different material.
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958423 by Linden Leaf
Mar 27, 2018 7:20am
Thread (disabled) Board
I keep describing it as clay...carving clay.

Interesting. I may have misinterpreted this description, since I always found carving clay rather a pleasant experience back in my ceramics classes in days of yore. I took it to mean the material was not elastic and cut smoothly, but with some resistance. Did you mean you thought the block was sticky?

Thanks!

Webfoot
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958429 by Webfoot
Mar 27, 2018 8:28am
Thread (disabled) Board
It was suppose to be positive. Very different from OZ or EZ which I carve on all the time. The other thing is that even without really carving it almost holds its shape if you push it. I've noticed that as I was carving it I could almost push a line where I want it to go. I don't know if that makes sense. I've tried writing it out twice before and I can't seem to figure out how to say it that well. I also used a stick pin this last time and was impressed with how I could stick it into the material and it would stay a nice hole without springing back.

I'm wondering with the clay like qualities if that's why it holds its bend so much? There's not elasticity to bring it back. Which in some ways could be a negative thing when you think about not being able to store your stamps in a flat way? But I guess those are all qualities that everybody has to remember and work with the material as is.

I still like the material...lots!
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958434 by Linden Leaf
Mar 27, 2018 9:14am
Thread (disabled) Board
Great, thanks! That's how I had taken it before, but I wanted to be sure I hadn't misunderstood, so I appreciate the clarification. You're right, it's hard to describe the qualities of a material sometimes - hard to get a tactile feeling across in words.

If you're talking about the bend from the shipping tube, I think they might have tucked it into the mailer hot off the press, so to speak, and put a curl in it. I have the rest of the sample sheet laying flat on my basement floor and the curl seems to be slowly - very slowly - straightening itself out. That will have to be addressed at the manufacturing end of the world, since we can't have curly blocks. So, I think you would be able to store your carvings flat. :)
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958416 by Webfoot
Mar 27, 2018 2:32pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Mission Impossible (cue the music) . . .
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create a carving material at a reasonable price, that makes everyone happy, including but not limited to, carvers who use wire knives, exacto knives, needles, gouges of every size and shape, transfers with pencil, heat, parchment, wintergreen essential oil, xylene, acetone, and will hold and stamp every one of the dozens of brands and types of inks and markers, has no offensive odor and causes no reaction to people sensitive to certain chemicals, and of course, it must be firm enough to hold up to thin lines and fine detail, but soft enough to not be too hard on the hands, but not so soft that it flakes, crumbles, or disintegrates.
How hard can that be?? Sheeesh!!! 😉

Webfoot, we love you and appreciate your work on our behalf!!
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958416 by Webfoot
Mar 29, 2018 1:11pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I hope this carving medium works and production starts soon, as I am running very low on OZ Kut...... (cue tears here.....)

BB
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958491 by Bungalow Boxer
Mar 29, 2018 2:28pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I hope this carving medium works and production starts soon, as I am running very low on OZ Kut...... (cue tears here.....)

I'm still awaiting about half a dozen sample results and I'll be making a decision based on everything I've learned from the fabulous Merry Band of Testers. At this point, I'm leaning toward going ahead and having some made, but we're talking five figures here, so it's not a minor investment or risk in my little world.

That's one of the many reasons I wanted some input from carvers who hadn't been living and breathing every single (usually failed) test and could give me a bit of perspective on what I thought was finally on the horizon. Honestly? For the way I carve, I thought this material was actually something that gave PZ Kut a run for its money and was certainly a big step forward from OZ Kut. More firm than PZ, perhaps, but smooth and easy to work with and with less elasticity than OZ. I even had a piece of PZ on the carving table beside the test block to compare (no, you can't have it - I need it for tests).

But, I have learned from my marvelous test crew that it doesn't work as well for everybody that has tried it as it does for me, so I'll see what the rest of my testers have to say and how the creative things they do to put this material through its paces work out.

If I take the great leap, they tell me it'll be about 8-10 weeks from the time I go airborne. And a production run of this stuff is a lot of material, so it'll be around for a while taking up room in my garage and basement.

Well, this certainly got longer and more serious than I had originally intended, but it probably doesn't hurt at this stage to let everybody where I am in the decision making process, since we all want the perfect carving material to play with. This may not be it yet, but maybe it will be good enough to get us by for a while until I can concoct something better.

It's always good to have a dream, right? :)

Webfoot
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958493 by Webfoot
Mar 29, 2018 9:43pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I'm leaning toward going ahead and having some made, but we're talking five figures here, so it's not a minor investment or risk in my little world.

I think that there are plenty of people who are running low; You'll have a lot of buyers.
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958493 by Webfoot
Mar 30, 2018 10:11am
Thread (disabled) Board
Out of curiosity, how does the amount of material from a production run (with this new company) compare to the amount of OZ that was produced? The OZ lasted 5 years until it was all sold out? Trying to gauge how long (minimum) this material will be around, if you do go ahead with the production run. Assuming it sells as well as OZ, will a single production run last for 3 years or more like 7 years?

I don't envy your position - on the one hand many customers calling for a new material and fast! and on the other, those that want the ultimate all purpose material. I think I can speak on behalf of many MANY letterboxers when I say we are lucky to have you, as I don't think there is anyone else among us who would be willing to put in all the time, effort and $00000 to try to find the best possible carving materials specifically for our niche hobby. Personally I think you should do what is best for you since you are the one paying for the material up front (again, time and money). But that's easy for me because I have enough OZ SpeedyCarve and Asian materials to last me a year or more.
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958493 by Webfoot
Mar 30, 2018 10:41am
Thread (disabled) Board
Hey Webfoot -

I bet you could do a kickstarter or something and get people to prepay for some of the material. I would be willing to buy some now, and I suspect others would as well - we could help share some of the risk and investment.
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958531 by Angel and Demon
Mar 30, 2018 3:50pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I had a similar thought along those lines A &D, but within AQ. Say 100-150 letterboxers each send in $25 to Webfoot to help offset some of the initial costs and as a pre-order, with then the ability to receive a quantity of new material, after Webfoot deducts to cover shipping, once materials arrive. Would this be of use Webfoot? It takes organizing a list of who prepaid, but Excel is probably a good friend of Webfoot's :)
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958538 by FORAYCH
Mar 30, 2018 5:27pm
Thread (disabled) Board
It wouldn’t need to be complicated. It could be as simple as a large number of people sending in $25 (or more), which would then be a credit in their name, to be applied to any future purchase. Once the material is available, priced, and listed on Stampeaz, each person can place an order for this new material and/or whatever else they want, and just apply their credit to the order total. Easy peasy
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958543 by Wise Wanderer
Mar 30, 2018 6:35pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Perhaps easiest of all would be to list the slabs on Stampeaz for preorder.
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958545 by Angel and Demon
Mar 30, 2018 7:22pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Perhaps easiest of all would be to list the slabs on Stampeaz for preorder.

Until the material is made, shipped, cut to size, and weighed for postage to customers, there really isn't any way for Webfoot to calculate the final prices to set for preordering. It would still be easier to just record a credit to apply to future purchases.
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958530 by Bon Echo
Mar 30, 2018 7:41pm
Thread (disabled) Board
Out of curiosity, how does the amount of material from a production run (with this new company) compare to the amount of OZ that was produced? The OZ lasted 5 years until it was all sold out?

Was ALL of that OZ from one production run? It must have been HUGE.
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958531 by Angel and Demon
Mar 30, 2018 9:10pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I think there will be plenty of interest in pre-orders!
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958543 by Wise Wanderer
Apr 1, 2018 9:01am
Thread (disabled) Board
Let me know when I should send my $25. I need carving material!

BB
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958612 by Bungalow Boxer
Apr 1, 2018 10:58am
Thread (disabled) Board
I need carving material!

I still have half of a slab of OZ, and almost a full slab of Speedy Carve. I even have some of this Eco Karve. I'm okay for two to three months, but the sooner the better.
Re: Round 1 of Round 2 Tests
Board: Stamp Carving and Mounting
Reply to: #958538 by FORAYCH
Apr 14, 2018 10:37am
Thread (disabled) Board
I had an inspiration today while looking at the Stampeaz website. I'd forgotten that Webfoot sells gift certificates, so I bought myself one. I'll redeem it once the new stuff is ready.