Was trying to work on carving letters (very tricky when you are beginning carving!) and I was working on a local ice cream store logo and accidentally carved a "c" backward….. so question for the experienced LB carvers: is there a way to "fix" it or do I scrap the stamp in embarrassing shame and start over? Otherwise the stamp looks fabulous but I obviously need more experience carving letters.... advice needed!!!! TIA

Depending on your design, maybe it’s possible to cut away the text and re-carve it separately?

I know you didn’t ask but... when working on custom designs I always draw my designs on paper first and transfer it down. That ensures it’s always (well almost always 😄) right.

Depending on your design, maybe it’s possible to cut away the text and re-carve it separately?

I have sometimes picked a chunk of carved material and glued it back in with E-6000. It sets in just a few hours. Then you can carve again.

would you carve out a 'square-ish shape' and then chunk in the new and glue with this "E-6000"? Thanks. Will consider. Beginner curve and I thought I had pencil transferred OK but it was light on the one letter and thus the mistake. Boo for not noticing earlier!

would you carve out a 'square-ish shape' and then chunk in the new and glue with this "E-6000"?

It depends. If I notice it early enough I put in the very chunk that I carved out. If not, I pick a piece that is close to fitting. You may have to carve out the whole mistaken letter.

You don't want to carve all of the way through the material. Find a large chunk to replace it and glue it in place. Let it set for a few hours. I've found that E-6000 is quite soft when fresh out of the tube, then it sets firmly but still a little flexible. Once set you can carve your smaller letter out of the larger chunk.

And what I did once when I carved a letter backwards: I just left it. It was one of the "N"s in "BANANA", so it sort of worked out.

∀N∀N∀q?

∀N∀N∀q?

More like BAИANA; I looked up the LTC I made with it.

I asked here or on an LTC forum if I should fix it. I decided, in the end, (with the input I received) to not fix it.

Hi Gemini Girl,

First, thanks for carving and contributing to this fun hobby of ours!
Second, I think you should leave it. It is a hand carved stamp and mistakes such as this are endearing. If you feel sheepish, you could include your story in the clues.
Third, keep carving! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Hoping to find your carving some day,
Mosaic Butterfly

Leave off the letter, possibly? Like McDonald's, the words are not really necessary and the golden arches pretty much says everything. If not, recarve just the letters and mount below or separately.

Nothing wrong with a backwards letter. No need to be perfect, in order to enjoy the hobby.

What? No perfectionism? OMG! Why did I think I had to pursue this? Whew! What a relief! A huge weight off my shoulders. Never considered allowing errors. I thought that was the rule of thumb, par for the course, unstated rule...
;)

Feeling frisky today

Thanks for all the words of advice & encouragement! Lettering has a learning curve & carving is addictive! My plant count will be growing soon! I just finished my 12th carve... now to practice clue writing & get the boxes out! I have decided to touch up the stamp a little & launch it as is.... in the log book I may "touch up" the stamped image to show my intentions... then finders can marvel that life is as the stamp is, perfectly imperfect! But I will keep the tips in mind for next mistake! Happy LBing!

Glad you've decided to leave the "mistake" as is! Way better to value simplicity and let the stamp grace boxers' logbooks. Plant it soon! Eastern philosophies would embrace the supposed error: the Dao/Tao of Pu/poo/Pooh recommends simplicity, and the spontaneous rascally backwards "C" is proof that you're not too fussy, and able to let the inherent quality of rubber stamping, its backwardness, tell it like it is. We think vinegar is tasty! The concept of wabi sabi is another way to recognize the beauty and truth of natural imperfection. Let it be, and plant it and hunt for more! One of our favorite boxes, "No Tress Passing," celebrates a typo in the Posted signs around a gasline pumping plant in Dryden; we just love goofs, no matter how they're created!

Eastern philosophies would embrace the supposed error: the Dao/Tao of Pu/poo/Pooh recommends simplicity, and the spontaneous rascally backwards "C" is proof that you're not too fussy, and able to let the inherent quality of rubber stamping, its backwardness, tell it like it is.

That reminds me of part of the finale from last season's "The Big Bang Theory". Even Sheldon learned to embrace imperfection. Here is all but the first scene in full context of this part of the episode.

This whole discussion reminded me of a story I've heard about some Indian tribe (Navajo?) that purposely adds a "flaw" to each weaving they create so that they would not be considered "perfect".

I've never felt that I had to add a flaw to any of my carvings just to make sure it wasn't perfect!

I've never felt that I had to add a flaw to any of my carvings just to make sure it wasn't perfect!

I very much agree with that!