I discovered in short order that the SpeedyCut carving material, dubbed the 'crumbly stuff', was not the best to use, as my stamps were falling apart quicker than I could re-carve. I switched to MasterCarve, and produced quite a few stamps with this material. I discovered that it, too, tends to fall apart with many stampings.
It was then that I discovered PZ Kut, a special carving material only produced by my friend Webfoot (www.stampeaz.com). I started with the orange variety and moved to the white. I absolutely loved carving with the best material ever - white grade A. (Unfortunately, it is a sad fact that PZ Kut it is no longer available. I have been working with the new FirmKut and now, Tan-Z, with good results. FirmKut and Tan-Z are available from Stampeaz.)
My carving took a huge leap forward at the purchase of a magnifying lamp from my craft store (found in the sewing aisle). With the aid of the lamp, I could continue my habit of challenging myself with harder and harder images. I also have progress to using the fine, Swiss-Made Pfeil carving tools, as well as the Flex-Cut Micro Palm tools. While they are intended for woodworking, they are phenomenal gouge-type tools. Just know that they will take a bit to get used to after working with Staedtler tools.
I truly enjoy carving rubber stamps. As a former rubber stamp collector and card-maker, I was always in search of just the perfect stamp for the project at hand. Now, I just carve whatever I want!
And, just for the record, I had always use the 'pencil transfer' method to get my image onto the rubber for carving. Some may use other methods, but this method had always worked well for me and is portable. No special equipment needed! But, as of a couple months ago, I purchased a cheap, small laser printer from Amazon, and gave the laser ink-acetone transfer method a try. Wow! Now, that's a transfer, and fast, too! It doesn't work for everything, like for instance a portrait you are creating from a photograph - pencil is still the best for achieving the look and shading you want. But, for lettering, and especially black and white images, I would highly recommend the laser ink-acetone transfer method for precision carving.
I hope you enjoy this blog and my creations. Please feel free to leave comments and questions.
Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.~SHH :-)
~William Shakespeare
