About the terminology I use on this website

Stamp carving is one of those niche crafts that not a lot of people are into. As a result, there doesn't seem to be a consistent set of language that is used when other people talk about stamp carving, and often made worse because there are stamp carvers around the world trying their best to translate the ideas from other languages. 

While this is super awesome, it means that I might be using different words to refer to different aspects of carving.  So without further ado, here is my list of terms (alphabetically arranged, natch) for you to see.  Please let me know if there is a word that you think should be included :)


Carving rubber: almost certainly not actual "rubber", but the material that is being used to carve on.  Many companies use a proprietary formulation - likely a mix of dino juice and chemicals - and there is a wide range of types of carving materials.

Slab: my lazy way of referring to a large block of carving rubber.

Transfer: the process of getting a design onto the carving rubber.

Two best ways to improve your stamp carving

I sometimes get questions about the level of detail in stamps I've carved.  "How'd you do that?!"  Today, I'm all about sharing my two secrets: light and magnification.  For me, these come in the form of one tool: a lit magnifier attached to my craft table.

Other then getting a good transfer of a design onto rubber, the absolute best way to improve carving is to get as much light on the design as I can and magnify it as much as possible.

Here, check this series of photos out showing the difference when you add the light and magnification (you can click the photo to enlarge it):

A carved stamp with regular light and no magnification.

A carved stamp with better light and no magnification.

A carved stamp with both magnification and better light.

I use a table-mounted lighted magnifier, but I also have a little travel one that I can take with me when I'm on the go (yes, I carve stamps on the go - highly recommended for the odd looks people give you).

Have any questions?  Let me know in the comments.  Happy carving!

Welcome

Hello and welcome! My name is Jo and I have been carving stamps for almost seven years.  I have decided to start this site as a way to share all of my stamp carving tricks and techniques and help people go beyond the stamp carving basics.

Be sure to bookmark this space as I intend to post about how to carve stamps - also, you can check out my YouTube channel.

Happy carving!