Rubber
Stamp Carving Tools
There are several tools you will need to carve rubber stamps,
but
note that you might not need all of these. You'll need to read
further to decide if you really need them all.
- Magnifying lenses
- Lamp
- Razor knife
- Gouges
- Carving Needles
- Sharpening tools
Before you start shopping, a word about coupons: If
you
need to buy anything at Michael's, JoAnn Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, or
similar hobby and craft shop, you might want to look for coupons
first. All of these stores often put a
40% off coupon in the local Sunday paper, and sometimes even a 50% off
coupon. It's sometimes only good on one
item,
but if one item is all you need, it's a good deal. You can, of
course,
buy all the items you need one at a time, one per week. Or you
can
collect coupons from all your neighbors' newspapers. Sometimes
you can sign up for their special customer registration and they'll
send you coupons by e-mail that you can print on your own computer.
And usually these stores will accept each others' coupons. Just
ask.
MAGNIFYING LENSES
When you get to cutting, seeing up close and tiny is important,
especially if you're over 40 and the eyes don't work like they used
to. Buy a cheap pair of reading
glasses,
the strongest you can find, like +3.0 or +3.25 or
whatever. Way too strong for reading, the only way you'll be able
to focus is to hold things six inches from your nose. Just what
you need! This is a good idea even if you're young and your
eyes still work up close, as it'll reduce eye strain.
If you didn't believe that last paragraph, I urge you to
reconsider. The use of strong magnification is arguably the
most important tip on this site.
Michael's
offers such reading glasses dirt cheap, like $1 per pair -- and that's before your 40% off coupon.
You can also buy them at dollar stores. There are
lots of places that sell such reading glasses for less than $10,
including just about any drug store.
If you must wear prescription glasses for astigmatism, you probably
can't use generic reading glasses, and you're probably not interested
in buying a pair of prescription glasses just for close work. You
will need to find another method of magnification. One method is
to buy one of those lamps with a big magnifying glass in it.
Another idea would be to purchase a magnifying visor.
If you're handy, you can probably just mount a regular magnifying
glass
on a holder of some sort.
LAMP
You'll want lots of light. I mean lots. In fact, my
preference is to carve outdoors in direct sunlight if the weather
permits. If you're working indoors, a strong desk lamp right over
your work would be good; two lamps would be better! The new
"compact
flourescent" lights designed to replace regular light bulbs are
especially nice here because you can get a lot of light up close to
your work without a lot
of heat.
Some people prefer a "high intensity" light, a really bright
incandescent bulb with clear glass. The reason is that, besides
providing a good amount of light, the light all coming from one point
(rather than the entire tube surface of a flourescent, for example)
highlights the surface detail of the item you're working on. If
you want to try this, a halogen bulb is recommended; they last much
longer than regular bulbs and provide whiter light.
RAZOR KNIFE
You'll need a razor knife. The traditional razor knife is
the
X-Acto brand with a #11
blade...
You can buy the Testors Hobby Knife at Wall-Mart, along with packs
of
spare blades -- but note that it's not in the "Fabrics and Crafts"
department. It's in the toy department, along with the model
paints.
A better deal is a 51-piece razor knife set from Big Lots.
It contains seven handles and a whole bunch of different blades plus a
sharpening stone and a tube of superglue in a handy carrying case for
$7.99. It's hanging from a pegboard in the hardware
section. Unfortunately, Big Lots is a place where stock
comes and goes, and some people have had trouble finding this
set. If you do find it, though, by all means buy one! Note
that Big Lots sometimes also carries smaller sets of razor knives, and
they are nowhere near as good as the 51-piece set.
An X-Acto knife has an aluminum collet that
clamps down onto the blade. These cheap razor knives from Big
Lots -- and other cheap razor knives as well -- have plastic
collets. They
work just fine, for carving rubber anyway. In fact, they might
even work better, as the plastic collet makes the knife lighter.
It almost appears as though the cheaper the
better when it
comes to razor knives for stamp carving. The genuine X-Acto #11
blades are stout
and
sturdy, being about .020" thick. While excellent quality and
great for
many tasks, it makes them a bit too large and clumsy for detailed
rubber stamp carving. The blades in the Big Lots set are only
about
.015" thick which means they're thinner and
more flexible than the X-Acto blade, which is beneficial here. I
believe the Testors blades are also thinner than the
X-Acto. If you
already have an X-Acto knife, you might want to purchase a set of
Testors blades and try them in it.
There are several
other brands of razor knives available, and any one of them would
probably work well making rubber stamps.
If you're a doctor, you
can steal a surgical scalpel from work. Interestingly, the
correct surgical blade is also called a #11, although it's shaped
slightly differently than the X-Acto #11.
One other tidbit about razor knives: When you get to carving very
tiny details, you'd think you want the smallest blade. However,
what you really want is the blade with the pointiest tip, which is not
necessarily the same thing. Here are some blades:
The one on the far left would be really lousy for carving rubber
stamps. The angle of the cutting edge forms such a blunt angle at
the tip that you'll have trouble cutting any details. It might
work OK for making long, straight cuts.
Moving to the right we find increasingly better blades because the
angle formed at the tip is more acute. As a result, the very
point -- which is the part you actually carve with -- is increasingly
tiny and slender.
The second from right is a standard X-Acto #11. The one on the
far right, my personal favorite, is from the 51-piece set from Big Lots.
It's easy to change direction mid-cut with such a blade, because you
can easily turn the tip in the rubber.
GOUGES
Buy a Staedtler 1v gouge. Period. End of discussion.
Generally, to get a 1v you'll have to buy the entire Staedtler set of
three gouges for about $20:
Nothing interchangeable about the tips, you're buying a set of
complete
tools. The tips of the blades are
razor-sharp
and U- or V-shaped, and the blade is gently curved to enable smoothly
cutting out a groove with one pass. The 1v is the one at the top
in the picture, and with it you can easily remove a sliver of rubber
the size of a human hair from the surface of a piece of rubber.
There is one way to buy the 1v by itself, and that's to buy from
Webfoot at stampeaz.com.
That is
reportedly the only place
where you can buy the Staedtler 1v without buying the other two.
Buy some PZ Kut and
some Brilliance Dew Drop ink pads while you're there. And don't
lose the invoice that comes with your order; Webfoot applies a rubber
stamp image to them, and you can log them as letterboxing finds on
AtlasQuest.com.
The Staedtler 1v is essential for detailed carving, but larger gouges
are nice to have for other duties such as hacking big chunks of rubber
out of a stamp. You could just buy the whole
Staedtler set. But it'd probably be cheaper to just buy the
single Staedtler 1v from stampeaz.com and buy a Speedball
"CUTTER SET For Block
Printing" for the other needs. The Speedball set
includes a cutter handle
and five interchangeable cutter blades.
The blades included in the
package are #1, #2, #3, #5, and #6. The #1 is the smallest, but
it still digs a groove twice as big as a Staedtler 1v.
The handle is a rounded plastic affair with a chuck on
the end that securely clamps down onto the blade. It's hollow and
it's possible to pry the
back end off and hide
blades inside, although that doesn't appear to be the intention of the
design.
The bulbous handle is well-suited for applying great force while
digging a groove. However, you're cutting rubber, and great force
is
not required. Many opt to purchase a Speedball "pen holder",
which is often sold nearby on the same shelf as the cutter set for less
than $2, and use that instead.
You can also just buy a length of 1/4" wooden dowel and
attach the nib with glue, wire and/or tape. Get enough dowels to
make handles for each nib, as you won't want to have to swap nibs on
the same handle.
Some people opt to use no holder at all, just hold the nib itself
between the thumb and forefinger. This actually works better than
you'd expect.
A very popular modification is to take a Speedball #1 nib, heat the tip
over a flame or stove until the metal turns black, and use a pair of
pliers to pinch the V to a
narrower shape. The result is commonly referred to as a "0.5" or
a
"#0". Unfortunately, while the narrowed nib is fun to use, it
still
isn't anywhere near as good for cutting fine details as a Staedtler
1v. As stated at the top of this section, just buy a Staedtler 1v
and
fuggetaboutit.
Speedball also offers a "Speedy-Stamp Stamp Making Kit"
which includes
a cutter handle, two cutter blades, a 4" x 6" x 1/4" piece of
Speedy-Stamp
rubber, and a booklet of ideas and tips.
It looks like a good
starter kit, but there are two downsides to it. First, the cutter
handle included is a cheap wooden handle rather than the nice plastic
handle with the metal chuck shown above. Second, the two
cutter blades included are a #2 and a #4, not the most generally useful
blades.
There are other brands of gouges available, but as of this writing none
are reported to even approach the Staedtler 1v for detail carving.
Nasco also offers sets of lino cutters,
including wooden handles in either palm-grip
or pen-shaped
versions. Those pen-shaped handles come in a box of 12 (Nasco is
actually a classroom supply outfit), but they're still not too
expensive.
Speedball also offers some supposedly safer lino cutters that look
similar from a distance but you pull them across the rubber rather than
push. Hence, the sharp edge isn't right out front where you can
hurt yourself with it, it's underneath and facing the holder.
I've never tried them myself, but reports indicate that they
<i>do</i> work but not particularly well.
Having both the razor knife and the set of gouges is
best, obviously,
but you can make do with just the razor knife. It's work, though,
since you must make slice after slice side-by-side to remove rubber
over a broad area. It's just easier to have a couple of gouges on
hand, even if you're a razor knife carver.
CARVING NEEDLES
When you get to the point where you just can't figure out how
you're
supposed to carve any serious detail with those big, clunky razor
knives and gouges, you're ready for a set of carving needles.
Because it's not obvious, I'll describe how they are used:
Pretty
much the same way as the razor knife. It doesn't look like a
razor knife; in fact, it looks more like a gouge. It won't work
at all as a gouge, though, it just digs in if you try. You use it
the same way you'd
use a
very tiny razor knife. Slice with one side of that tip; you've
got
two
sides to work with.
Where do you buy carving needles? Actually, you buy the
components and assemble your own set. The handle is what's known
as a "pin vise" and can be purchased from ehobbytools.com
or you can do a web search for other sources. You can select a
single-ended pin vise:
(the knob end is removable, revealing a place to store the unused
collet)
or a double-ended pin vise:
Offhand, I'd suggest the single-ended; there's only half the
chance
you'll accidentally stick yourself. Of course, you could buy the
double-ended pin vise and only install a needle in one end at a time.
There are cheaper versions than those shown. The collets shown
have four sizes of opening so they'll hold just about any size needle
you want, and you can bury the needle to any depth. Cheaper pin
vises have no removable collets but rather just a chuck formed in the
end of the handle itself. With these, you're far more limited in what
needles will fit -- too large won't go in, too small will fall out --
and they might bottom in the hole, requiring you to cut the needle
shorter to get it to protrude the right amount.
An X-Acto knife has a collet for holding the blade. Some collets
have a single split, but others have two splits forming an X when you
look at them end-on. This latter type will work as a pin vise,
although they'll only hold a pretty small needle.
The carving needles are, in fact, standard hypodermic needles.
They come
with razor sharp edges right out of the package, and are available in
many sizes. You'll need to cut the other end off, the end with a
collar that attaches the needle to a syringe.
To begin with, go to a feed store and ask about needles intended for
horses. You'll get some really big needles -- big enough to make
you thank your lucky stars you're not a horse -- and these big needles
are the most useful for carving rubber stamps. You should be able
to find 16 gauge, 18 gauge, and possibly 14 and 12 gauge needles.
Be
sure to get long ones; the short needles are barely long enough to
chuck up in a pin vise. Here's what the needle looks like when
you buy it:
This thing cost me 35¢. Here's what it looks like when
you
open the package:
You'll need to cut the needle itself off that collar, and throw
the
rest away.
When you want smaller needles for really detailed work, go to your
local drug store and ask for needles for human beings. In
general, they're not out where you can get at them, they're behind the
pharmacy counter, but all you have to do is ask; no prescription
required. I usually tell them what I want them for, to which they
usually reply "Good idea!"
You'll be offered
needles around 21 gauge to 25 gauge -- be sure to get the long ones
again. Often the needle comes attached to a syringe, but they're
still only 30¢ each or so. If you ask for a "larger" needle,
the clerk will always presume
you mean you want a larger syringe, more cc's. You'll go back and
forth a coupla times trying to get through that you want the needle
itself larger and couldn't care less about the size of the syringe
attached.
The latest thing in hypodermic needles are retractable needles.
You use them once, and the needle itself pops back inside the syringe
so you can't stick yourself with it. I haven't run across one of
these myself yet, but hopefully since you won't be shooting up with it
you can cut the needle off before it gets a chance to retract. We
might need to hope so, since reportedly these retractable needles will
be increasingly popular thanks to liability concerns.
SHARPENING TOOLS
You should sharpen your cutting tools occasionally.
You can
sharpen the razor knife blades just as you
would
hone a knife. You can use a fine
(Arkansas) knife sharpening
stone and a bit of honing
oil. Hold the blade flat against the stone and tilt the
back side up just enough so that the cutting edge contacts the surface
of the stone.
Make
about a dozen circular motions, then flip it over and repeat. As
you finish, make the last couple of strokes feather light and swap
sides each stroke. You
won't believe how much better this'll make the blade cut -- even
compared to a new blade. You also won't believe how long it'll
make a blade last.
If you happen to break the point of a razor knife blade off, hold
the back side of the tip against a coarse sharpening stone or a
grindstone and file a
bit of an angle on it until it meets the sharpened edge again. It
ends up looking like this:
You're back in business.
The 51-piece razor knife set from Big Lots includes a sharpening stone,
but I don't recommend it. Rather, go to a knife store and see
what they have in sharpening stones. Tell them you want a really
fine one. With any luck at all, you'll be able to get a very
small, very fine stone for just a few bucks. You don't need
anything fancy like diamond grit or anything, although if they have
something with ceramic you might check it out; ceramic is even finer
than Arkansas stone.
You also should sharpen the gouges every now and
then. You can use the knife sharpening stone to hone them around
the outer edge, and the motion is a
bit
different for a U-shaped blade than for a V-shaped blade, but you'll
figure it out.
The problem with sharpening the gouges is honing the inside
edge, which is necessary for an optimum job of sharpening. Some
people make do with stone bits from a rotary grinder tool, but not
mounted in the rotary grinder -- just carefully applied by hand.
Another idea is to fold a piece of very fine sandpaper, 400 grit or
finer, and use that, possibly wrapped around an X-Acto knife blade.
To do an even better job of sharpening these tools, get a sharpening
strop.
Go to: http://www.mhc-online.com/main2/home.htm, then
click on Table of Contents, Sharpening Devices, Sharpening Strops, PW12.
CUSTOM TOOLS
You can actually create custom cutting tools if you're
handy. It's possible to grind a razor knife blade into an
entirely new shape and then grind a new edge on it and sharpen it up --
or you can cut only on the back edge or mounting tang, leaving the
original cutting edge intact. The obvious thing to start with is
another cutting tool, but you can actually make cutters out of all
sorts of things. Rubber isn't difficult to cut, you don't need
surgical steel to cut it. Sometimes, when you need to create a
particular type of cut -- especially if you need to make the same cut a
lot of times -- the thing to do is to make a tool just for the job.
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