How do you carve a soapstone stamp?

Question

A friend who just got back from Japan gave me a calligraphy set. Included are two soapstone chop stamps. I want to carve them, but I want to know if there's anything I need to know before starting (what tools will I need, what's the proper technique, what should I avoid, stuff like this).

Answer 1

carve them with fine point tools that can eat a bit at a time do not pry down on them to force the cut upwards. Making a chop is a personal thing as it represents you so take your time dental tools and exacto blades work draw the image you wish to have on the chop backwards so that it will print correctly when you are done cut around the largest part of what is to be left on its face then gently remove the excess to leave what you want. when carving on it hold it in a clamp or small vise with LITTLE pressure so as not to crack the stone soap stone carves very easily so use light cutting action

Answer 2

well, a really good tool i've learned to use is a small roatary drill (i use a dremmel) because ir covers a lot of space and smooths things out well, just make sure you keep things decently level or flat if they should be because an uneven surface can change the effect of the design. before doing it on stone, buy a little block of styrofoam at a craft store and experiment on there. there's no need to waste soapstone when you can waste styrofoam. also, with the styrofoam, you can test different designs to see what you like the most.

be careful not to put TOO much pressure ont he stone when you carve it because soapstone tends to have imperfections that cause it to fissure and break. i spend a week carving something, and right at the end, i used too much leverage and broke a major piece off of it. it was a result of a little imperfection and my overwhelming force combined. though it is stone, be a little gentle cuz you're not dealing with granite or marble here, your fealing with soap stone.

also, wear a mask and goggles while carving. the dust can really hurt your lungs and eyes. and do it somewhere where there's not a lot of surfaces to get covered with the dust. i started doing it in my bed room, and it covered my computer and pulluted the water in my fiddler crab tank, not to mention the TV and everything else.


hope that helps!
sorry for making that so long!

Answer 3

The W sign... you know... like Willy Wonka's W! (Its all curvy!!) your favorite japanese/chinese character(my personal fav is the one lacuna coil uses as a symbol.) Your could do a spider web, too! it would be amazing if you could do one of the Kool-Aid man. Or even a partial rainbow with a pot o' gold at the end!