How to make a Handmade stamp?

R

RHankins

Joined
Jul 14, 2007
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Want to make a Homemade makers stamp to mark my blades.
Has anybody here done one? If so
What is the best/most detailed method of carving the design?
What steel when hardened and tempered will stand up to the repeated shock of hammer stamping?
Yes I do have a etcher just like stamping my blades.
 
I forged mine from coil spring. Made essentially a flat chisel, then curled the two ends. To get more detail i would say carve it using a die grinder or engraver, or make up a bunch of special shaped chisels to shape it, then heat treat it.

l_2cf1e36b7edeccc534bdeee79e33fcef.jpg
 
i made one from a old drill bit and used a dremel tool to carve away everything not wanted
 
Keith_H said:
i would like to know this too, can i use O1 scrap?
Click to expand...

I have used O1 scrap, and it does work, but I doubt it is the best. It is not recommended to temper it in certain HT ranges due to brittleness. I'm thinking above 500F is a no no because it become more brittle.

I would think that a low carbide, medium carbon, fine grained steel hardened to the mid 50s would be best.

I've made them with CNC, so not the most applicable technique for everybody. Remember to mirror your design! (Yup, I forgot that once)
 
Hot punches are for putting marks on HOT steel, mostly used in ornamental iron work. Logo and touchmark stamps are for marking annealed COLD steel. The type of steel used to make such a stamp can vary, but it needs to be A) hard, B) tough, and C) shock resistant. O-1 would work, but a better choice would be an "S" series steel. I would think S-5 or S-7. The S steels require a more strict HT as far as temperature control and high limits. Use square stock and go large. 6-8" long and 3/4" to 1" wide stamps are much easier to hold and use than 4X1/4" stamps. The marking end can be tapered down to 1/8" ,but the body should have mass.

As to making one, they are either patterned while hot (as in the anvil fire tutorial) or carved out with a die grinder or similar tool (flexshaft or Dremmel). Use carbide ball burs to cut out the reverse of the mark.They are available down to near-microscopic size.

Making a drawing of the design and "flipping" it will give you a visual to follow. Many first stamps are backward, few second stamps are.
Stacy
 
H13 sure would make the very best for a hot stamp. But I agree with Stacy for a cold stamp S7 or other S series would be the best.
 
Thanks for all the help I need to get busy.
Great tutorial Shakudo read it and will re-read it a few times.
Watch for the results when my blades start getting done.
 
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