Two Tone Wax Seal

[spcitrin]

So how exactly do you make a two tone wax seal. I have a few seals I'd like to try this on. Can you tell me how, and tell me what products you use so I can purchase them

[NeelsK]

There are two different ways.

 

One: Get a silver/gold stamp pad. It is about the same size as a wax seal (2.5 x 2.5 cm). Press the seal lightly onto it. This will cover the face of the stamp with that colour. Then seal as normal.

[Edit]Something like this: Stamp pad[/EDIT]

 

Two: Sooting. This is a bit more involved. Take some cotton wool (I usually take the wool from an ear bud) and place it on a fire resistant surface. Place a drop or two of some oil (I use a mineral oil) on the cotton and light it. When it starts producing smoke, hold the seal in the smoke. You should actually hold it in the flame, where it ends and the smoke is actually produced. Make sure the handle is insulated as the seal WILL heat up. This is why I only do this with bigger seals. The cheap $10 seals that is just one piece of metal will probably burn your fingers. When the seal is all sooty, you can melt your wax and proceed as normal. Sooting works best on light coloured waxes. NB NB : Keep some fire extinguishing tools at hand.

 

Also take a look at yachtsilverswan's excellent instructions:

Sooting a signet ring

Those are the two methods I use.

Edited June 1, 2012 by NeelsK

[Rosser]

There are two different ways.

 

One: Get a silver/gold stamp pad. It is about the same size as a wax seal (2.5 x 2.5 cm). Press the seal lightly onto it. This will cover the face of the stamp with that colour. Then seal as normal.

[Edit]Something like this: Stamp pad[/EDIT]

 

The excellent Stephen Brown has a video of this method at

[Pil]

Not sure if this is directly relevant to the topic, but I have been thinking a bit about getting a seal, and was stuck in the decision between a desk seal (probably not the correct term, but a larger seal on a handle) and a signet ring. The design I have in mind will be circular, with a circular monogram/personal logo in the center.

The benefit of a desk seal would be the possibility for a somewhat larger seal, making it possible to fit in more details, and the obvious benefit of the ring would be that it is a ring, and could be decorative at the same time as it could be used as a seal.

 

Then I was thinking that a combination of those two, and make a seal within a seal. The idea would then be to have the larger seal as a "frame", with a circular, blank part in the middle. When pressing this onto wax, you would then have a frame with a hole in the middle (of course there would be some wax at the bottom of the hole).

Then the seal would be allowed to dry, and the second part would involving dripping wax (of the color you prefer) into the hole, and pressing the signet ring into the new wax. In the imagined case, this would then cause you to leave the personalized logo in the center.

 

I am not sure if this is a feasible idea, as I am completely fresh to seals. Problems I could imagine would be that the 2nd wax melts the first, or that the 2nd wax will not stick well enough to the first, making it fall out easily.

 

What I like about the idea is that if you have several people who would like to use the same frame, (like a company, group of friends, a club or whatever) they could all share the same frame, and personalize it with their personal seal in the middle.

Also, you would have the possibility to do two colored seals, one color in the frame and one in the center (or even take it further with the tips on how to do two tones as posted in this thread)

 

So, anyone think this is feasible? I assume someone must have thought about this approach before, so would be nice to hear what people have experienced

[Bhavna]

I wonder if binding two wax sticks together i.e. gold and silver or red, melting the ends at the same time and then swirling it on the suface being waxed to create a marbled effect before it is then pressed with one's chosen seal? Also using wax crystals in a melting spoon to create different coloured seals might work although this method has the probability of becoming too mixed to show individual colours. :hmm1:

[Pil]

That sounds like an interesting idea as well

[Daisy]

Pil, you ideas sound great! The only thing that springs to mind with the "seal-within-a-seal" idea is to take care not to make the second seal (the bit in the middle) too high, because they have to be fairly thin overall to survive mailing. You don't want to make a final combined seal that globs up so high it'll just get torn off. So if you make sure that the middle flat part of the first (outer) seal is at least flush -- or maybe a hair proud -- of the outer edge, that should do the trick and push the excess wax outward. Or so it seems to me without actually trying it. Hope all that made sense.

 

Anyway, I love it when people get creative and try new things! Good luck with your waxy experiments!

[dork]

I wonder if binding two wax sticks together i.e. gold and silver or red, melting the ends at the same time and then swirling it on the suface being waxed to create a marbled effect before it is then pressed with one's chosen seal?:hmm1:

Yes, this is possible. In fact, it's something I've done several times in the past

Here's a quick version I did just now with sapphire and jade colored wax. You can overlay the drops of wax to get a more random pattern then my "split-down-the-middle" look I have here.

http://i.imgur.com/YbhFo.png

[Vulcan1066]

When I do seals I frequently marble my waxes together; either by lighting two sticks atonce or by lighting one at a time and using the second to muddle the first.

I also take all of my old bits and pieces that are too small on their own and melt them into a multicolored stick.

[NeelsK]

I wonder if binding two wax sticks together i.e. gold and silver or red, melting the ends at the same time and then swirling it on the suface being waxed to create a marbled effect before it is then pressed with one's chosen seal? Also using wax crystals in a melting spoon to create different coloured seals might work although this method has the probability of becoming too mixed to show individual colours. :hmm1:

 

I have used this method very successfully with red/white wax (the melting spoon). It produces some amazing marbling. I will try to get some photos and post those by the weekend.

[Sowulo]

I know it is an old topic but I think author was asking about this kind of two tone wax seal impressions:

 

http://www.heraldic-arts.com/Artists/Street/Street_Plates_550.gif

http://s3.amazonaws.com/magnoliasoft.imageweb/nmm/supersize/e1916.jpg

Edited December 12, 2013 by Sowulo

[kiavonne]

Also known as sooting.