Show us your wax seals

[Adamtrons]

I received a reply from customwaxnseals.net regarding the 3D laser engraved seal. The quote is below:

 

"Hi Adam

As of yes we are still working on the samples, but not every design is suitable for this process so it would depend on your artwork. 3d is a longer engraving process, and also has to be generated in a 3d programme so is as lot more expensive.

Do you have a design in mind ?

Kind Regards

Jackie

www.customwaxnseals.net"

 

So it appears this technology is still in the experimental stage, is very expensive and there are no samples available. So I personally will wait on this. I also agree with kiavonne that it will never take the place of a hand engraved piece. The depth, the curves, the texture and fine details are so amazing when sculpted by a master engraver. Maybe in the future they will be able to scan master engraved seals and reproduce them or “print” them like they are starting to do with figures and other things. That would be exciting. 2D pieces still have their place though, as they are more affordable and are good for simple text, symbols, logos, etc. I’m currently trying to save money to order a phoenix rising from the flames from Dexter, which I’ve been dreaming about for months!

[Adamtrons]

Well, I'm having a devil of a time being able to navigate and post and upload photos anymore.

 

I'll give this a last try, and see if it will work.

 

I received my last two Dexter Seals, the last two in a series I began a few years ago. Hopefully I can post these photos for you. My camera "skills" have declined, so please forgive the photo quality. The seals are still breathtaking and expertly made. I will always go to Dexter if I have engraving needs for seals, rings, or anything else. They are the best.

 

Starting with the artwork for approval (note, both seals were engraved with traditional seal engraving for use as wax seals):

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Wax%20Seals/Dexter%20Seals/griffinrevise_zpsdb20129b.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Wax%20Seals/Dexter%20Seals/wingedunicorn_zpse1cd6035.jpg

 

 

The packaging (received in just two days from the UK!) and presentation

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Wax%20Seals/Dexter%20Seals/griffinandwingedunicorn04_zpsc78cf2c6.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Wax%20Seals/Dexter%20Seals/griffinandwingedunicorn05_zpsb37b3e04.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Wax%20Seals/Dexter%20Seals/griffinandwingedunicorn06_zpsef647538.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Wax%20Seals/Dexter%20Seals/griffinandwingedunicorn07_zps885ef48e.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Wax%20Seals/Dexter%20Seals/griffinandwingedunicorn09_zps9009c05b.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Wax%20Seals/Dexter%20Seals/griffinandwingedunicorn08_zpsf1b94b3c.jpg

 

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j111/kiavonne/Wax%20Seals/Dexter%20Seals/griffinandwingedunicorn10_zpsfdf98eab.jpg

 

 

kiavonne,

 

These are beautiful seals! I've been meaning to ask you what the pole in the middle of the beast represents? Is it meant to be a regal carrousel or merry-go-round animal? Perhaps it is a traditional decoration of some sort? I just started learning about heraldry recently and I try to understand the symbolism found in the details. Also, I'm curious what size seals those are? Did you get the 1" or 1.5" (38mm)?

 

-Adam

[kiavonne]

The pole is indeed meant to represent the carousel. Many years ago (1984), I began writing an epic poem about a mystical carousel which held creatures of myth instead of horses, and they would come alive to take their riders on fantastical journeys. Each of the creatures meant something to me personally. It was meant as a children's story. However, at 30 verses and not yet complete, there was an event which stopped all my writing at the time, and the poem went unfinished. Untitled then, today I call it the Unfinished Carousel.

 

The seals are all 25mm.

[raging.dragon]

A lot of companies are using 2D laser engraving of seals, some seem to be experimenting with 3D. I don't care how detailed 3D metal printing may become in the future, it will never take the place of hand engraving through generations of experience in my eyes. I might get one if the price is right, but my Dexter seals are my joy and they are the ones I use most of all my seals.

 

Part of the appeal of a hand made item is that it's hand made. By definition, no automated process will ever be able to reproduce that.

 

The appeal of 3D printing is price. Eventually it should be about the same price 2D laser egraving is today.

[Adamtrons]

Here are some photos of a Renaissance Fair invitation I printed on parchment paper and then signed with a royal crown seal, using gold wax. I used matching parchment paper envelopes which I sealed with a 2” large coat of arms seal. I hand delivered some of them and it was fun to see people’s reactions. I also sent some through the post office and the postal worker behind the counter smiled when he saw them. My favorite wax seal project so far.

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/35mi62h.jpg

 

http://i57.tinypic.com/14bp83t.jpg

 

http://i62.tinypic.com/246ucrk.jpg

[kiavonne]

Very cool invitations!

[Adamtrons]

Thank you Kiavonne! I had great fun doing them.

[LeonW]

My personal seal, "African Fish Eagle" made 10 years ago.

 

Thanks to FPN for rekindling my interest in FPens and Calligraphy. I am aware of the dangers of this particular slippery slope.

 

[coffeetoofull]

I used the bookplate of Sir Henry Rider Haggard, which was created by Haggard in the 1890s, and/also the seal on the sherd of Amenartas in his novel SHE to create an Egyptian hieroglyphic wax stamp for myself. The translation of the hieroglyph on my wax seal is 'The Royal Son Of The Sun', whose meaning is further reflected throughout Haggard's works. You can view the actual Scarab in ‘She’, which was presented to Rider Haggard in Egypt, and the completion of my seal on The Rider Haggard Society (see links & articles) site in England.

Best Writings To You, coffeetoofull

 

Edited June 20, 2014 by coffeetoofull

[Cepasaccus]

Doing at the moment a seal for the girl friend of a friend. It will be a cat's paw's impression(!) in a circle. This is the paw's impression so far.

[Adamtrons]

Coffeetoofull: That is a beautiful Egyptian hieroglyphic wax stamp!

I'd like to ask everyone, where do you store your wax seal stamps? I currently keep mine in a shoe box and want to upgrade to something more elegant but I'm having a very hard time finding anything. I have about 6 wax stamps that are almost 4 inches tall. Most wood jewelry or keepsake boxes I find are ridiculously small with 2 X 5" interiors. Even if I layed the stamps horizontal, there would not be enough room, especially with the wax sticks. Just wondering what other people do?

[stonezebra]

Perhaps a wooden cigar box? Some of them are quite tall.

[Adamtrons]

Perhaps a wooden cigar box? Some of them are quite tall.

.

Stonezebra! That was an outstanding suggestion and I am very grateful!! It did not occur to me to look at cigar boxes or humidors. They are much larger, made with beautiful wood, glossy and seal tight. I may need to remove the humidifying device inside because I’m not sure what effect that would have on the seals. I have my eye on the beauty below:

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/j6k0ig.jpg

[sharonspens]

Goodness. I am a late-comer to the wonders of wax seals, having received my first one a few months ago as a gift from a student. A few weeks ago I learned how to use it properly, and with the correct (flexible) wax for mailing. Now, each time I glance at this thread and see what you all have I get a yearning for just one more seal. Haven't given in - yet, but that is how my pen collection grew so I smell trouble ahead.

 

HAHAHAHA

 

Sharon in Indiana

[Kosmic-kowgirl]

My storage is a little glass curio cabinet for the seals, wax bead jars and collectibles/ acessories. Then they stay dust-free and on display http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Exao1MZqzo0/U7GxzatHG6I/AAAAAAAAA-M/o-E12vtbw0A/s1600/0630141323.jpg

[coffeetoofull]

Stonezebra: I suggest something, which is well made and portable, to protect your seals. Saddleback Leather offers a travel case , Renaissance-Art offers a recession bag , Best Craft Organizer offers cubes, and the Container Store offers Bisely . Another idea is to find an antique item to restore, or commission a wood box with an unusual locking mechanism from a craftsman in woods. There are quite a few on the internet. Also, you might wish to view 'Pen Storage Solution' FPN, Collector Mentality

Best Writings To You, coffeetoofull

Edited June 30, 2014 by coffeetoofull

[NobleDel]

Coffeetoofull: That is a beautiful Egyptian hieroglyphic wax stamp!

 

I'd like to ask everyone, where do you store your wax seal stamps? I currently keep mine in a shoe box and want to upgrade to something more elegant but I'm having a very hard time finding anything. I have about 6 wax stamps that are almost 4 inches tall. Most wood jewelry or keepsake boxes I find are ridiculously small with 2 X 5" interiors. Even if I layed the stamps horizontal, there would not be enough room, especially with the wax sticks. Just wondering what other people do?

 

If you don't mind a rustic, utilitarian look, you can check out six bottle wine crates on ebay. I have two wine crates that I keep my wax, seals and small propane torch in. The crates that stack the bottles in two rows of three are more convenient than the crates that have six bottles all on one level. Something like this:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-LAPOSTOLLE-CLOS-APALTA-WINE-BOX-CRATE-CASE-PANEL-COMPLETE-ART-BAR-PUB/221478379479?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131231084308%26meid%3D8015192538810211003%26pid%3D100010%26prg%3D20131231084308%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D281372144183

 

or this:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SALVATORE-MOLETTIERI-MONTEMARANO-ITALY-TAURASI-RESERVE-WINE-BOX-CRATE-COMPLETE-/351107010514?pt=Bar_Tools_Accessories&hash=item51bf9bcfd2

Edited July 1, 2014 by NobleDel

[stonezebra]

Stonezebra: I suggest something, which is well made and portable, to protect your seals. Saddleback Leather offers a travel case , Renaissance-Art offers a recession bag , Best Craft Organizer offers cubes, and the Container Store offers Bisely . Another idea is to find an antique item to restore, or commission a wood box with an unusual locking mechanism from a craftsman in woods. There are quite a few on the internet. Also, you might wish to view 'Pen Storage Solution' FPN, Collector Mentality

Best Writings To You, coffeetoofull

 

Thank you for your suggestions but I'm not the one looking for a case for my wax seals. I was responding to Adamtrons dilemma.

Edited July 1, 2014 by stonezebra

[DesignStation]

I received a reply from customwaxnseals.net regarding the 3D laser engraved seal. The quote is below:

 

"Hi Adam

 

As of yes we are still working on the samples, but not every design is suitable for this process so it would depend on your artwork. 3d is a longer engraving process, and also has to be generated in a 3d programme so is as lot more expensive.

 

Do you have a design in mind ?

 

Kind Regards

 

Jackie

 

www.customwaxnseals.net"

 

So it appears this technology is still in the experimental stage, is very expensive and there are no samples available. So I personally will wait on this. I also agree with kiavonne that it will never take the place of a hand engraved piece. The depth, the curves, the texture and fine details are so amazing when sculpted by a master engraver. Maybe in the future they will be able to scan master engraved seals and reproduce them or “print” them like they are starting to do with figures and other things. That would be exciting. 2D pieces still have their place though, as they are more affordable and are good for simple text, symbols, logos, etc. I’m currently trying to save money to order a phoenix rising from the flames from Dexter, which I’ve been dreaming about for months!

Hi Everyone

This is Jackie ( from CustomWaxNSeals in the UK) just to shed a bit of light on the subject, the Richard III stamp - which was indeed engraved in 2D Laser engraving. This is a design that I drew by hand and converted into a suitable graphic for engraving, the actual engraving time for this stamp on a 50mm stamp is 4 hours on the laser (we have a high end Sisma laser from Italy). The different depths that you see in the final impression are due to the way our laser cuts the mental, the laser beam cuts at an angle and can result in the look of 3d engraving, if the lines are too thin, the laser will not go deep enough, hence the reason we have to reject some artwork, as from experience we know that the finished product would not be good enough and the customer would not be happy. We also test every stamp we engrave to ensure it is fit for the job it is intended - if the result is not good enough we happily offer to adjust the artwork and re-engrave or refund on the order.

As for 3d - whilst we do have the capacity to engrave in 3D - engraving a 25mm stamp in 3D can take 5 hours - so you can imagine how long a 50mm would take - presently the work involved in setting up the artwork in ArtCam (can take a whole days work with some designs) plus engraving - it doesn't make this process cost effective at the present time. We will be offering the 3d option on signet rings at some point in the future when we have had to time to experiment with the engraving., (There are just the two of us here and we are both working flat out - so I guess we must be doing some thing right

Whilst we would love to be able to offer our stamps in 3d, we feel it is just not cost effective -5 hours on the laser as opposed to the normal 20-40 minutes is not really cost effective for a wax seal stamp. We hope with the onset of 3d printing we can put our capabilities to create artwork in 3d to some use in the area of creating 3D wax seals - watch this space

Jackie and John

Custom Wax N Seals in the UK

[Adamtrons]

Hi Jackie!

Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed response. The Richard III stamp is a very handsome design. I had no idea the engraving time would be 4 hours. I suppose I am used to seeing the “Hollywood” (film) version of a laser that cuts through something in seconds and it’s interesting to learn that the reality is very different. You have some beautiful designs at your site. I really like the Jasper Tudor dragon seal you created for The White Queen Production. Please keep up the good work! I did want to ask if you are still producing the Harry Potter wax seals that you posted in your blog, a while back? I could not find them at your site or at The Harry Potter Shop. I emailed Platform 9 ¾ and got not reply. So I’m just wondering if you are still producing these items…

 

http://i61.tinypic.com/297uq1.png