How to polish stone stamp material [Stone stamp material 5]
Here, I will introduce how to polish the stones of myself (Teramachi store owner "Ryuzen").
This is just my way of polishing, so it's not absolute. Therefore, we would appreciate it if you could take a look at it for reference and use it as a material that you can devise yourself.
(1) Stone polishing is the first important thing in carving. This is the work of flattening the stamp surface (carving surface) before marking the stamp material. It may be difficult to see in the photo, but the left is the Qingtian stone before polishing, and the right is the Qingtian stone after polishing. As shown in the photo on the right, it is easy to handle not only the stamp surface but also the upper part with a rounded shape.
(2) First of all, wax is often applied to the stone to protect the stamp material, so scrape off the wax with something that does not damage the stone, such as a stick or a board. When engraving, it is still better to remove the wax from the stamp surface and then rub it with paper.
③ After removing the wax cleanly, polish it with water resistant paper. Please prepare waterproof papers 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 (← you do not have to use this far). Cut into small pieces according to the size of the stone and fold it in half for use.
④ Prepare water and soak a small amount of water on the paper. The reason for soaking in water is to bond the paper to the surface to be scraped. You can see the difference by comparing the case with and without water.
⑤ Polish the stamp surface in order from No. 400 to No. 1200. If you skip the gap, the final finish will change, so please do not skip it. Let's polish all four directions evenly. If you count the number and cut the same number in four directions, you can cut relatively evenly. It is more difficult than you think to polish a straight flat surface. The trick is to "do not use force" and to "hold the lower part of the stamp material" as much as possible.
⑥ After the stamp surface has been scraped to some extent, then polish the corners of the head (top) of the stamp material to make it round. At this time, be careful not to accidentally round the stamp surface (bottom).
⑦ When changing the number of waterproof paper, be sure to wash the stone once and then polish it. If you can polish from 400 to 1000 in order (if you work hard, try polishing to 1200, he may not change much). After draining and drying, polish with an abrasive (metal polish). The photo shows the German-made abrasive Amor. Abrasives and water resistant paper are available at hardware stores and cutlery stores. Unfortunately, we do not sell it at our shop.
⑧ Apply a small amount of abrasive to a rag and polish. Don't put too much on it. When it becomes shiny, it is completed. It's good or bad to shine too much, so if you use an abrasive, you don't need 1200. Cheap stones should now be pretty good.
However, although I have experienced it many times, there are many stones that do not become beautiful even if they are polished. In rare cases, removing wax may result in poor quality. These stones are often difficult to carve, if not all. .. ..
This ease of carving tends to be due to stones as a whole, but it cannot be determined (cannot be determined) without actually carving or polishing it. However, for that reason, I am impressed when I come across a good stone (a stone that is easy for me to carve).