rustyred

Thank you both for your responses. What I'm starting to realize is that it's okay to think outside of the "prefix" on the stamp. Many non-bevelers can bevel if you use them in that way... Practice with the tool is what matters. When I look closely at my checkered tools I see many variables that impact the final performance. I am interested to learn more about how these are made. When you look closely it seems like the vast differences in "checkering" could be due to different manufacturing processes. Pictures attached below. The two big variables seem to be between the "fineness" of the mesh and "deepness" that it is cut into the stamp. and it seems those two factors work against each other. It's hard to find a fine mesh with a deep cut grid. Example is the coated steel F901 from Japan. You have to hit it really hard and even then the pattern is barely noticeable. Running your finger over the stamp, it is almost smooth. I have an old no-prefix Craftool 900 that has some flat spots on the face. I don't know its history. Maybe it was accidentally bashed against the tooling stone? Or maybe just well used over time. It has what I would consider a medium-fine sized mesh. Then there's this stainless steel figure matter from ZhongZiang. It has a finer mesh pattern than the 900 and deeper cut mesh than the F901. Will it keep the mesh pattern without flattening over the years? Time will tell. I purchased a Craftool A98 at Tandy recently. But it's also not as small as I needed. I did find some similar stainless backgrounders from Sozo that are even smaller and slimmer. My conclusion is that the challenge is finding stamps with mesh "fineness" that matches the other stamps in your work AND cut deep enough to make a good impression AND are strong enough to keep making a good impression over years of stamping.

💸 well now it just stands for "sucker" because I'm buying it

Found an answer here:

I'd like to pose this question again. I have come across some with the S suffix and am interested to learn more.

I'd love to see inside...there are other metalworking shops in the area. I wonder if they plated them here, too. There's something about the CRAFTOOL CO no# chrome plating that seems to hold up so much better than the more recent versions.

I looked up the old Los Angeles business white pages from the 50's and 60's. This was the address of the old Craftool location. It's an industrial building, so I guess this was where they made the stamps? Then they moved to Texas. If you're interested in a property, it was for sale last I checked. I would be interested to hear from anyone who worked there or knows more about the history of stamp making in California.

I see that many of Al Stohlman's works on figure carving and pictorial carving show Craftool A98 or A99 being used to get into small corners that an A104 or matting stamp would not fit into. In Figure Carving Finesse, A98 is listed with pointed bevelers, as though it is the thin version of the checked pointed beveler F976. And the A99 is listed with the matting tools. But I haven't found any other writing by Stohlman to explain their correct usage. I know the A104-2 and even an A888-2 exists by some manufacturers to do detail work, also. How do you use these stamps? Should they be used for beveling and matting as the book suggests? What are the benefits of the finer mesh on these tools?

Boosting for visibility. Still have not found any.

Looking for a round/pattern knife. On his website I only see outdoor knives.

@bruce johnsonDo you happen to know if someone else bought the LCI Clear Lac formula and is making it? I see it for sale at a few online vendors but I don't know if they will be able to ship it to me. Seems like this was a highly regarded product and I would like to get some.

Just want to make sure I'm following -- the final mixture you're referring to was the 15-25% beeswax/flax oil? Thanks for the update. I hope your housing repairs get sorted and you're able to show the world those samples! It's really cool that you've kept them after all those years. Thank you.

@spectre6000 I am also curious about results. Please give an update if you're around. For science!