touche marks

[Jacob s]

how long do you think someone should wait before signing their work whith their own ensignia/symbol ?

Edited September 7, 2008 by Drenched_in_flame

[hammerkid]

Well I would say once you KNOW you giot the smithing Bug LOL. And satrting selling your items. My .2 cents

[Glenn]

Soon as it meets your approval, or about the time it takes to find your touchmark.

If you are proud enough of the work to put your name on it, then do so. If it is NOT worthy of your name, then make another one that is worthy.

[CurlyGeorge]

I agree with Glenn. As soon as it meets your approval. There was a statement made by a master smith in the book Revolutionary Blacksmith. He said "If it's not good enough to sign, it's not good enough to sell". Makes pretty good sense. My touch mark is pretty simple. CG

[rthibeau]

if you are proud enough of your work to sell it....you should mark it as yours.

[Sam Falzone]

In my opinion, if you're at the pont of thinking about a maker's mark then it's time to get one. I hope you do get make yourself one because the experience can be very inspiring. Even if you think your craft isn't good enough for a maker's mark yet, having one can really inspire you to get better.

I was lucky to find a custom stamp maker near where I live. I contacted their rep, emailed him a jpeg of my mark and it was ready in 2 weeks. There was an initial $75.00 set up charge and then each stamp was $25.00 - I got 2 in different sizes and lengths. However, now that they have my mark on file, anytime I need to get another stamp made I don't have to pay the set-up charges and each stamp will only cost around $25.00 (price has probably gone up a bit).

It's really hard to decribe the feeling I got when I first picked up MY maker's mark. I couldn't put them down for the rest of that night. The first thing I did was contact everyone I had ever given my craftings to and asked the if they minded I put my mark on the thing I gave them. Practically every single person actually insisted I put my mark on. It made me feel really good.
Here are some pictures of my mark.

Good luck with yours.
Aeneas

[rthibeau]

Aeneas...do you have a link to the company you got your stamp from?

[MRobb]

I'd like that link too. I've been thinking about a touchmark for myself.

[racer3j]

Or a PM,Please. Links are tightening up- Glenn and I casually talked about it late last night. He wants to avoid direct links to business websites-Since he is the man, I plan to abide- it is a privilege to belong here and he invests $$ and real energy, so I don't think we should be offended.J. E., Mike Tobey, aka racer3j,aka Just Ole' Mike, aka Just Ole' Lefty, aka Big A_ _ Forge, home of the SkilletForge, {tm}- at this point meant as an ironic bit of humor.

[Finnr]

I could sure use that information as well.
Finnr

[John Martin]

Me three. Lol.

[Doug C]

Add me to the list

[Glenn]

Links are tightening up- Glenn and I casually talked about it late last night. He wants to avoid direct links to business websites

IForgeIron does not accept advertisements, which keeps the site independent of influence, clean, and easy for the viewers to read. We do not mind a link to information as that is what the site is about, sharing information. What is at issue is a link to a SALES ONLY site which drives traffic and sales to that site with no return, not even a thank you, back to IForgeIron. Many times that site DOES NOT or WILL NOT provide a link on their site to IForgeIron, so it is a one way street, their way.

Aeneas, please post the link.

[triw]

I am also interested

[racer3j]

I have just requested(email late last night) a quote from "infinity stamp." When this topic was discussed last time, I spoke with a rep by phone. They know what a smith needs for punching steel in heat ranges. Just Ole' Mike

[rthibeau]

Most of the companies I have contacted about stamps charge a setup or artwork fee if they have to convert a photo or drawing to a vector graphic, which is what I suspect the $75 was above. A vector graphic is simply a digital representation of the photo, usually as an outline type image, that can be scaled up or down without any distortion of the image. That is what the stamp maker needs to size the image properly. Adobe Illustrator is the common software to make this conversion, but it's not cheap nor easy to learn, so most people would pay the fee. If anyone here looking to buy a stamp finds that is the case, they can email me the .jpg of the image and I can produce the vector graphic to email back..........would save you a chunk of money.

[racer3j]

Thank you from one who is truly computer challenged. My mark quote request to infinity is based on their clip art. The state of Iowa border outline with NTT in their "unicorn " font. I suggested an image size of 3/8" by 1/2"- Iowa is kind of a rectangle. My little company is "New Traditions Tool & Finish." Lefty

[Avadon]

That goes for me as well.. i'd like that info.

[Sam Falzone]

Greetings all,
I've contacted the company to get a copy of my invoice so I can double check how much I paid (I can't find my original).

The company is called Embree Industries (google it) and you want to go to the MARKINGS page.
Remember though, this is in Hamilton Ontario, Canada. Shipping will have to be considered. ALSO, this was several years ago (3-4) so prices have likely changed. But their service and quality were great.

I'll pass on information when I get my invoice.

Aeneas

[racer3j]

The quote from Infinity is $140. About 1/2" "square" Iowa border outline with "inside" the border. Maybe those fellows who have bought a touchmark punch can comment. I assume that there is a setup charge in there, but maybe not since it is all their clipart. Just Ole' Lefty

[Sam Falzone]

Around 3-4 years ago I paid about that price ($137.00 or so as far as I can remember) for 2 stamp sizes and 2 different lengths (one 3/8" at 5" long and one 1/2" at 8" long). And the price included the set-up charge since this was a custom image.

I remember inquiring to some American stamp companies during my search, and if you were quoted $140.00, that is a great price because one company quoted me $400.00 for 1 stamp, not including set-up. Several other companies gave me prices in the similar ball-park. I stumbled upon the company I ended up using entirely by accident and I couldn't believe the price. It was a very pleasant shock, but not nearly as pleasant as when my dear wife said she really wanted me to get my mark (even though we were on a TIGHT budget at the time). I am very blessed.
Aeneas

[rthibeau]

I submitted a Request for Quote to Embree Industries for a 5/16 inch size logo stamp of my Frog 'n Anvil mark. Will post the response when I get it.

[BlackCrowMetalsmith]

I just called Embree and asked about providing my own vector graphic. The woman I spoke to told me that the main setup cost for them is making the template for the engraver, so it wouldn't be any cheaper. Thanks for the offer though Richard.

[Sam Falzone]

Hi guys,
I finally got my invoice copy from Embree.
I was way off - my memory just stinks sometimes. I got some things right but others WAY wrong.
The set-up cost was around $75.00 - that I got right and it is a one time cost.
The punches however were actually more expensive than I remember - I guess my excitement painted a rosier picture that it was, but the REAL cost was still pretty good as well.
-the 8mm stamp cost $67.50 and the 15mm stamp cost $74.75 ... and for any future stamps in these sizes I would only pay these charges NOT another setup charge.

So my total cost (after taxes) was $249.84 - BUT - remember that this is in Canadian funds and this was back on 2004 when the Canadian dollar was much lower than it is now. AND I was hearing that price for 2 stamps after being quoted $400.00 for one stamp by another company (...THAT price I remember).

SO ... I'm sorry if this lets some people down, but I still think the price was pretty good for 2 stamps (for back in 2004).

Sam
I know others have asked for quotes from Embree, does anyone have an update on what Embree's charging now?

[racer3j]

Because I was only using their(infinitystamps) clip art, there was no set-up fee. But every stamp would have been the $140.mt