Letter Stamp Set with Rail

How to use it

Letters and numbers are a set of cutters or stamps for marking and decorating your work: lettering on mugs, dates, monograms, signs and hanging tags. A cutter cuts through the slab or scores its outline, a stamp presses the whole character face into the clay. Here is how to work with both.

1. 1

   Lay out the set

   Arrange the characters in alphabetical order before you start — hunting for a letter with clay on your hands ends with fingerprints all over the slab.

2. 2

   Prepare the slab

   Roll the clay to an even thickness: 3-4 mm for cut letters, 5-8 mm for a surface you will stamp into. Smooth the surface with a rib.

3. 3

   Set the clay moisture

   For stamping the clay should be slightly dried (leather-soft) — the impression is then crisp and does not smear. For cutting, freshly rolled clay works best.

4. 4

   Mark the baseline

   Lay a ruler against the slab or score a light guide line with a stick. Align the letters to that line and plan the spacing from the middle of the word outwards — the lettering will come out centred.

5. 5

   Stamping

   Hold the character upright and press straight down in one confident move, about 1-2 mm deep. Do not rock the stamp or the edges of the impression will blur. Put something soft, such as a piece of felt, under the slab.

6. 6

   Cutting

   Press the cutter all the way through, lift it with the clay inside and push the letter out from the back. Push narrow parts (tails, dots) gently, straight onto the board.

7. 7

   Finishing the characters

   Remove burrs with a damp brush or sponge. To emphasise an impression, rub underglaze into it after the bisque firing and wipe the excess off the surface.

8. 8

   Cleaning and storage

   Wash the characters in lukewarm water with a soft brush, dry them thoroughly and keep them in a box in order. Dried clay in the narrow slots of a letter is the hardest to remove.