Getting The Best Impression With Mr John's Stamps

John and Anhoki have decided it is time to bring our custom soap stamp making to an end.  It has been an awesome ride but one we need to end.  Thank you to ALL of the (hundreds, if not thousands) of people who have chosen us for their custom projects.  We appreciate you and hope you have many many years of happy stamping with your Custom Anhoki & John Soap Stamp. 

XOXOXO

I know it's been a while since we had a post with new content and hopefully this will make everyone happy.  :~)

I get, literally, hundreds of emails asking how to get a good impression with Mr John's Stamps.  To be honest...I can't give you a blanket answer.  It has everything to do with the ~soap formula (all encompassing)
~weather conditions inside the "studio" (yes, really)
~amount of pressure applied to the stamp
~is the soap still too soft or is it rock hard

As anyone can see there are countless variables.  Here's what I like to do.

Make soap on  a Friday night.  I CPOP MOST of my soap so it is ready to cut the next morning.  LOVE this method of soaping. :~)))

Cut soap the next day.  It might be soon after my feet hit the floor but NOT before the coffee is brewing and it might be later that evening. 

Because of the way my molds are made I always have a 1/2 inch thick sliver of soap I can use as a tester.  I make sure my stamp is well lubricated.  I talk about this in  
this blog post.
I test the firmness of the sliver and then prep my stamp for the impression.  SOMETIMES the soap is still too soft for the impression to take properly and we do have pull out.  It HAPPENS.  You'll just need to learn your soap formula in different weather conditions and either make mental or actual notes for next time.

I've had people ask about salt bars.  I've had actual arguments where people tell me I'm a crackhead and salt bars can't be stamped.  While I CAN agree with the crackhead part....the other.....Well...here's proof that it CAN be done.

Both of the above bars ARE in fact salt bars and both were stamped within 24 hours of being removed from the oven.  :~)

I have been asked about Castile soap.  I don't make it so this is only my opinion.  I would strongly advice anyone who is using our stamps for Castile to use the above checklist.  Make sure the soap is not too soft, the weather is "normal" for your environment, check the pressure used when you make the impression....and always check the formula. 

People have asked about melt and pour soaps and our stamps.  We do not use M&P soap but I do know of people who have purchased our stamps specifically for this type of soap.

Hot process, cold process, CPOP soap... our stamps work with these methods very well.


I can stamp MOST of my soapies without issue.  However... there are some soaps that I simply can not stamp.

My Irish Ale soap....

It is a beer bar.  It is made with the same formula as

Colin

I can not stamp Irish Ale to save my life.  Each and EVERY time I make an attempt....this happens.

I wish I had an answer.  I don't. :~(  It could very well be the fragrance blend I use for this bar.  I know it's not the soap formula itself because it is the same one I use for all of my beer bars except Dude 2dot0 which has added cocoa butter.  There are other soapies I have not been able to stamp.  The soap formula is the same, water discount is the same.  The only difference is the scent blend.   

What do WE do to get the best impression in our soapies???  READ and learn. :~)

Aside from knowing our recipe well and when it is good to stamp the bar we also have these VERY sophisticated tools .  These are only for the hardcore soapers. :~)

As in previous posts we ALWAYS have a cuppa Joe.  We also have a mallet (which can be found at your local home improvement store) , a can of cooking spray, a brush, a wood block (we're not kewl enough for blocked stamps), a basket to house our unblocked stampies, a bar of soap (well, duh!), a paper towel.  We always have a paper towel underneath our soapie bar when we make an impression.  Why?  Because we like to.  No other reason than that. :~)

We make sure the soap bar is clean and free of any soapie pieces and has a nice and clean surface.  You CAN stamp textured and "bumpy" soap bars but the impression will also be bumpy.

Place the cleaned soapie on the paper towel like this.  Center, or whatever, the stamp on the face of the soap bar. Your stamp will be blocked so you won't have to work around a block like we do.  Take the mallet and stamp the soap bar.  A good, clean impression looks like this

Or

OR

Or

Or

We have several soap formula/recipes that we use.  For every soap formula there could be a zillion different fragrance combinations used.  An all fragrance oil soap recipe could stamp perfectly while an all essential oil soap recipe could fail miserably.  A combination of the two might work....depending on what oils you used in the blend.  Like Rum DMC says....It's Tricky.

The best advice I can offer is to test test test.  Make notes and pay attention to what your sap bar is telling you.  If the bar is too soft the stamp will not work properly.  If the soap is too hard....same thing.  Whatever you do always REMEMBER to have fun with it.  That's the most important piece of advice. 

If you want to see some of the soap stamps we've done in the past  

feel free to look here.

If you do not see your stamp featured in our Flickr folder and would like it to be.....send me an email to info@soaptattoos.com

Once we have mailed the soap stamp to you it is our right to add the image to our Flickr folder so future customers can see our work.  

Did you forget????  Here's where you can learn about getting your own custom soap stamp made by Mr. John.  
Pretty pretty please read the entire blog post before asking questions about soap stamps.  We can't provide a quote until we have all requirements met.  

♥

Anhoki