I'm fairly new to metal stamping and still learning, mostly by trial and error. I've found that letters are pretty easy for me but designs on the other hand take some serious practice. After receiving some great design stamps, I started hammering away with terrible results. When I struck the stamp, the steel hammer I was using would bounce like crazy. The tag would go flying across the room. After chasing them down, I saw that most of the stamps weren't showing up and the ones that did were awful.
I started researching my particular problem. I found out that achieving a proper dead blow is essential to stamping designs. I was clearly using the wrong type of hammer for these stamps. I ordered a 1 pound brass mallet immediately. Here's the one I ordered: Beaducation: 1 lb Brass Head Mallet [HAM1]
I noticed a significant difference right away. After a few practice strikes, the designs were coming out much better. Now, I'm busy practicing a confident, straight on swing. I've mastered 3 of the 4 designs now.
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