Wax seal stamps are one of those stationery trends that fall so far outside of my experience/comfort zone that it took me a while to consider how I might work them into my rotation. Well, actually, it took one of my sponsors, Karl from Kustom Haus, sending me a full set of stamps and supplies to get me to even consider giving this a try. Now that I’ve done it, what do I think? It’s fun. A LOT of fun, and it has the potential to add a new level of awesome to your written correspondence and packaged gifts. While it remains to be seen how often I’ll actually have the occasion to seal things with my personalized insignia, I have been making an effort to write more letters. If you’d like one, you can write me at my address below, and if Father Kyle would be kind enough to send me his new coordinates, I promise I’ll get around to responding to the letter he wrote me in February. (To be fair, it took him around 6 months to respond to me, so we should be cool, especially once he gets a letter sealed with a classy wax stamp.)
Kustom Haus provided me with two stamps: one with my customized blog logo (which is, of course, my favorite), and another with a moustache symbol, which is a standard design.
I’ve decided to let the pictures “do the talking” in this post. Wax-seal stamping is such a visual and tactile process that there’s really no point trying to accurately describe it (other than it makes you feel like a total badass). Many thanks to Karl at Kustom Haus in Melbourne, Australia for sending over this set. Each stamp comes with a turned wooden handle, and you can also purchase kits that include a cloth storage bag, a candle, and a melting spoon. Please check out what Kustom Haus has to offer - I owe them a solid for introducing me to a side of the stationery community I probably wouldn’t have explored if left to my own, less adventurous devices.
Thumbs-up to Kustom Haus for their packaging!
Kustom Haus's sealing wax kits are well assembled and presented.
The turned wooden handles of my stamps are beautiful.
Karl sent me flexible wax sticks, which also fit in a standard glue gun if you don't feel like heating your wax in a spoon over a candle. I've not tried the glue gun method.
The wax melts relatively quickly (around a minute or two). If you don't want to use the candle or the glue gun, Kustom Haus also sells traditional wax sticks with wicks, though that wax is said to be more brittle and may not last very long in the mail.
First attempt: I didn't use enough wax.
Better!
Eventually I got the hang of it. Some wax seals turned out better than others.
As I mentioned above, if you write me a letter, I'll do my best to respond (with one of my new wax stamps)! You can send snail mail to: The Gentleman Stationer, P.O. Box 681294, Franklin, Tennessee 37068. As always, thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: The product featured in this review was sent to me free of charge for review purposes.