Signing marbles
 

I have been working on marbles a bit and now I need to learn how to sign them. I have a titanium pen but I'm not sure if I am using it correctly. I wet the pen and the marble and write but the result is so light and faint, I'm not sure I am doing it right. Should I push hard enough to hear it scratching?? Any tips?? I have never been able to write small. Could I develop a one letter sig - like an S with a spiral - would that be acceptable in marble circles??

Sandy

I just got a TI pen and was wondering the same thing...bump...

You do need to push.. You will hear a scraping noise which is not scratching the glass, but putting a layer of titanium on the glass.
There is a artist who has an S with a swirl on the tail of the S. Josh Simpson signs his smaller marbles with just an S...
Use a scrap piece of glass or a marble that didn't come out to practice on. The more you do it, the smaller you will be able to write. Just like doing glass.. Practice, Practice,Practice..
I tried to to come up with a signiture that was made up of straight lines to make it easier to write ( MMM ) But then the date changed to 08 and I have to do circles anyway which I find harder... :???:
It will come to you...Good luck..
Joe

Thanks, Joe - just what I needed to know!

Sandy

If you take some coarse sand paper and round off the tip of the pen just a little, it will leave a wider line on the glass and be easier to read.

Thanks, Cosmo - will definitely do that as it is too faint now.

Sandy

Mike Warren just signed a marble for me at GAS and as I recall, he just wet the marble not the titanium pen.. It looks great plus the marble is beautiful and so are his new sea shells

It does take practice... you want to wet the glass not the pen (embarrassing to admit that I know this... but a little bit of spit work even better than water :P ) and use firm pressure.
-Kirsten

Mommy spit is the ultimate. Elixir of all things. :-)

He he, isn't that the truth :grin:

why not make yourself some signature murrine?

Yes, that is what I like about the titanium! It is very subtle so it doesn't take away from the design of your bead or marble. But I guess I also might be a little partial since I made my own titanium pens and I sell them :P tee hee
-Kirsten

I have found that some collectors don't want it signed, some want it signed with a ti-pen, and some don't want a signature chip in the design.

I tried the sanded down ti pen tip and the spit. It worked! Still kind of faint and wobbly - but I guess practice will help with that - thanks!

Sandy

The larger the marble the easier it is. I hate signing anything under 1".