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WHAT THIS CATEGORY IS ABOUT

Since you are about to browse a huge selection of different Chinese seal stones we should start by briefly explaining the different types of Chinese seal stones you are about to find in this category.

There are naturally shaped seal stones which are normally smooth with a good feel to them when holding these seal stones in your hand such as the case for most brushes of the Balin Pleasure category which are sometimes also referred to as Chinese Soapstone. To get these stones ready for carving only one part of the stone is cut off to have a flat surface to apply the carving to.

Others such as the Rose Quartz seal stones are much smaller with a smaller base allowing only to carve one or very small symbols into it. Due to them being so small and often coming with a little loop to attach them to your key chain or pocket. Because of their size as well as the special characteristics attributed to quartz crystals (such as rose quartz which is considered to attract love and improve self-esteem) seals made of this stone or crystal also often have talisman character in Chinese culture and are seas often worn and carried as good-luck charms and to ward off evil spirits and energies.

Then there are stones which have an upper part which is hand carved into a mostly mythological symbol, an animal or a traditional Chinese decorative pattern. The most beautiful but also most expensive seal stones in this category are the ones with a relief carving on top which is very difficult to achieve and takes many years of carving experience. Such seals were historically reserved to people of high social, military or administrative status such as government officials, military leaders, aristocrats or wealthy merchants.

Most of the more complicated or rare seal stones come with a nice little gift pouch and/or a brocaded gift box to offer them as a present or just to store them. Also, you have the option to order your stone together with a nice hand carved wooden seal stand to decoratively display it on your study.

 

To make it easier for you to choose which kind of stone is suitable for you to create your own and unique Chinese seal, we indicate for each stone not only the material it is made of which often denominates the region in China as well where the stone is originally broken, but also its overall dimensions as well as the dimensions of the seal base which is important to know so you can assess together with our help and suggestions if your desired carving can fit. Another important element is the shape of the base since not each carving can be applied on every shape - for more natural or organic carving patterns such as animals, symbols or mythological creatures a organic base shape of your Chinese seal stone should be fine, if your seal should have a more official look and feel to it or if it is mainly used for Chinese characters, we recommend to chose a stone with either a round or square base to carve your seal stone.

Once you added a stone to the chop generator you have one of the four options - you can opt for name carving, allowing you to either have your Chinese, English or both names carved together. Alternatively you could create your own Chinese seal with your Western or Chinese Zodiac. The third option is to choose from a wide range of Chinese symbols which mostly have some traditional or mythological sometimes Buddhist religion inspired meaning. And finally there is the option to create a seal with your an artwork designed by yourself and upload it for us to carve it into your seal.

Often people use our Chop Generator and carving services to have us custom-carve chop stamps related to different forms of East-Asian Martial arts. Many dojos and wushu training centers use hand carved signature chop stamps for various purposes related to martial arts. There are the personal chops of the instructor to sign on a student's training certification - the most famous ones being the Dragon Master Stamp which comes with two twining dragons carved above his name, or the Grand Master Stamp uniquely used by experience shifus and instructors. Then there are two bigger martial arts chops which belong to the school, dojo or training center. These are the Martial Arts Security Stamp and the Martial Arts Certificate Stamp. The latter one authorizes certifications granted to students by signing them with the unique chop of the school which has the same significance as a signature in East Asian martial arts. Martial art dojos which use such chop stamps mainly instruct forms such as Wing Chun, Kung Fu, Wu Shu, Taekwondo, Aikido, Jeet Kune Do, Kenpo, Tai Chi Chuan or Karate.

Since the amount of characters needed for a Security Chop or a Certificat Chop are normally quite a lot and do not fit normally sized signature stones, we often get requests to suggest bigger seal stones. Also, for decorative purposes, our carving master can hand-carve the side walls of bigger stones according to your needs. For this reason, whenever you have a special requst for your Martial Arts Stamp, please contact us directly. We know how important such a signature stamp is and we are happy to provide you with suggestions in terms of the most suitable carving or with pictures of bigger and more rare stones which often feature 3D carvings of auspicius mythological animals such as dragons, lions or phoenixes on their top.