Mahl Sticks (general signmaking)

[Mike Jackson]

OLD FORUM POSTS:

Mahl Sticks: Posted by Mike Jackson on November 28, 2001

Luckily for me, I learned to hand letter watching someone who used a Mahl stick. Being left handed, it helped keep my pinky out of the wet paint (though I know there has to be a bunch of left handers out there that don't use one).

I used to use a 1/2" diameter dowel rod with a small rubber ball on it. The dowel rod was 36" long. For the sign kit, we splurged and bought one of the three piece aluminum ones made by Grifhold. We put a rubber ball on it, too. Recently, we bought a nice graphite one from Don King while out in Oregon at a meeting. Seems like we replaced the ball on it. The thing is nice and "slick". Steven Parrish, the old gold leaf master from Nebraska, had a huge Mahl stick made out of an old wooden golf club. It was tapered and had a large cork ball.

What's for favorite? Most sentimental? Best story?

Mike Jackson / co-moderator

Posted by Mike Jackson on November 28, 2001

Back in college, we used an actual walking cane as a Mahl stick...the kind that looked like a candy cane with the full hook on the end. When doing an oil painting, you could hook it over the top of the canvas and use it basically the same as a sign painter's mahl stick. When not in use, you could just let go of the end and let it hang without fear of it touching the painting. The round part of the hook created a triangle shaped space, providing the cane was longer than the height of the canvas.

Mike Jackson

Posted by Carol on December 04, 2001

I've seen mahl sticks made out of one leg of a tripod. Telascoping. Second hand store tripod, no doubt.

[Chris Lovelady]

i learned to paint sign at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver in the late 80's and am glad to have made the maul stick part of my skill. I used a wooden dowel rod and a rubber end like for a walking stick...kept it from slipping. I also keep one that is threaded and breaks down into 3 peices and stores nicely in my kit....people see me using it say ..."oh i thought you did that free hand...that is cheating." they say the same thing when the see my pounce patterns.

chris