Signature Items

December 15, 2003

In my first few months of geocaching I've been fairly impressed with some of the signature items that people leave. While some could be more inspired, there have been a few that really were fairly neat.

I'm considering creating something for us, and I was curious what you guys have come across that you thought was relatively cool as well.

In my opinion, signature items need:

- to be artistic or unusual enough to not be considered clutter in a cache

- to be relatively inexpensive (~$1 per item max)

- relatively small if it's something physical

Some finds, obviously all custom to the finder (in order of, IMHO, most to least cool and probably most to least expensive):

Buttons (such as those from www.bumblebuttons.com)

Wooden nickels

Ink stamp impressions

Business cards

Any other ideas?

Thanks!

1.1k · December 15, 2003

Alot of business cards in our neck of the woods. We have done some ourselves but we don't always leave them. Still trying to figure out what our sig item will be.

Note to self: start a sig item thread to gather some ideas.

December 15, 2003

One geocacher (out of Colorado; sorry I can't recall the username at this instant) uses a miniature folding pocket knife with his username/geocaching info. imprinted on the side. It's quite unique and popular with collectors in this region.

These types of signature items tend to be quite expensive however, and I find that a simple personalized business card is of course less expensive and a much appreciated choice. Some of our fellow geochaching enthusiasts collect these cards and display them for their own enjoyment.

4k · December 15, 2003

One geocacher (out of Colorado; sorry I can't recall the username at this instant) uses a miniature folding pocket knife with his username/geocaching info. imprinted on the side.

Have they had any complaints about the knives in caches? I was under the impression this was not an accepted item for caches. Not saying that I mind it, as I collect pocket knives, and have nearly 250 already and always look for more to add. I'd love to find unique pocket knives in caches. I did find one cache that had a pocket knife in it, but it was an el cheapo from the dollar store and not worthy of being added to my collection, so I left it.

1.8k · December 15, 2003

You guys are looking for trouble ... TPTB have already said, (close to a thousand times) no knives. Also no hand grenades. I was a FTF not long ago in Pittsburg KS. The cache was rated 4 or 5 for difficulty and it was a very clever hide. However, when I finally found the ammo box, I opened it up and the first thing I saw was a hand grenade. I dam near wet myself thinking it was some kind of booby-trap. It was the real McCoy with a pin installed and everything. I didn't know if it was real or fake (it was heavy) so I left it for the STF. So, be careful what you put in caches. Not everyone has happy thoughts when they see knives and hand grenades.

December 15, 2003

Did you review the later logs and see if anyone logged taking the handgrenade?

I cheked your found list and couldn't see any over a three for difficulty and got tired of trying to look at all the posts for all your finds

December 15, 2003

Texplorer, the Signature Bookmarks by SimonG fit your profile for excellent signature items. They're artistic, inexpensive, and small. They're also useful. The following items also appear to fit that profile:fredric's cache cards, geopotter's temporary tattoos, brdad's Maine Sights Marbles, and bnolan's magnets. For more items that might fit the bill, check out the Geo-Creations Section of our home page. Good luck with your signature item.

FISUR

December 16, 2003

I have an object in mind for a signature item. But I'm trying to figure out how to personalize it. It's something I think people would collect, but they need to know it cam from me.

As for knives, I don't see a problem with knives as long as the blade can fold up. Nothing like reaching in and finding an open blade. That would bother me, but if it's a pocket knife that folds up I don't know what the problem is.

2.3k · December 16, 2003

I have an object in mind for a signature item. But I'm trying to figure out how to personalize it. It's something I think people would collect, but they need to know it cam from me.

As for knives, I don't see a problem with knives as long as the blade can fold up. Nothing like reaching in and finding an open blade. That would bother me, but if it's a pocket knife that folds up I don't know what the problem is.

The problem is the guidelines state:

Use your common sense in most cases. Explosives, fireworks, ammo, knives (including pocket knives and multi-tools), drugs, alcohol or other illicit material shouldn't be placed in a cache. As always respect the local laws. Geocaching is a family activity and cache contents should be suitable for all ages.

So unless they change the guidelines, knives are not allowed in caches.

4k · December 16, 2003

Sounded pretty cut (no pun intended) and dried to me.

5.3k · December 16, 2003

So unless they change the guidelines, knives are not allowed in caches.

And don't forget, the speed limit is 55 mph. You are not allowed to go any faster.

December 16, 2003

I'm trying to come up with a signature item myself. I'm brand new to the sport, have 1 find so far, so been working on this. Was planning on doing wooden nickels, but don't think I need 1,000 of them right now. So, I decided to take a cue from the letterboxers. I picked up a bunch of 1 1/2 inch wooden circles from the craft store. Bought a bunch of erasers to practice on and am in the early stages of designing and making my own hand-carved stamps. There will be one on each side of the "nickel" blank.

Not sure of the design yet, but it's surprisingly easy to carve these stamps. It's also hand made, so it's original, inexpensive and personalized.

You can also pick up single sided wooden nickels and you would only need 1 stamp to personalize it.

Just my 2¢

F_M

2.3k · December 16, 2003

So unless they change the guidelines, knives are not allowed in caches.

And don't forget, the speed limit is 55 mph. You are not allowed to go any faster.

In Colorado its 75 Mph

1.8k · December 16, 2003

Did you review the later logs and see if anyone logged taking the handgrenade?
I cheked your found list and couldn't see any over a three for difficulty and got tired of trying to look at all the posts for all your finds

Okay, so it was rated 3 1/2. The second guy to find got the grenade.

Here it is -- Click here

December 16, 2003

As for knives, I don't see a problem with knives as long as the blade can fold up. Nothing like reaching in and finding an open blade. That would bother me, but if it's a pocket knife that folds up I don't know what the problem is.

A kid finding the cache might play with the knife and get hurt. Some organization already viewing geocacing as a suspect ativity might decide that the presence of a blade, even folded, was another reason to ban the activity. Someone stumbling across the cache might panic, especially given the atmosphere of the times.

December 16, 2003

And don't forget, the speed limit is 55 mph. You are not allowed to go any faster.

These are guidelines and the speed limit is a law. Even so, drive 55 and count how many people pass you. They're probably just in a hurry to pick back up the multi-tools they left in caches when the guidelines say we "shouldn't."

December 16, 2003

Did you review the later logs and see if anyone logged taking the handgrenade?
I cheked your found list and couldn't see any over a three for difficulty and got tired of trying to look at all the posts for all your finds

Okay, so it was rated 3 1/2. The second guy to find got the grenade.

Here it is -- Click here

I just tried to read the listing for this post and it says for subscription members only. My God!!! I was just a tad bit interested in what the second to find had to say about finding a grenade in a cache. And to read that this was a subscription member cache only really blew my mind!! How could a cache like this ever be approved unless the grenade was never mentioned. You people have really got me wondering if this hobby is something I want to continue doing. I absolutely love caching. ( granted I only have 10 finds and very little free time to do it.) I am totally appalled!!!

Even the TPTB seemed to have missed this one.

1.8k · December 16, 2003

I just tried to read the listing for this post and it says for subscription members only. My God!!! I was just a tad bit interested in what the second to find had to say about finding a grenade in a cache.

Now don't get too worked up over this isolated incident. The person that took the grenade, the STF (second to find), only casually mentions what he took and what he left. On the bright side, it appears as if the grenade did not explode near the cache because there is another log (third to find) after it was taken. The theme to this cache was 'war related' so i left my usual signature item, an arrowhead. Nothing says 'war item' more than prehistoric flint tips.

4k · December 16, 2003

Ah, but will arrowheads eventually fall under the topic discussed in this thread?

Do you use real arrowheads, or do you make your own? My father became quite talented as a flintknapper after retiring, and I have several of his arrowheads that he made. Side by side with an original, not even the experts can readily tell them apart. I would never think of leaving one in a cache, simply because Dad passed away in March, and the sentimental value is too high.

1.8k · December 17, 2003

Do you use real arrowheads, or do you make your own?

No, the arrowheads I use are replicas made part by hand and part by machine. I buy 100 for $30.

I would never think of leaving one in a cache, simply because Dad passed away in March, and the sentimental value is too high.

Sorry to hear about your pop. Anyone that can knap flint and produce an arrowhead is alright in my book.

December 17, 2003

This thread has been done before....but what the heck....

I collect small nicely shaped stones from a nearby rock reef and paint a geocaching logo or other design on them with acrylic paint. I then write "Hikemeister" on the reverse side and include the year.

My son does the same thing, but with sea shells.

I saw a nice signature item while geocaching up in Maryland.

It was a white domino with the geocacher's name on it and the date.

Simple, but nicely done.

Good luck in creating a unique signature item !

2k · December 17, 2003

I'm trying to come up with a signature item myself. I'm brand new to the sport, have 1 find so far, so been working on this. Was planning on doing wooden nickels, but don't think I need 1,000 of them right now. So, I decided to take a cue from the letterboxers. I picked up a bunch of 1 1/2 inch wooden circles from the craft store. Bought a bunch of erasers to practice on and am in the early stages of designing and making my own hand-carved stamps. There will be one on each side of the "nickel" blank.

Not sure of the design yet, but it's surprisingly easy to carve these stamps. It's also hand made, so it's original, inexpensive and personalized.

You can also pick up single sided wooden nickels and you would only need 1 stamp to personalize it.

Just my 2¢

F_M

Wooden Nickles.com has already done the geoguy as a special. If they get enough request' they might start to carry it as a single sided standard.

(Haven't I heard that before? :lol: )

December 17, 2003

Whatever you leave, make sure it is something you'd want to get. A couple of cachers around here leave stuff that never seems to move out of the cache.

December 18, 2003

In Colorado its 75 Mph

... and the guy who puts miniature folding pocket knives in caches as a signature item is from Colorado. Coincidence??

1.1k · December 18, 2003

New Sig item? Took about 2 hours to make a dozen of these. They are about 1.5 x 1.5 inches. Now that I've got it down I think I can do it in about half that time. The character is Kokopelli, Indian god of fertillity. (Carrier of seeds and bringer of water)

Going to have to see how well these hold up in caches.

2k · December 18, 2003

Very nice! Do you mind describing your method, or is the process proprietary? :lol:

December 18, 2003

Those are nice Johnnie, what are they made of?

I don't have any good sig item yet, but I do like the idea of a fridge magnet type item so you can display it easily. I have done up some nice magnetic cache cards for a few of my more adventurous type of caches.

1.1k · December 18, 2003

No, I don't mind at all. I have to admit they LOOK alot nicer than they are. But they meet my sig item requirements ( cool and inexpensive :lol: ). Hopefully my fellow cachers will think they are as neat as I do.

I invested about $20 in supplies, should be enough to do a few hundred of these "coins".

The hardest part was finding something to PRESS. I tried carving a few things but was never happy with the result. The emblem is actually one of my shower curtain rings. I didn't know what they where when I bought them, just liked it.

Press the emblem into a piece of non-drying modeling clay (play doo would probably work.)

Poured in some plaster of paris. (about half an ounce)

When dry, remove from clay and paint. ( I used 18k gold spray paint )

Thats it really, I am putting the coins into half size sandwich ziplocs with a description card and one of our Geocaching cards. Hope they hold up out there in the real world.

Edited December 18, 2003 by Johnnie Stalkers

December 18, 2003

Hold up there a minute, Johnnie Stalkers,

That fertility god is a powerful guy. I had a business trip to Albuquerque, and picked one up for my wife - she was pregnant within the month!

At least you'll be responsible for a whole new generation of cachers!

1.1k · December 18, 2003

Now there is a paternity suit I never imagined. :lol:

Navdog said something about magnets so I tried glueing a piece of business card magnet onto the back of a coin. Holds very nicely. Thanks Navdog!

Edited to add magnet idea from ND.

Edited December 18, 2003 by Johnnie Stalkers

5.3k · December 18, 2003

Press the emblem into a piece of non-drying modeling clay (play doo would probably work.)

Poured in some plaster of paris. (about half an ounce)

When dry, remove from clay and paint. ( I used 18k gold spray paint )

Try looking at a craft store for latex molding compound. You can make REUSABLE flexible molds...the mold will peel off the plaster (easier if it is wetted with a little dishwashing soap/water before adding the plaster)

2k · December 18, 2003

Very nice. Got me thinking, you may want to check out polymer clay. It is an oven cured product, very durable. I have picked up a couple of sig items, small sculptures, made out of this stuff. I'm not artsy so hadn't considered it for myself until I read your post.

2.5k · December 18, 2003

My signature item (which I decided on and then haven't gone caching since! lol!) is a pen that I make.. Still trying to figure out how to make the tag for them, although I think I know what I want to do for them... I just haven't had the need to do them yet.

I'm also going to start making CITO containters with special labels on them.

The cacher that got me started on caching uses those little green army men as his signature item. They fit in just about every kind of cache around.

4k · December 18, 2003

Way too cool, Johnnie! I've thought about making a lightning bolt (you know, "Sparky") but was thinking about my Dad's lead pot he used when making musket balls. Not sure what to use as a form that will withstand the temps, yet be easy to make the bolt design in. Any suggestions from the audience of experts?

2k · December 18, 2003

Way too cool, Johnnie! I've thought about making a lightning bolt (you know, "Sparky") but was thinking about my Dad's lead pot he used when making musket balls. Not sure what to use as a form that will withstand the temps, yet be easy to make the bolt design in. Any suggestions from the audience of experts?

In a word "don't", lead wouldn't be very durable and is considered a hazordous material. It is in the process of being banned on a worldwide basis*.

*I can point to serveral threads on technical forum about lead in the electronics industry if there is any interest.

4k · December 18, 2003

Oh, geez......what isn't hazardous these days. :lol: I guess I never thought that someone would think of that one, but you're right....as soon as I do it, someone will complain about it.

Funny, I only tend to think of lead as a hazardous material when traveling at muzzle velocities over 750 ft/s. Brass is also very hazardous at those speeds, too.

Well, despite the fact that it is hazardous and is definitely going to kill everyone that comes to find my cache, any ideas of what to use as a mold?

EDITED TO ADD: I can show documentation that peas are also hazardous to your health, if anyone is interested in that. I wrote a term paper for my senior English class about that and got an "A".

Edited December 18, 2003 by Sparky-Watts

24.7k · December 18, 2003

...
In a word "don't", lead wouldn't be very durable and is considered a hazordous material. It is in the process of being banned on a worldwide basis...

What have you heard about pewter? That's fairly common, contains lead but is more durable than lead.

4k · December 18, 2003

Yeah, anything about pewter? What is the melting point compared to that of lead?

2k · December 18, 2003

Well, despite the fact that it is hazardous and is definitely going to kill everyone that comes to find my cache, any ideas of what to use as a mold?

High carbon or stainless steel. NOT brass, or copper, the lead will alloy with the brass and "solder" itself to the mold. Mild steel might be okay.

The durability issue is still there, your lightning bolt won't last long rattling around inside an ammo box.

EDIT added quote.

Edited December 18, 2003 by rusty_tlc

2k · December 18, 2003

Don't know anything about pewter, I'm just an electron pusher.

edit, it could be okay since it is in an alloy.

Edited December 18, 2003 by rusty_tlc

December 18, 2003

A partial excerpt about lead poisoning from this site:

Hobbies such as casting bullets and fishing weights, collecting lead toys or figurines, stripping and refinishing old wooden furniture and doors and making stained glass, pottery or other artwork may create sources of domestic lead contamination.

Lead figurines are small statues cast primarily of lead with lesser amounts of tin and antimony. Figurines have been identified as a potential source of lead exposure in children. Large numbers of military and fantasy figurines, ranging in size from 2.5 to 13 centimeters, are sold each year in New York as collectibles or game pieces. They are sold at hobby shops, comic book stores, craft fairs and occasionally at toy stores. Most manufacturers include a warning on the package about potential lead exposure, but this is generally immediately discarded after purchase.

Although marketed principally to adults and school-age children, once in a home, lead figurines may become accessible to younger children who are already in the habit of playing with plastic figurines. During play, small children may ingest lead by mouthing, sucking or chewing on a figurine.

1.1k · December 18, 2003

Originally I purchased the plaster of paris with the intent of making molds to cast lead in. We came up with a few interesting ideas but abondoned the concept after reading up on the dangers of lead. The Plaster of Paris mold works fine as a mold with one exception:

It is exceptionally important that you bake ALL the moisture out of the mold. And by that I mean several hours at + 250 degrees Farenheit.

Hot metal + moisture in mold = flash boiling lead :lol:

Very dangerous, I imagine pewter would be similiar.

Please be careful if you do this. Biggest risk with the plaster impressions is some clay in my finger nails.

4k · December 18, 2003

Ho, hum.......guess I'll keep looking for a suitable, non-toxic, non-sharp, non-blunt-object type thing to use...... :lol:

1.1k · December 18, 2003

Erasers might be good....as long as they aren't real rubber, the tree hugger people get mad about that. Your slogan could be:

"Erasers, the anti-lead"

2k · December 18, 2003

I'm going to play around with the polymer clay stuff. My firstborn used it to do some cool stuff when he was a kid. If I can get a decent mold made I won't need any artistic ability.

December 18, 2003

Ho, hum.......guess I'll keep looking for a suitable, non-toxic, non-sharp, non-blunt-object type thing to use......

My father used to make his own fishing weights. Used lead, but switched to Zinc. Might be worth taking a look at. He stopped making it, but remember him using a cast iron pot on the kitchen stove to melt it. I would think that a fishing catalog would sell the zinc.

Never heard of anyone being sued for zinc poisoning.

F_M

December 19, 2003

OK, I know the lead thing is a 'proven' but this everything is dangerous point made above is true too.

I saw a 'proof' (from a German university) that was totaly impossible to refute, that proved that combing ones hair was a dangerous contributor to scalp cancer.

I hope that not too many kids get to see that one!

2.5k · December 19, 2003

I've never used polymer clay, but I would give a vote for it for a signature item, too.... It's *very* easy to work with... you just do your design and then stick it in the oven. You can do a ton of different stuff to clay, too...

4k · December 19, 2003

OK, I know the lead thing is a 'proven' but this everything is dangerous point made above is true too.
I saw a 'proof' (from a German university) that was totaly impossible to refute, that proved that combing ones hair was a dangerous contributor to scalp cancer.

I hope that not too many kids get to see that one!

Have you heard the one about Di-Hydrogen Oxide? (I think that's what they call it). It talks about this substance being so powerful that only a few cc's can kill, it can instantly smother flames, etc....It's H20! Water! I read a piece during my Chemistry class ( that I flunked 4 times) about it, and it went into 4 pages of facts of how this substance was one of the most deadly substances identified by man.

Ok, back on topic.......Zinc, huh? Is that pretty durable? I've been thinking about rusty's comment on the durability of lead (see, I did look beyond the gloom and doom :mad: ), and need something more durable. Any comments?

Edit for punctuation.

Edited December 19, 2003 by Sparky-Watts

December 19, 2003

Way too cool, Johnnie! I've thought about making a lightning bolt (you know, "Sparky") but was thinking about my Dad's lead pot he used when making musket balls. Not sure what to use as a form that will withstand the temps, yet be easy to make the bolt design in. Any suggestions from the audience of experts?

I looked into something similar about a year ago and found the following:

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/book_sc.html

Using sand to cast metal things... You might think about using aluminum also.

-fractal

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