Stamp 73. What's Going On With The Grill?

What are your thoughts on this one? Almost looks like the grill is doubled? I tried to take the best pics I could. Had to use my color editor to make it show up some. Any info would be great. Thanks!

Yes, it looks like a double "F" grill. But if you rub some graphite on the grills to make them pop out and then post the pictures again, I could tell for sure.

Thank you for your input, Bill! I will surely attempt as you suggest, later this morning and will repost. So take a pencil and thin paper and gently rub?

Here's some more pics as you requested, Bill. This is about the best I could do with the graphite. What is that triangle shape? Is that the double grill? Thank you in advance for your time and evaluation!

maverickx....I see no evidence of a double grill.

I thought that triangle shape had something to do with a double grill. Sorry, I'm confused. What was Bill seeing that made him think it was possibilly a double grill?

maverickx.....the triangle shape looks to be part of a old
hinge.

Are those tongs you're using in the first pics? Those look dangerously sharp to be handling a stamp with - be careful

That's interesting - in the first pics, it looks like there's a second grill towards the bottom right (as viewed from the back), but the pics with the graphite don't show it. The weak points towards that corner of the grill obviously show much better with the graphite, making the apparent top line blend in with the real grill, but it really looked to me as though there were a couple of extra columns to the right in the original pics. Shadows and suggestion, I guess.

Arrows point to apparent top corners of phantom second grill.

Moon, yes I see the same thing you have pointed out under magnification in hand. Difficult to take pictures

If you look at the pic posted by "moon"...
left red arrow is even with the squiggly in the pen line on back.
Then you scroll up to the 2nd picture by "maverickx" with
the graphite....
It is the same grill....I see no evidence either to the right
or below.
Count the horizontal and vertical points that you see....

Kevin, I agree - the pics with the graphite show a single grill, and counting the points is pretty conclusive. I just thought it was interesting that in the initial pics it appeared as though there were a second grill present. The "points" to the right that I was looking at are these, but the graphite pic shows that they are not grill points:

More pics..

I too see no evidence if a double grill. But the correct way to transfer graphite from the pencil to the grill is not to put the pencil directly on the stamp. You rub graphite from your pencil onto paper, then transfer it from the paper to your finger by rubbing your finger over the graphite, then rub your finger (with the graphite on it) over the grill. The graphote will transfer to the raised areas of the grill points making them easier to view and study.

Finely powdered graphite is also available in plastic squeeze tubes
at any hardware store... it's sold for "lubricating" sticky keylocks...

Additionally, another method without having to get one's fingers dirty,
is to use an exacto knife or box-cutter or any other sharp blade to
cultivate graphite from a pencil by scraping it onto a piece of paper,
then, by simply "dipping" a cue tip into the graphite versus a finger,
it's a more friendly medium to apply to the grill, not causing any
undue pressure on the grill-points...

From a discussion with essayk, I now will never put graphite on a stamp to help identify a grill. It is very useful, but permanently modifies a stamp. That is my opinion. However, graphite has already been applied to the back of maverickx's stamp. That decision has already been made and is irreversible. So be it. I pass no judgement.

My intention of replying to this thread is that I don't see any graphite applied to the area that is in question. maverickx, at this point it could be helpful to apply graphite to the area in question and perhaps the entire stamp's backside.

I find that "coloring" in a large area of a piece of paper that is then rubbed against a stamp produces easily seen results. There is no need to do anything fancy. In the end the point is to highlight raised areas. A bunch of graphite colored on paper that is then wiped across a stamp's surface will definitely highlight the raised areas without rubbing more of it into lower areas.

At this point, I agree with others that you don't have a double grill, but that cannot be determined definitively without looking at other areas without applying graphite to them. Please give the entire backside a good wipe with graphite coated paper and then post an image of it.