To provide a carving method of a seal which can be easily carved and is inexpensive, and a seal carving machine wherein an auxiliary jig, an interval adjusting mechanism, a sensor and its control circuit are not required, a proper carving depth can be obtained, and even a seal material of a special dimension can be used.

For this carving method for a seal, a seal carving machine comprises a cutter holding mechanism 2 which is automatically controlled in a manner to slide in the Z axial direction, and a seal material holding mechanism 5 which is automatically controlled in a manner to move in the X axial and Y axial directions, and a cutter 3 is held by the end part of the cutter holding mechanism 2 by performing a proper positioning, and then, the cutter holding mechanism 2 and the seal material holding mechanism 5 are relatively moved to locations which are calculated by a control circuit in advance, automatically, and in addition, a seal material 10 is fitted in the seal material holding mechanism 5, and the seal material 10 is held and fixed under a state wherein the blade tip of the cutter 3 is lightly brought into contact with the carving surface of the seal material 10, and when a carving is started, the cutter 3 is retracted in the Z axial direction for one time by a width which is determined in advance, first, and then, the cutter 3 is fed to the seal material, 10 side up to a distance which is calculated by the control circuit, and thus, the seal material is carved.