Joining our club or taking a pottery class? Here are 7 tools you’ll love!
One of the great experiences new potters have is discovering all of the great tools and textures you can use to manipulate clay. From shaping and cutting, to carving and darting, a great set of tools makes it easier to alter thrown forms hand build pots, and create sculptures of all shapes and sizes.
If you don’t have a toolbox, make that number 1 on your list. Pictured above, a mess of tools.
But, for a new potter it can be hard to figure out what tools they need for their first pottery class or experience. That’s why we’ve created this guide, featuring 7 great tools all beginner potters will love. Some of these may be found in a starter toolkit pack, which is a great way to start your tool collection, while others may be best purchased from your local clay supplier.
Before we look at this list, just how did we determine what made the cut?
We’ve had the great fortune of experiencing many years of teaching, talking, watching, and enjoying making forms and sculptures with clay. From demonstrations by master potters like Adam Spector, to great recommendations from ceramic specialists like John Britt, we’ve learned about and watched these tools in action.
While this list only scratches the surface of what you can purchase, we feel it's a great starting point. If you have a hot tool tip, or a question, we welcome your feedback!
Now, our list of pottery tools:
1. Mudtools Mudshark
The mudshark is one of many great, versatile pottery tools made by the Mudtools brand. Its versatility comes from its unique design, that combines two must-have pottery tools into one, the needle tool and the fettling knife.
Well made, and easy to use, its flip out needle tool allows you to quickly trim your rim, while its fettling knife tip allows you to quickly undercut a pot and prepare it for finishing.
While you could get an individual needle tool and fettling knife, the Mudtools Mudshark is worth the investment, easy to use, and a great addition to a budding potter's workflow.
2. The Metal Sheet Rib
Don’t be scared of the metal rib. But do use it wisely.
While a metal rib can be daunting for some beginners, it is a key tool for many professional potters, who love its shaping ability. While it can take some getting used to, we believe it’s an important tool, and a great one to start learning with as soon as you can when you start getting your hands muddy.
Made for shaping, the metal rib is held against the exterior of the pot with one hand, while the other hand presses against it from inside the form. The shape you create on the exterior of the rib will help alter the form, and create a smoother surface and nice crisp lines.
Yes, it’s important to be careful when you use a metal rib. As Tim See nicknamed it the “The spinning Metal Rib of Death” for good reason. Don’t use it inside of your pots, and remember, the edges can be sharp, especially after years of use in clay, so don’t drag your fingers along the edge when you are remove slip or hard bits of clay.
Feeling a little unsure about the metal rib? Check out our next recommendation for another slightly less sharp option.
3. Mudtool Mud Rib(s)
A well used and loved red Mudtools rib. The most flexible of the bunch.
More ribs? Yes, more ribs. These are versatile tools that can help a beginner potter create, cleanup, and shape thrown forms and hand built ones in countless ways.
The Mudtool mud ribs come in different shapes, sizes, and materials that give them differing flexibility. Blue, harder ribs are excellent for shaping bowls, and forming a pot from the inside. The most flexible type, the red ribs, are great for removing imperfections, and burnishing a surface before bisquing.
Looking for a metal rib replacement? The flexible, but still slightly rigid yellow Mudtool rib is a great replacement. While not quite as flexible as the metal rib, it holds it shape, is versatile, and little safer.
4. 90 Degree Angle Wood Rib
Yes, more ribs! This rib is one of the first you’ll see in beginner tool sets. It’s thicker, usually made of a cheaper wood, and most new potters have no idea how to make the most of it.
The shape isn’t ideal for making bowls, or cups really. And the pointed tip makes it really easy to stab your pot completely unintentionally.
So what is it good for? Compressing bottoms! When you make cups, vases, platters, and plates this little rib shape comes in super handy. Check out the video above from John Britt. He shows how he makes cups and uses this little rib to compress his bottoms and avoid any unwanted s-cracking.
5. Dolan or Kemper Trim Tools
Once a pot has been thrown, and dried to a leather hard stage, you can use trim tools to clean up, sharpen, and further alter its appearance. For many new potters this process is laborious, unfun, and just a general pain.
And why is that? Well a few reasons, but one of the biggest is the lack of a great trim tool. Beginner kits come with a few trim tools, but these are usually dull, the blades thick, and the overall build quality cheap.
Depending on your local clay supplier, you’ll likely find Kemper or Dolan trim tools in stock. These manufacturers make trim tools that are of a superior build quality, with sharper blades, in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
6. A Wire Tool
Another tool commonly found in the beginner starter back, the wire tool, is a must have for any new potter. Simply a wire with a handle on each end, the wire tool is primarily used to help portion out clay and for taking pots off the wheel head.
Some manufacturers, such as Mudtools, make wiggle wires that can both help take your pot off the wheel head and leave your piece with a fun design. Whether you decide to stick with the beginner toolkit wire tool, or you decided to invest in a fancier version, we recommend it for your toolbox.
7. An Old Credit Card
Yes, an old credit card, or a hotel key card, a used gift card, or even one of those plastic promo cards you get in the mail will do. Thin, easy to cut, and flexible, these plastic cards can easily be turned into tools to help finish and alter work.
Shapes cut into the plastic card can be pressed into the clay while it spins on the wheel, creating indentations, foot profiles, banding lines, and more. Cheap, relatively easy to find, and customizable, we can’t recommend them enough!
In the Rochester, NY area and looking for a place to buy tools? Check out Studio Sales Pottery in Avon, NY. They have a great selection of clay, tools, and equipment to choose from!
