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Trimming Tool Designs and Their Use


TonyC

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As I begin to expand and improve my trimming/sculpting tool collection, I realize that I do not have any idea what many of the different designs are used for.   I have a few Dolan tools which I like very much, so I went on their website to find an enormous selection of designs that look interesting, but I don't know how they are used.   Is there anywhere online that can offer instruction on how to use the various tools, and the value of different designs?   I checked YouTube but couldn't find much.      It certainly seems like a reasonable question, and one that trimming tool manufacturers would want to make available to help sell more tools.    

Can anyone point me in the right direction?   I will check other manufacturers sites as well.  Thank you.

 

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Tony,

The vast majority of trimming tools out there are for sculptors, not potters.  Things like carving out an ear or getting the creases in an eye's crowsfeet just right are things that require a special angle or blade shape.   But, even then, it comes down to what your gut says.  

There's no hard and fast purpose for any trimming tool.  You can get by with just three or four, or may feel a set of fifty isn't enough.  For reasons I can't explain, I will often trim two identical mugs with completely different tools just to get the same result.

Buy some you think you can use and play with them.  You'll get a feel  for what you like and don't.

Edit:  A thought:  If you really want to categorize their utility, do what repoussé/chasing artists do with their punches and categorize the trimming tools based on what kind of cut they make in clay.   That will help you get a greater feel for their utility and purpose in your work.

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I second what Tyler says, that majority of them don't seem to have a real purpose/rules particularly for potters.  I use one tool for 95% of my work. 

Maybe a way to see different tools in action would be to google trimming videos and just skip through them quickly, but even then I find most people use the same few tools. 

Edit: This guy makes his own trimming tools and uses a bunch of different angles. Maybe be worth going through a few of his trimming videos:

https://www.youtube.com/user/hsinchuen/videos

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Trimming tools appear to be a matter of preference, and it does seem that most use the same style of tools.   It's not like I want to buy 20, but it would be interesting to better understand how certain ones are used, and how they came to be.     I've now watched more videos and try to get an idea of what different folks are doing.   Thanks

22 hours ago, Tyler Miller said:

Edit:  A thought:  If you really want to categorize their utility, do what repoussé/chasing artists do with their punches and categorize the trimming tools based on what kind of cut they make in clay.   That will help you get a greater feel for their utility and purpose in your work.

This is a great idea.

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I agree with @Joseph F that most potters use one favorite tool for most things. My favorite is a Dolan 460 for its uncomplicated shape, and the corners on the blade come in handy too. You can find a free video on my website, on the "school" page, that shows you how I use it. 

I also like to reach for a skinnier tool at times, like a Dolan 420, when trimming out a small space, like the inside of a small and tall foot ring.

I also agre with @Tyler Miller that the rest of my trimming tools are not for trimming, I use them to make decorative surface textures. 

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@GEP That dolan 460 is interesting. I can't imagine trimming with it at all... I guess it just confirms how each potter will find the tool for them. The tool I use the most is the top left A tool. If I was buying again I would get the A rounded tool instead as the curve is much better for trimming outsides of bowls.

loopshapes.jpg

I guess it sort of resembles your 460 tool if you used the big rounded end. Which I do use a lot on certain things. I mostly use the flat edge and the sharp corner though. But I would really like to get one of his hook tools for digging into a foot of a pot. However I have been doing so much hand trimming with a wooden knife now on my new banding wheel I am not sure I will trim yunomi feet anymore on the wheel.

The tool I used to use the most was this one:

Do%E2%80%A2All-buy-page-720x480.jpg?v=7516fd43adaa

I really like the way Michael Sherrill made this tool(Do All Trim Tool). The shovel side is soo fantastic. and the hook/smooth bend is great too. I would rather use this over my bison tool, the issue is it gets dull so fast when I wedge in grog and sand into my clay bodies. I have to sharpen it nonstop which really is annoying considering how many surfaces it has to sharpen. 

@TonyC If I was starting out trimming, the tool above is what I would get. It can do almost any job well and after using it, you will understand what your looking for in a trimming tool a lot better. It is sort of untraditional as it isn't a loop type tool, but don't let that fool you, it works really well. The shovel makes the most marvelous bowl shapes so easy to trim, and the hook can dig into a foot and peel out clay before you finish off the inside surface with the shovel at an angle. Also the long hook edge can be used to make beautiful long cuts into wide feet.

I should note that I trim at very slow speed and take out large chunks of clay, so that has a huge impact on how sharp I like my tools.  I don't use the force of the wheel going around to add the effort I need for my tools to cut, which is why I use the bison ones.  When I see videos on instagram of people trimming with little tiny pieces flying off it feels so odd to watch it. 

 

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53 minutes ago, GEP said:

I also like to reach for a skinnier tool at times, like a Dolan 420, when trimming out a small space, like the inside of a small and tall foot ring.

I just watched your video - nice!    I have the Dolan 120 already, and always wondered about the other 100 Series shapes.  Are the 'squarer' 100 Series shapes there for foot foot rings???    After watching the video, I see how you used the 460 and it worked well.    Thank you for the insight.  It was helpful.   

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15 minutes ago, Joseph F said:

 

Do%E2%80%A2All-buy-page-720x480.jpg?v=7516fd43adaa

 

@TonyC If I was starting out trimming, the tool above is what I would get. It can do almost any job well and after using it, you will understand what your looking for in a trimming tool a lot better. It is sort of untraditional as it isn't a loop type tool, but don't let that fool you, it works really well. The shovel makes the most marvelous bowl shapes so easy to trim, and the hook can dig into a foot and peel out clay before you finish off the inside surface with the shovel at an angle. Also the long hook edge can be used to make beautiful long cuts into wide feet.

This is interesting.   I just found his video in YouTube:  

This could be a valuable design to accomplish several things (might hit the Holiday list).   What I recognize is that everyone has learned to get the most out of the designs they work with.   One calls that 'practice'  :)      Thanks for the ideas and sharing of your experiences.   

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18 minutes ago, TonyC said:

Are the 'squarer' 100 Series shapes there for foot foot rings??? 

I've just used the triangle-shaped 120. I've never tried the others, but maybe somebody else here has. The squarer ones do seem similar to one end of the Sherrill Do-All, so I imagine they could be used that way. I've never used a Do-All but they get lots of love here on the forum. 

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44 minutes ago, Joseph F said:

guess it sort of resembles your 460 tool if you used the big rounded end. Which I do use a lot on certain things. I mostly use the flat edge and the sharp corner though

The 460 can do flat surfaces too, if I hold it perpendicular to the pot surface and scrape lightly. I hold the tool with the blade more parallel to the pot when I want to slice away large amounts of clay, then switch to the more perpendicular angle when I am nearly done and want to slow down for some fine tuning of the shape. I think most trimming tools can be used at both of these angles. 

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I use a bison double ended custom tool for all trimming-its almost exactly like a Kemper 6 inch R2.

Phil the tool Bison guy made mine all about 7 inches long. I used to go thru many a gross of  6 inch R2 s-now one tool last many many years. The downside is they are carbide and cannot be dropped. I keep it in a plastic tube at the timing wheel-its either in my hand or the tube.These are not for hobbyists -to expensive and to fragile.

One end is squared the other is round-Kemper makes them in 8 inch as well as 6 inch

Really its just a matter of what you get used to using at the beginning .

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joseph, if you really want to try an unusual method with a tool, try trimming the fat out of the bottom of a bowl with a large circle trimming tool BEFORE WIRING IT OFF.  most fat bottoms are because the pot is made from a blob of clay that HAS A FLARE, LOOKS LIKE THE LIBERTY BELL, shape in the beginning.  all that stuff has to go somewhere or it stays just above the foot and is very heavy.  if you put a large circle tool, the ribbon one, not the wire kind, flat on the bat or wheelhead and slide it into the blob of clay and lift it by pivoting the tool upward, you will remove a lot of excess clay.   like anything else, it takes a little practice but it is fast, efficient and satisfying.  THE THINNER WALL DRIES FASTER, TOO.

one of the things to remember when trimming is to let the wheel make enough revolutions to get the job done.  i have seen beginners try to trim on the very first revolution before the tool has a chance to make even a slight impression on the clay.

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Interesting topic here! I’ll add my take as well. I started with the kit tools that everyone ends up with. The roundish trim blade on one side and a triangular blade on the other. Serves most jobs well.

I went out and got a Sherill Do All trim tool (because I like to get away with using the least amount of tools possible for whatever reason) and then discovered “chattering” quite by accident. It was annoying. It teaches you to be very deliberate in your movements and to brace the tool as well as you can.  

I think that the tools you use, at least in the beginning, kind of influence the types of curves and angles you make. It did for me anyways but I was still very much in my “let’s just try it and see” phase. 

I have come to love a good semi sharp wooden knife for just about everything - as a long rib, burnishing tool, trim tool, decoration, whatever. It comes down to what you use and end up liking, which can and probably will change over time. 

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Thanks to all for your thoughtful responses.   I have some ideas as to what tools next (Do-All, Dolan 420 and 460 are next for me) , and will continue to look out and learn more about the designs which aren't intuitive for me.      I'll update this if something relevant  is revealed.   Thanks again.

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