Pres Posted March 3 Report Share Posted March 3 Hi folks, I have been thinking about my tools. . . most of my favorites are now at the HS until I bring them home. It got me to thinking though about what I would really miss or not be able to replace if it were lost. What tool would be the most difficult to replace? For me as I throw a lot, I use the standard kit: needle tool, sponge, knife style rib, and a spoon shaped rib along with an egote style throwing stick. I use this stick on small and large to inflate the form. I bought it at a NC Potters Conference a few years back and at the time Jack Troy was demonstrating with it. It looked like a great tool, and well crafted so I had to have it, even though at the time I was tight on my budget. . . and still am! At any rate it was a great tool, and with careful use I have had it for many years till it is like and old friend. QotW: What special tool that you work with would your really hate to lose? best, Pres Hulk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 4 Report Share Posted March 4 I am afraid I have already lost my favorite tool. I bought several handmade tools at a potters estate sale. One of them was a trimmer with wire wrapped around it, the wire was heavier than the factory made ones. It was fast at trimming and you could make some great lines and grooves with it. It is lost because it got old and fell apart, it was old when I purchase it, I used it for 20 years I don't think it owed me anything. May it rest in peace. Denice Hulk and Pres 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bam2015 Posted March 4 Report Share Posted March 4 My fingers! Seriously, they are my favorite pottery tools. Betty High Bridge Pottery, Hyn Patty and Hulk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeU Posted March 5 Report Share Posted March 5 I didn't have my own tools, other than the barest of the absolute basics, when I was getting into ceramics. I was on welfare, a Pell grant for art school, raising a child by myself, and, well duh, never had any money. My favorite tools were a few gismos I made from 1/2 to an inch & a half-thick live branches from some southern tree-like magnolia or crepe myrtle. I was into texture & sculptural curves (still am) so I crafted them to multi-task & to make interesting surfaces. They served like a potter's thumb, a throwing stick, and other variations recognizable standard tools. Stopped claywork to go earn a living & packed them away in a lovely special box. But I lost them all in the shuffle, when I moved from VA to NH. Now I've got just about every tool one could ever want, tho no high-end metals or master-favored designs, and no Griffin grip, which I guess isn't really a tool anyway LOL . My favorites these days are still those unintended for ceramics--the turkey quill, the drawer knobs, the pastry cutter, the dental tools, chop sticks, etc. etc. And, yeah, the fingers! Hulk and Pres 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted March 5 Report Share Posted March 5 I have a double ended crabide custom trim tool very close to a Kemper is R2 -6 inches long that Bison tools made me long ago. I use this as my only trim tool. I have worn two out so far in life. I have two spares now when this one wears out . So I'm set. Hulk and Pres 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted March 5 Report Share Posted March 5 Definitely have some favorite small tools, however, not much special about any - easily replaced. I do like the MudTools metal rib that has a nice arc for bowl interiors. I use it only for that - other metal ribs for throwing and burnishing, for with use, the edges get thin and sharp*. The kiln and wheel, don't want to lose them! *taking the edge off with a file helps, but also changes the arc just a wee tiny bit, and those bits add up. Pres 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly in AK Posted March 6 Report Share Posted March 6 This mallet. I make most of my tools, but this one was a long labor of love. Sculpted to fit my hand from a beetle killed spruce and a bone I found. I use it often, to pound out slabs before I roll them. Hyn Patty, LeeU and Hulk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 7 Report Share Posted March 7 Fingers are your best tools but not ones you can replace. That was the only tools I had until our teacher had everyone purchase a set. I have people ask me what tools should they start with, I always tell them that their fingers are a good place to begin. Then I give them a list of a few basic tools, I wish someone could help me with the arthritis in my fingers with a list. Denice Hulk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grackle Posted March 7 Report Share Posted March 7 interested in the idea of pounding out slabs before you roll them...i usually just throw them down to widen things out a bit, turning the slab every time, but pounding sounds quite theraputic. i do love my long rolling pin. Pres and Hulk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeU Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 On 3/5/2024 at 10:31 PM, Kelly in AK said: a long labor of love. gotta say--envy, envy--that's gorgeous! must be very satisfying to use Kelly in AK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 8 Report Share Posted March 8 Grackle that is exactly the way I get my clay ready for the slab roller. Denice Kelly in AK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyn Patty Posted March 9 Report Share Posted March 9 My hands and my eyes (and maybe my mind too) are all irreplaceable in my work. Everything else? I can get by without, or replace, or just remake. A lot of my tools I've made or reshaped to fit my needs. Denise! Your heavier than usual wire cutter for example is likely stupid easy to make a replacement. I use dental tools, clay tools, tiny knitting needles for fine hair texture, etc but the one dearest to my heart is my solid brass slide rule - because my father, who was an aeronautical engineer of some renown, gave it to me when I first started sculpting so many years ago (almost 50 years ago now). I use it like calipers for smaller pieces I need to measure and check proportions on - great for making sure the leg bone lengths match, or checking the length of the head against the length of ... well, anything else. And so forth. So sure, I can just run out and buy another slide rule but ... this one is special. I'd hate to misplace it. Pres and Hulk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted March 10 Report Share Posted March 10 Seeing (just a minute ago) there was an update on this thread, thought of some of my Parents' and Grandparents' tools that I treasure. The needle/pin tool I use most in the Studio was made from a small screwdriver that my Dad ground down to a point; it's a convenient length, and I like the handle as well. There are several, err, a few dozen potential replacements in the bad screwdriver bin, but the one I'm using is special, because. That's a nice caliper Hyn! Is there a vernier on the inch scale as well? I've several of Dad's calipers. There's a large one (it's big!) he bought when we were in Italy, and several smaller ones, both the vernier and dial indicator types, which will get you within a few thousandths or so. In the Studio I use inexpensive plastic calipers, similar to the brass one depicted in Hyn's post, above, except the jaws for measuring inside are opposite the outside jaws. When it wears out, there's several more queued up for "next"... Hyn Patty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted March 14 Report Share Posted March 14 My husband also used calipers in his job as a technical writer, illustrator and drafter fifty years ago and then the evolution to computers happened . He still uses to calipers when he is restoring a car but they are digital. He tries to give them to me when they are broken, I don't think he has figured out my measurements need to be as accurate as his. Denice Hulk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyn Patty Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 On 3/9/2024 at 7:45 PM, Hulk said: That's a nice caliper Hyn! Is there a vernier on the inch scale as well? Nope! It's just an old fashioned slide rule, no frills. I don't need it to be SUPER accurate down to the ... whatever for the kind of work I do. I would love a real set of calipers but the kind I like are expensive, not cheap plastic, so I still don't actually own any. When I need to measure larger proportions I whip out string or a measuring tape. Real live horses don't mind too much. Pretty high tech, right? But it works! For little stuff this old slide rule works fine. I really should keep an eye out for some old fashioned ones at the local antique stores. I might find something cheap that'll work well enough. In other news I FINALLY got another 100 lbs of Pottery Plaster into the studio! Whoo! Who would have guessed that it would be difficult to find pottery plaster and dodge having to pay through the nose for it? Geesh. Crazy. Pres 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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