Pottery Tools

A rib shapes and smooths a pot's walls while it turns, and pressing it across the base compresses the clay, which helps guard against cracks as it dries. It also wipes off the slurry that builds up while throwing. Wood ribs are firm for shaping, rubber ribs are soft for smoothing, and steel scrapers refine leather-hard surfaces.

They trim and carve. Once a pot is leather hard, you turn it upside down on the wheel and use a loop or ribbon tool to shave off extra clay and carve the foot ring. They're also used to hollow out sculptures and carve patterns. Ribbon tools have a flat metal band; loop tools have a round wire.

Hold a wire clay cutter tight by both handles, press it flat on the wheel head, and pull it under the base while the wheel turns slowly or is stopped. Then lift the pot with dry hands or a pot lift. The same wire cuts slices from a block of clay.

A needle tool is a fine point: it levels uneven rims, pops air bubbles, scores clay for joining, and checks how thick a base is. A fettling knife is a narrow blade for cutting slabs, trimming seams and cleaning mold lines on slip cast pieces. A soft fettling knife flexes for trimming; a hard one stays stiff for cutting.

A natural wool sea sponge is soft and holds a lot of water, so it's the one for throwing and smoothing rims. A sponge holder puts a sponge on a handle to soak up water from the bottom of tall or narrow pots your hand can't reach.

Yes. Wire cutters, wood tools, ribs, needles and loop tools cut, shape and carve air dry clay the same way they work wet pottery clay, and they work on polymer clay too. Clean them before the clay dries on.

Rinse the clay off before it dries, and dry steel tools right away so they don't rust. Let wood tools dry flat, and store loop and ribbon tools so the wire doesn't bend. Rinse into a bucket, not the sink: clay settles and clogs drains.

Orders of $29.99 or more ship free. An order under $29.99 that includes a tool ships for $10.