Shaping and Patterning

Using Pottery Tools
Making pottery pieces is an ancient craft. Tools have always been used to perform the art more proficiently. In the past, tools were very limited. Today, tools are widely produced that are designed for intricate details and forms.

12-Piece Basic Pottery Tool Set		5 Piece Set		8-Piece Beginner Pottery Tool Set		Aftosa Ultimate Edger
Price: $14 - $22		Price: $9		Price: $11 - $13		Price: $12
Start out right with this set of essential pottery and sculpting tools.		The basic shapes are included, for opening, shaping curving, smoothing, and trimming wet clay on the potters wheel.		This set contains all the basic tools needed to get started in sculpting or refining thrown or hand-built pottery.		Add perfect edges to your clay pots with this stainless steel edger.
Amaco Clay Texture Roller Class Pack		Clay Fluting Tool		Clay Hammers		Deluxe Pottery Tool Set
Price: $30		Price: $10 - $18		Price: $8 - $14		Price: $41 - $78
Brand: Amaco
Watch a plain slab of clay become an instant work of art when you roll out a continuous design using Amaco Clay Texture Rollers.		This tool is designed for fluting leather hard clay.		Texturize and patternize clay slabs as quickly as you can hammer them out!		This deluxe set includes an essential variety of pottery and clay sculpting tools, including: wire clay cutter 2 bristle brushes Sumi brush 2 broom corn brushes Spoutmaker ribs essential ribbon, wire-end, needle, large paddle, and boxwood tools The largest piece measures approximately 18" (46 cm) long.
Kemper Pottery Tool Kit		Kemper Scrapers		Large Wooden Paddle Tool Set		Mayco Continuous Design Press Tools
Price: $11 - $13		Price: $1		Price: $15 - $20		Price: $22 - $24
Brand: Kemper		Brand: Kemper				Brand: Mayco
Quality tools of finest stainless steel and select, smooth hardwood.		Scrapers are used for shaping, smoothing, and trimming pottery shapes.		This five-piece, oversized tool set is perfect for shaping large pieces of clay.		Used to "stamp" engraved designs into various shapes, these plaster press tools are ideal for embellishing clay and creating unique continuous designs.

In the following, some of the most used pottery tools are briefly discussed.

• Hook tools are used to turn clay. Hook tools are very sharp and angled. Various hook tools will have different shaped head for diverse pieces.
• Consistently clean holes can be made in thick pieces with hole cutters.
• Smooth interior area of hole with a triangle plastic scrubbing pad. Insert it into a hole and twist the pad.
• Use handle makers for forming coils used in creating handles or coil pots. Tools are actually handles with loops. Loops are used for pulling through clay.
• Glaze dipping tongs have sharp points. Less than 12 inches long, these have four gripping points.
• Fettling knives are used to sculpt, trim and carve pieces.
• Faceting tools are used to pull off large pieces of clay in carving.
• Embossing tool is for detail work such as tracing and signing works. Tool delivers clean lines and often has several ball head for other details.
• Cutting tools are made for trimming work on a kick wheel and sculpting.
• A bevel hole with double pointed dowel tool is used for smoothing holes in clay.
• Clay hammers help potters to design patterns and various textures in pieces.
• A clay cutter makes cutting and slicing block clay into sections very easy.
• Using a banding wheel, potters can encircle the pottery with a brush loaded with paint. Brush is held against a section of a piece while the spinning the wheel.