I went through this phase where I only wanted to use my hands to shape clay on the wheel - meaning not using tools. I might have learned some skills with this .. but what I know is that my work improved when I started using tools. On this journey I have found the middle path, meaning a handful of essential tools. Here are my faves… Kemper 8” potter’s knife - it is has a perfect narrow angle and long handle to get under the curvature of bowls. The Mudtools red rib - a game changer for rubber ribs… while other ribs are stiff and gouge, this one is soft and bendy. The Stoned Studio cut wire is just the right length for work made on a 12 inch wheel. Too long of of a cut wire, you spend a lot of time untangling, the wire will eventually get kinks anyway, they will fray and end up cutting you. Modest, but critical is the small round sponge for controlling water distribution. The rasp, my purist younger-self frowns, but there are things that a rasp can fix, that nothing else can… and I am wiser and more practical now. The wooden straight edge rib that my husband made for me… it is perfect.
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