It’s time to make ceramics, you’ve got your pottery wheel, you’ve got your clay, now what? It’s time that you choose the best pottery tools that will suit you. There are a lot of different pottery tools out there, but not all of them are necessary. It all depends on your project and your preference.
However, if you are just starting out, it can get overwhelming. The best tools for pottery is not the same for those who make ceramics and figurines. It will depend on the actual craft, product, level of expertise, and other factors. To help you get started, beginners should consider getting the following items:
1. Best Potter’s Rib: Kemper Tools
Once the clay is on the wheel, the fun part of pottery starts. You get to shape it any way you can, and you can’t rely on your bare hands alone. For shaping you are going to need a potter’s rib. This can come in different shapes and sizes as well as materials. For beginners, it’s good to start with a wooden potter’s rib, such as Kemper Tools.
While your clay is on the wheel, you can shape it evenly with a Kemper Tools Potter’s Rib. This rib is made from smooth hardwood. As you progress with your craft, you can explore potter’s ribs that are made from other materials, such as silicone, rubber, or metal.
2. Best Chamois Cloth: Penguin Pottery
It might be surprising but a piece of cloth can actually help in shaping clay. It’s quite easier to think about solid tools for that but a chamois cloth proves to be invaluable for pottery. If you are making vases and other vessel ceramics, opt for the Penguin Pottery Chamois Cloth.
This pack comes with 5 pieces of chamois cloth, small enough to fit your hand comfortably. The Penguin Pottery Chamois Cloth is made out of soft suede leather. It’s an excellent tool for smoothing down or compressing edges of your thrown ware and even leather-hard pieces.
3. Best Elephant Ear Sponge: Royal and Langnickel
Royal & Langnickel is one of the most popular brands when it comes to painting. Although more known for brushes, the company also produces other tools, like the elephant ear sponge. This tool is perfect for painting as well as pottery. One side of the sponge is smooth while the other is rough.
When doing pottery, you can switch between the two sides of the Royal & Langnickel Elephant Ear Sponge to create the surface that you need—smooth or textured. It is one of the best pottery tools in the market as it can be used for a wide range of pottery techniques. What’s more, it is highly durable and can last through many pottery projects.
4. Best Fettling Knife: JIAKAI
Whether you are partitioning your clay or actually sculpting it, a fettling knife will come in handy. Check out the JIAKAI Fettling Knives, you’ll be getting 2—one long and one short—for your pottery needs.
Both knives are made with stainless steel and come with wooden handles. Aside from cutting and sculpting, these tools can also be used for trimming and carving clay. Once you have advanced from your beginner status, you might come upon fettling knives that come with a softer steel blade. These can be bent to incorporate in more advanced pottery techniques.
5. Best Pottery Trimming Tools: Honbay
If you are working with a big piece of clay, it will take you forever to scrape off the parts you don’t need with the wrong tool. For scraping, get the proper trimming tool from Honbay. This set comes with 3 different-shaped trimming tools to suit your needs.
The metal flat wire on the tool comes with a sawtooth. This is to help give more texture and detail to your work. At the same time, the Honbay trimming tools also come with wooden handles, so you can get a comfortable grip as you work on your pottery.
6. Toggle Clay Cutter: MudTools
A toggle clay cutter may not seem like much at first glance, as compared to some of the other best pottery tools. But you’ll be surprised at its efficiency and precision once you learn how to better handle it. Mudtools Toggle Clay Cutter has ergonomically-shaped handles so you can hold on to it properly. You will need the right tension to be able to use this tool.
You can slice and cut large clumps of clay with the Mudtools Toggle Clay Cutter instead of a fishing line or a regular wire that can injure you. The braided cable on the toggle clay cutter is made from surgical stainless steel. In the long run, this time of material will not be prone to kinking.
7. Best for Small Details: Zuoyou
When working with clay, you have the freedom to create just about anything. Of course, you will need the right tool to achieve your vision. For larger projects that require small details, use the Zuoyou Loop Tool. This is also ideal for those who are looking to create miniature figurines and other small pottery.
The Zuoyou Set comes with 6 pieces of loop tools. You can use them for trimming, detailing, and fine sculpting. These tools will last you a long time as they are made from aluminum alloy. With a length of 12.3cm, the tool will be easy to handle. (Tools that are too short will require a tighter grip and cause hand cramps; meanwhile, tools that are longer can be awkward to use or balance).
8. Best Needle Tool: Outus
A needle is truly one of the best pottery tools a beginner can use. It can help you learn a lot about control as you cut clay, poke holes, draw designs, and more. Outus Needle Tool has a 4cm needle with the tip having a diameter of around 1.5mm. The handle measures 16cm and comes with textured detail. Now, this detail is not just for show rather it’s there to give you a better grip when your hands get wet (and they will get wet at one point or another).
The good thing about the Outus Needle Tool is it is quite versatile. It has many applications outside of clay. Maybe you are trying to clean out an old ceramic project? Poking out dirt, cleaning parts of the pottery wheel as well as other arts and crafts.
9. Best Do-It-All Pottery Tool: Mudtools
There’s nothing like a do-it-all tool, there’s a reason why swiss knives are so popular! Now, a swiss knife might not be the most ideal tool for pottery but this Mudtools double-ended tool might just be it. It might just look like a strip of metal with both ends bent a certain way but this Mudtools product is quite helpful.
The 6-inch long Do All Tool is made out of carbon steel! (The same item used for making bridges, cars, and buildings). You know that this item is going to last long. One end of the tool has a sharp spade, which is perfect for precision cutting. At the other end is a curl, which is used for tight shapes, smoothing, and detail trimming.
10. Best Quality Pottery Tools: Kemper Set
Now, if you are a beginner that gets confused with all of the items for pottery, fear not! Kemper Tool offers a potter tool kit that already contains everything you’ll need to get you started. The 9-piece tool set comes with a fettling knife, a loop tool, a ribbon tool, a needle tool, a potter’s rib, a steel scraper, a wire clay cutter, a sponge, and a wood modelling tool.
The set even comes in a reusable bag with individual pockets for each tool. The Kemper brand has been the go-to for ceramic art tools for more than 5 decades. You can expect high-quality, reliable, and durable tools from Kemper Tools. The Pottery Tool Kit is designed to meet the basic ceramic-making needs of beginners to pros.
Choosing the Best Pottery Tools
If you’re interested in pottery, then you know that having the best pottery tools is essential. There are a variety of different tools available on the market, so it can be difficult to determine which ones are best for your needs.
To help you out, you need to consider several factors. Here are a few questions you can answer to help you out:
What kind of pottery will you be making?
Do you have something specific in mind? Because the best pottery tools for making vases may not be the same as that for making tiny figurines.
Who else will be using the tools?
The best pottery tools should be able to suit the user. For example, if you will be sharing with other people, make sure that it fits perfectly in both of your hands. Will your kids be using them too? Opt for child-friendly materials (nothing too sharp or pointy).
Also, if you or someone else using the tools have an allergy to wood, silicone, and other materials, be sure to steer clear of them. It’s hard to scratch your face when your hand is full of clay.
Do you have other arts and crafts/hobbies?
Now, if you like collecting hobbies, then you might already have a lot of tools piling up. It could be nice to have versatile pottery tools that you can use for your other projects. Maybe for painting, nail art, or even scrapbooking.
Final Thoughts
The best pottery tools need not be the most expensive. If you are a beginner, it’s alright to start with cheaper items. The most important quality of the best pottery tool is, it gets the job done. Of course, it is possible to find high-quality materials at an affordable price. These kinds of tools are perfect if you really plan on becoming serious with your pottery craft. You can continue using them as you advance in handling clay.
Made a pottery boo-boo? Nothing a little glue can’t fix! Check out the best glue for pottery repairs for your project. It can help you get your figurine back to its former glory or make new art out of the pieces of an old ceramics craft.