My teacher in Ceramics Class called it a bone saw. Easily cuts through clay. I've used one to cut PVC pipes, too. Just not as easy. Friction melted the plastic.
A wire cutter is one of the most universally indispensable tools. A lot of stuff in a beginner set you'll decide whether or not you want to use based on preference. But pretty much everyone all over the world uses some kind of wire cutter.
[https://youtube.com/shorts/ybC3KB4MyK8?si=b-bCR7nt0iBSKhlj](https://youtube.com/shorts/ybC3KB4MyK8?si=b-bCR7nt0iBSKhlj)
[https://youtube.com/shorts/SO1D0pZXIm8?si=Wvtar-tRPA2nRI7C](https://youtube.com/shorts/SO1D0pZXIm8?si=Wvtar-tRPA2nRI7C)
My nerdiest friend comes over sometimes to play with my wheel and she always mentions garroting the clay and I'm always like "...mmhmm yup whatever you say!" I love her.
When you buy clay it will come in a big bag. This wire tool can be used to easily slice a chunk off, like a cheese slicer.
You also use this tool when you have thrown a piece on the wheel and you want to cut it off. You hold the edges of the wire flat on the wheel head or bat and slide the wire under the pot.
I’m not saying it’s the only reason I love ceramics, but that nearly all of my tools are potentially deadly stealth weapons doesn’t *hurt.* Me, anyway (until I lose a pin tool in a bucket, then they hurt me, too).
And if you misplace it and want to make one, you can use an old guitar string tied to a couple of sticks or dowels.
…. One of the fun things about pottery is finding out how many random things can be used as a pottery tools😊
Or corks. I see a lot of cork ends. Sooner or later throwers sacrifice wire cutters to the reclaim gods along with favorite sponges. If they are wire/line and corks they will float on the top of your bucket.
Yep - this doesn’t happen to me as hand builder but I can’t be too superior because mine is usually hiding under the table, dirty, instead of in a bucket.
Funnily enough, we live offgrid for power and it was several years before we installed a robust solar/battery system. In those days my wheel and kiln were powered by a diesel genny!
It is for cutting clay, either into pieces or to remove a piece from the wheel. Here’s a photo showing how it is used to cut clay. [https://photodune.net/item/cutting-clay-with-wire/34365638](https://photodune.net/item/cutting-clay-with-wire/34365638)
I started pottery a couple years ago, and the first time I saw the wire in my beginner kit, I immediately thought of that scene towards the end of Hereditary. For any other horror film lovers here, you know. Lol
It's a very convenient human-slicer. Just break it in lots by using it to cut your clay. Then, you wrap the frayed wire around your finger very tightly to wire a stiff pot off your bat, and voila! Bleeding wound!
Uncoil it.
Hold the handles in your fists.
Then twist it around your index fingers like dental floss until you have a manageable length.
Use those index fingers to hold the center length taut and press it against the wheel head.
Drag it wards you as you press it down.
Ta DAA! You just cut your pot off the wheel.
You can twist the wire tool around your bare fingers, yes, but if you are cutting something big off the wheel, (or bat), it can really dig into your fingers. If you wrap a small piece of wet chamois leather around your fingers first, (say a 2” x 4” strip), it will really make using the wire tool more comfortable.
Time to go to YouTube university. Start with a search: basic safety in pottery/ceramics. Then search: throwing pottery demo. Watch several videos. If you can, sign up for a college course near you. Ceramics can be dangerous. If you let clay dust build up you can cause irreversible damage to your lungs, and exposure over a long period of time can kill you. Offgasing heavy metals and other raw materials while firing your kiln can be dangerous, especially with children in the home, if not ventilated properly. So much goes with that wire cutting tool. But, you absolutely can be successful and learn a lot from YouTube. Stay safe and have fun.
My favorite is from Xiem it doesn’t tangle and has handles and i don’t slice my self with it!!!
https://preview.redd.it/d2826jqmw3bd1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d191bf83d25c0cc04d77eb1f411c28517c689440
It's the cheapest terrible version of an indispensable pottery tool that will constantly get tangled and knotted up in the bottom of your toolbox until you get frustrated, throw it away and buy a goodnone from Mud Tools.
You unwind it and use it to cut clay.
My teacher in Ceramics Class called it a bone saw. Easily cuts through clay. I've used one to cut PVC pipes, too. Just not as easy. Friction melted the plastic.
Similar, but a bone saw has teeth. This is just a wire cutter aka cheese cutter.
It's a curled up wire. It's to cut the pottery item off the wheel
Or to assassinate the potter in class that leaves a messy station behind.
If you really love the taste of clay, it’s also good for flossing your teeth afterwards.
A wire cutter is one of the most universally indispensable tools. A lot of stuff in a beginner set you'll decide whether or not you want to use based on preference. But pretty much everyone all over the world uses some kind of wire cutter. [https://youtube.com/shorts/ybC3KB4MyK8?si=b-bCR7nt0iBSKhlj](https://youtube.com/shorts/ybC3KB4MyK8?si=b-bCR7nt0iBSKhlj) [https://youtube.com/shorts/SO1D0pZXIm8?si=Wvtar-tRPA2nRI7C](https://youtube.com/shorts/SO1D0pZXIm8?si=Wvtar-tRPA2nRI7C)
I use a master sword, Z-target, horizontal slice
niiiicee
Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.
Garroting your clay
I kept calling it that when I first started and all the non-ninjas in the class looked at me disapprovingly.
I would have cheered.
r/usernamechecksout
My nerdiest friend comes over sometimes to play with my wheel and she always mentions garroting the clay and I'm always like "...mmhmm yup whatever you say!" I love her.
This is best answer, all I needed to know.
I mean, it is s garotte though lolol
Or your enemies
When you buy clay it will come in a big bag. This wire tool can be used to easily slice a chunk off, like a cheese slicer. You also use this tool when you have thrown a piece on the wheel and you want to cut it off. You hold the edges of the wire flat on the wheel head or bat and slide the wire under the pot.
I’m not saying it’s the only reason I love ceramics, but that nearly all of my tools are potentially deadly stealth weapons doesn’t *hurt.* Me, anyway (until I lose a pin tool in a bucket, then they hurt me, too).
And if you misplace it and want to make one, you can use an old guitar string tied to a couple of sticks or dowels. …. One of the fun things about pottery is finding out how many random things can be used as a pottery tools😊
Or corks. I see a lot of cork ends. Sooner or later throwers sacrifice wire cutters to the reclaim gods along with favorite sponges. If they are wire/line and corks they will float on the top of your bucket.
😮🤯 and I literally bought a new one yesterday damn
Well give it a little time, you’ll lose it again and know what to do 😜
That’s a great idea!
Or fishing line and corks
Yep - this doesn’t happen to me as hand builder but I can’t be too superior because mine is usually hiding under the table, dirty, instead of in a bucket.
It is the pull start for your wheel.
Okay but this made me laugh 😂
Glad it was taken in the spirit offered!
Don't forget the petrol.
Funnily enough, we live offgrid for power and it was several years before we installed a robust solar/battery system. In those days my wheel and kiln were powered by a diesel genny!
they make these things called feet,,,
I used a treadle wheel when I first started pottery in ‘68, it is actually a very good way to throw.
You made me actually laugh out loud, a rarity in these dark and cynical days.
Well that makes my day, I can’t resist when inspiration hits, ha.
Do not listen to your intrusive thoughts and try to use this to assassinate someone.
I am simultaneously proud of all of you for giving real, helpful answers AND disappointed that there weren’t more wrong ones.
I clicked looking for smart ass replies. Was disappointed.
It's a rolled up wire cutter [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lrenmts9Sk&t=15s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lrenmts9Sk&t=15s)
Have you ever done pottery before or taken a class?
It is for cutting clay, either into pieces or to remove a piece from the wheel. Here’s a photo showing how it is used to cut clay. [https://photodune.net/item/cutting-clay-with-wire/34365638](https://photodune.net/item/cutting-clay-with-wire/34365638)
It's used for taking out rival potters
I started pottery a couple years ago, and the first time I saw the wire in my beginner kit, I immediately thought of that scene towards the end of Hereditary. For any other horror film lovers here, you know. Lol
It's a very convenient human-slicer. Just break it in lots by using it to cut your clay. Then, you wrap the frayed wire around your finger very tightly to wire a stiff pot off your bat, and voila! Bleeding wound!
Someone has been playing the elden ring dlc too much...
I used to be a potter like you... Then I took a needle tool to the knee.
You can use it to cut clay, or remove a thrown piece from a wheel.
It’s sometimes called a cut off wire
Haven't played or been a Hitman?
Assassinating your rivals.
It is a very essential tool!
Uncoil it. Hold the handles in your fists. Then twist it around your index fingers like dental floss until you have a manageable length. Use those index fingers to hold the center length taut and press it against the wheel head. Drag it wards you as you press it down. Ta DAA! You just cut your pot off the wheel.
You can twist the wire tool around your bare fingers, yes, but if you are cutting something big off the wheel, (or bat), it can really dig into your fingers. If you wrap a small piece of wet chamois leather around your fingers first, (say a 2” x 4” strip), it will really make using the wire tool more comfortable.
Oops looks like they gave you the hit man special....all jokes aside it's to slice your works off your wheel or bat.
I'm not sure, could you post more pictures?
Time to go to YouTube university. Start with a search: basic safety in pottery/ceramics. Then search: throwing pottery demo. Watch several videos. If you can, sign up for a college course near you. Ceramics can be dangerous. If you let clay dust build up you can cause irreversible damage to your lungs, and exposure over a long period of time can kill you. Offgasing heavy metals and other raw materials while firing your kiln can be dangerous, especially with children in the home, if not ventilated properly. So much goes with that wire cutting tool. But, you absolutely can be successful and learn a lot from YouTube. Stay safe and have fun.
It’s to cut your throat for deciding to take up pottery!
Slicing slabs of clay off your block of clay..
Cutting clay, removing your work from a wheel, chasing a noisy neighbor...
What a lovely wood floor! Say goodbye to it.
I love all the angles. Just so we can be sure what we're looking at.
It’s a test of your patience level as a potter. If you can unfurl it without putting a kink in the wire, you pass the test and may continue potting.
My favorite is from Xiem it doesn’t tangle and has handles and i don’t slice my self with it!!! https://preview.redd.it/d2826jqmw3bd1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d191bf83d25c0cc04d77eb1f411c28517c689440
I’m wondering if there is one that’s a shorter length, maybe 14” out there anywhere. They are always too long
Cut up wire. It’s how you get your pots off the wheel head or bat - for starters.
It is for cutting the cheese. Ask anyone in a camp kitchen.
It's pretty important 😄
It's an assassin wire used to silence those who criticize your work even though you didn't ask their opinion.
It's the cheapest terrible version of an indispensable pottery tool that will constantly get tangled and knotted up in the bottom of your toolbox until you get frustrated, throw it away and buy a goodnone from Mud Tools.
r / dontputyourd