Unpopular opinion: I think those fancy graphite paddles are overrated for beginners.

I was trying to shape a simple vase in my garage studio last month and my cheap wood paddle cracked right when I needed to flatten the base, so I grabbed a wet newspaper instead and it worked fine. Anyone else just use basic stuff when starting out?

2 comments

2 Comments

grantt115d ago

Honestly, I was totally on the graphite bandwagon. Then I saw a potter at a fair use a piece of an old credit card to smooth a rim perfectly. Made me realize we get sold a lot of gear we don't actually need to start.

-2

river_reed5d ago

Totally get that, @grantt11, the best tools are often just lying around.