Needle Tool

What it is

The needle tool is the most versatile small tool in the studio. Its point is fine enough to mark a reference line without disturbing the clay, long enough to reach the base of a form, and stiff enough to score a surface for joining.

Its most valuable role is as a depth gauge. Push the needle into a wall until it stops, pinch the clay at the surface with your fingers, withdraw it and measure the pinched length against a rule. That is how you check that a wall is even before the pot is too dry to fix.

Needles also score: dragging the point across two surfaces that are about to be joined raises the texture that slip keys into. And they free pots — running the needle around the base of a pot on the wheel head breaks the seal so the pot can be lifted without dragging.

How to use it well

• To test wall thickness, push through and pinch the needle at the surface, then measure — do not guess.
• Score with a cross-hatch pattern, not a single line, for the strongest join.
• Run the needle round the base of a pot before lifting it off the wheel head.
• Mark the leather-hard line with a needle to check a form is the height you intended.

Safety notes

• The point is genuinely sharp and the tool is usually lying on a bench point-up. Store it point-down in a pot or with a cap.
• Never leave a needle tool on the floor or on a wheel pan where a hand will find it.

Compatible materials

Clay bodies

• All bodies

Glazes & surface

• Not applicable — cutting and marking tool

Where it sits in the process

Turning, cutting and finishing leather-hard work.

Trimming  Trimming & Cutting  Entry tier

Browse every tool in this stage from the Trimming & Cutting category.