Throwing Tools

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About the MKM Throwing Tools

MKM Throwing Tools™ are designed as versatile throwing sticks with different sizes for different sized pots, different rib heads for differently shaped objects, and different handles to access different spaces.

Many throwing stick are available on the market. What makes MKM Throwing Tools unique and better are the following benefits:

1. MKM Throwing Tools are essentially ribs-on-a-stick. They offer many of the benefits of ribs: low torque on the wall of the pot can yield thin walls. The ribs also help to remove throwing lines as they stretch out the walls.

2. Ergonomic handles that won't twist while you are using them and that are comfortable to hold.

3. Rib heads that are releasable, they can be removed and replaced with a differently shaped rib head. The rib can also be loosened and then rotated into a different position.

4. A tool that will last a lifetime. Made from oil treated wood and corrosion resistant parts.  The rib heads are attached to the handle with a screw that screws into a steel insert in the handle.

5. These tools can reach places the hands can't go. The Shoulder Tool (T1) can be inserted through small opening. The Tall Jar Tool (T2) can reach down into tall vase forms.

In the end, the question is: do they work? The answer to this question is dramatic: these tools work better than anything else on the market. Try them, you will be amazed!

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1. The rib head needs to be screwed down tightly to the handle so that the rib does not rotate while in use.

2. Hold the handle with the left hand, and tilt the rib so that the rib is trailing along the interior surface of the clay.

3. Use a flexible rib on the outside – unless you have a particular texture on the outside that needs preserving.

Image (A): The ribs on the MKM Ultimate Throwing Sticks are removable.

Image (B): The ribs can easily be replaced with a rib of a different shape. If the hole in the rib is too large, simply use a larger fender washer to hold the rib onto the handle.

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Image (D): This shape of rib is found at the other end of all the double-ended throwing sticks. This shape is particularly useful for adjusting and lifting the shoulder of a pot, and for moving up the height of the shoulder break (where the shoulder starts moving sharply downward to form the body or belly of the pot). A thinner version of this rib is used with the MKM Shoulder Tool.

The Throwing Process with the MKM Ultimate Throwing Stick: 1) Using your hands, open the clay, set the base for your form, compress, and pull up a tapered cylinder, leaving a slightly thicker wall at the top of the cylinder. 2) Still using your hands, and being guided by the base that you set, start to expand the walls so that the form is now slightly expanded. 3) Using a rigid interior rib on the inside and a flexible rib on the outside, compress the walls and remove water and slip from the surface of the walls. 4) Again using the interior rib on the inside and a flexible rib on the outside, begin to expand the walls, being sure to keep the mouth of the form no wider than the width of your hand. Do this again. 5) Collar the mouth in somewhat. 6) Use an appropriately sized and shaped MKM Ultimate Throwing Stick to further expand and adjust the shape of the wall and shoulder of the pot.

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