Pottery Trimming Tool: New Cases to Better Protect Its Carbide Cutting Edge
Tungsten Carbide Pottery Trimming Tools: Extreme Hardness and Special Care
Tungsten carbide pottery trimming tools are a premium choice for trimming and refining clay on the pottery wheel. Their main advantage is their extreme hardness, which is significantly greater than that of the steels commonly used in ceramic trimming tools.
Thanks to this hardness, the carbide cutting edge offers excellent resistance to the abrasive action of clay. It stays sharp for much longer, requires less frequent resharpening and provides consistent, precise cutting throughout its working life.
However, the exceptional hardness of tungsten carbide also means that these tools require some special care.
Hardness Does Not Mean Impact Resistance
As shown in the table, a stainless steel pottery trimming tool wears more quickly and needs to be resharpened more often. However, steel is tougher and generally withstands impacts, drops and accidental knocks better.
When subjected to an impact, a steel cutting edge may bend, dent or become blunt, but it is less likely to fracture. Tungsten carbide, on the other hand, is much harder, more rigid and more wear-resistant, but it is also less tolerant of sudden impacts.
For this reason, although a tungsten carbide trimming tool retains its sharp cutting edge for much longer, it may chip or break if it is dropped onto a hard floor, used as a lever or struck against a solid surface.
This is not a defect specific to pottery trimming tools. It is an inherent characteristic of extremely hard materials such as tungsten carbide.
How to Protect the Carbide Cutting Edge
To help prevent accidental damage, we have developed custom-made protective cases for our carbide pottery trimming tools. These cases allow each tool to be safely stored after use while keeping the cutting edge protected.
When using more than one carbide trimming tool, we also recommend avoiding storing them loose together or allowing their cutting edges to touch. If two carbide blades strike against one another, the edges may become chipped or damaged.
Ideally, each clay trimming tool should be stored separately, with its carbide blade properly protected.
This simple precaution helps to preserve the sharpness of the cutting edge, prevent accidental damage and extend the working life of your pottery trimming tools.
We hope you like this new development.
Thank you very much for reading!
tAt.