When I started making pots about eight years ago, I wasted money on tools I didn’t need and skipped a few that would have saved me a ton of frustration. So this is the list I wish someone had handed me on day one: the ceramic materials and tools I actually reach for, split into what you need for the wheel and what you need for handbuilding.
You don’t need all of this to start. If you’re brand new, skip down to the “Start here” kit near the bottom, grab those few things, get your hands dirty, and add the rest as you go.
Most of the links below go to the exact tools I use or recommend. I only point you to gear I’d actually put in a beginner’s hands.
Clay and the big equipment
Everything starts with clay. For most people I recommend a mid-range or highfire white stoneware, cone 5–10 — it’s forgiving, it’s strong, and it takes color and glaze beautifully. That’s the clay I hand to almost everyone starting out. A good general stoneware works well too.
Beyond clay, here’s the larger gear. You don’t need all of it right away, and you can rent kiln space or work out of a studio for a long time before you buy your own:
- A pottery wheel. The Shimpo VL Whisper is my favorite, but it’s an investment. If you’re just starting out, this budget-friendly beginner wheel is a great place to begin — or learn on a studio’s wheel first.
- A kiln. The big one. Fire at a community studio first, you likely won’t need your own for a while.
- Canvas to cover your work surface. Clay won’t stick and it keeps things from drying too fast.
- A slab roller for rolling out even slabs. A rolling pin works fine when you’re starting.
- A banding wheel, a little turntable for your bench. Once you have one you’ll use it constantly for decorating, trimming, and glazing.
Essential wheel throwing tools
This is the core kit for anyone learning to throw. Most of these are cheap and you’ll use them for years:
- Yellow sponge and mud sponges for controlling water and smoothing as you throw.
- Mudtools wire tool, black or green, for cutting your pot off the wheel.
- Needle tool — cheap, and one of my favorites. You’ll use it for trimming, leveling rims, and piercing.
- Metal rib for shaping walls and pulling clean lines.
- Serrated metal rib for scoring before you join two pieces.
- Wooden knife and foot shaper. Quick tip: use the other end at the bottom of the foot to cut a little groove — it catches runny glaze so it pools instead of running onto your shelf, and it gives you a clean line to wax up to.
- Wooden rib for shaping and compressing.
- Sponge on a stick for pulling water out of the bottom of tall, narrow pieces.
- Silicone tip shapers for getting into small spots and smoothing attachments.
- Sherrill Mud Tools ribs, my go-to flexible ribs.
- Chamois leather for smoothing rims. Cheaper trick: wet a paper towel and wring it out, or use a strip of plastic from your clay bag.
- Calipers for matching lids to pots so they actually fit.
Bat systems
Bats are the removable discs you throw on so you can lift a piece off the wheel without wrecking it. A few ways to go:
- Amazon bat system — simplest, cheapest way in.
- European bat system with bat pins, the one I love.
- European bat system without bat pins if your wheel isn’t drilled for pins.
- A grid system for centering bats dead-on if you’re picky (I am).
- A laser level to line everything up.
Trimming tools
Once your pot has firmed up, you flip it over and trim the foot. These are what I use:
- Do-All trimming tool and the Kemper trimming tool, solid, cheap starters.
- Avocado trimming tool, a nice one for cleaner cuts.
- A tungsten carbide tool for more advanced potters; it holds an edge forever. Just don’t drop it, it’ll break.
- Trimming spinner and spinner level to help you center a piece fast for trimming.
- A Giffin Grip (and the Giffin Grip Mini for small pieces) — it re-centers a pot for trimming in seconds and holds it without it flying off. The upgrade you’ll want the moment trimming clicks.
Wax and glazing
- Wax resist, brush it on the foot so glaze wipes right off and your pot doesn’t stick to the kiln shelf.
- Brushes, keep a set only for wax. Wax ruins them for anything else.
Essential handbuilding tools
If you’re going the handbuilding route (or doing both, like me), a lot of the throwing kit carries over — sponges, needle tool, wire tool, ribs, silicone shapers. On top of those, here’s what earns its place on my handbuilding bench:
- A rolling pin and a set of thickness strips — the cheap way to roll out even slabs if you don’t have a slab roller. The strips sit on either side of your clay so every slab comes out the same thickness.
- Bevel cutter for clean angled edges when you join slabs.
- Fettling knife for sharp, precise cuts on templates and edges.
- Edgy tool to help round out the rims of your pieces.
- Cookie cutters — I use a mix: circle, round and crinkle, flower, a Fox Run flower cutter, and general flower shapes. Great for consistent shapes and appliqué.
- Handheld extruder for pushing out coils and handles.
- Pony roller for smoothing and joining.
- Hole cutter for drainage holes in planters, or holes for stringing.
- Wire knife for texture and clean slab cuts.
Decorating tools
This is my favorite part — it’s where a plain pot becomes yours. Most of my surface work starts with underglaze and a few carving tools:
- Speedball underglaze — a great starter set of colors. Brush it onto leather-hard clay, then carve back through it for sgraffito.
- For laying color down smoothly I use Mayco Reflections fan brushes and a soft hake brush for broad, even coats.
- Mayco Stroke & Coat glazes for bright, brushable color that holds its line through the firing.
- Sgraffito styluses from Diamond Core Tools. I use a range depending on how fine the line is: the L1 (1 mm needle ball), L2 (crown ball), L3 stylus, and L4 stylus for scratching detail through underglaze.
- The P12 straight V for carving cleaner V-grooves and bolder lines.
- For slip-trailed and piped detail, a Xiem bulb applicator and a set of fine-tip applicator bottles give you crisp raised lines — and a SugarVeil AirPen gives you the finest control of all for delicate work.
- A lace tool — I use it as both my needle tool and my sgraffito tool: it pierces and scores clean, and the fine point carves crisp lines through underglaze.
Smoothing and finishing
How you finish a piece is what separates a homemade look from a professional one. This is the gear I reach for:
- Diamond Core flexible diamond pads in 120, 200, 400, and 1200 grit — for smoothing greenware and bisque without kicking up the dust that dry sandpaper makes. Work through the grits for a glass-smooth finish.
- Bat-mounted diamond grinding discs for leveling foot rings and smoothing bottoms right on the wheel.
- The Glaze Fountain Deluxe for cleaning glaze off the bottoms of pots quickly before they go in the kiln.
- The Cink 2, a mobile clay-and-water recycling sink that keeps clay out of your plumbing — a studio upgrade, but a game changer.
Start here: the beginner minimum
If all of the above feels like a lot, it is. You do not need it on day one. Here’s the short list to actually get started:
- A bag of white stoneware clay.
- The basics: a needle tool, a wire tool, a yellow sponge, a wooden rib, and a metal rib.
- A banding wheel if you’re decorating or handbuilding.
That’s it. Add the rest as your work tells you what you’re missing. That’s genuinely how I built my own kit, one frustration at a time.
Sourcing in Europe
Most of the US links above have European equivalents. For readers in the UK and EU, these suppliers stock the bulk of this list and ship across Europe:
- Scarva and CTM Potters Supplies — general tools, Kemper, Mudtools, Dolan, clay, and more.
- Diamond Core (pads, carving, discs): Scarva, Bluematchbox, or Sajo.
- Tortuga: Scarva.
- Giffin Grip: Potclays, the Mini at Bath Potters, or Giffin’s EU distributor list.
- For respirators, look for FFP3-rated masks — the EU equivalent to N95/P100.
Frequently asked questions
What tools do I need to start pottery?
Not many. A bag of stoneware clay, a needle tool, a wire cutter, a sponge, and one or two ribs will get you throwing or handbuilding. Everything else you add over time.
Do I need a pottery wheel to start?
No. Handbuilding needs no wheel at all, just clay, your hands, and a few basic tools. And most people learn to throw on a studio’s wheel long before buying their own.
What clay is best for beginners?
A mid-range white stoneware (cone 5–10) is my go-to. It’s forgiving, strong, and shows off color and glaze well.
How much should I spend on my first tool kit?
Less than most people expect. Buy the cheap versions first — a two-dollar needle tool works as well as a fancy one — and only upgrade the tools you use every single day.
