Rant: My old teacher swore by a wet newspaper pad, but a dry graphite block changed my game.

I spent a year trying to smooth seals with a soaked paper pad like he taught us in the 2010 workshop, but it always left a faint texture. Switched to a dry graphite block on a friend's advice last month and my seals are now perfectly smooth in half the time. Anyone else find a traditional method that just didn't work for them?

3 comments

3 Comments

perry.avery23d ago

My old ceramics instructor in 2012 was the same way, swore the wet pad was the only method. Stuck with it for ages out of respect, but it just never gave me that glassy finish. Totally get what you and cole362 are saying about some old ways not being the best fit. That dry graphite block was a total lightbulb moment for me too, like why did I fight with a soggy mess for so long.

cole36223d ago

My grandpa's old sharpening stone just made my tools duller.

valthomas7d ago

Honestly, that whole "respect for tradition" thing held me back for years. I wasted a summer trying to build a fence the way my uncle insisted, and it was a total mess. Sometimes the old way is just the wrong way.