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Wire Loop Sculpting Tool Series

The Creation of the Wire Loop Cutter

            Just one of the wire loop tools in a series by SkulpTools, the Wire Loop Cutter Tool came about because I found common ribbon cutter tools were too thick, too big and clumsy and shaped all wrong to do what I wanted them to do. They seemed to make more of a mess to clean up, as far as tool marks. Other existing loop tools did not have the ability to cleanly cut away clay. They are much more suitable for larger scale work or earthen clays. Not to mention their handles aren’t all that comfortable.  So I set out to design a time-saving tool with a thin, yet smooth edge that was narrow enough to fit into really tight places. After some experimentation with other designs, I came up with this smooth wire loop tool design.

 This tool has a sharpened inside edge, and yet the polished outer edge is rounded and very smooth and strong. It will remove clay from tight spots easily, either by cutting deeply or lightly scraping the surface. Smaller and much smoother than standard ribbon cutters, this tool will make clean 1/8” wide grooves like gliding through butter. What I really love about it is that the smooth outer edge leaves almost no tool marks to clean up afterwards. 

In fact, if you turn this tool on its side, you can use the smooth wire edge to make thin grooves and fine lines and swirls in your clay. You just can’t do that with most all ribbon cutters. This Wire Loop Cutter Tool comes in the standard single tip or a dual-tip version with a rounded foot smoothing tool on the other end.

 
Then there is the Flat Loop Deep Cutter Tool. [no photo yet] One loop with two flat, thin, and very sharp outer edges, for very quick removal of a lot of clay. The beauty of this tool is that it’s very narrow, about 3/16” wide and about 1/16” thick, compared to other similar tools that are much thicker and wider. And with its ergo-comfy handle, it’s very easy to control in tight places with near-surgical precision to remove just the right amounts of clay in close. I can also make this in a smaller, thinner size of apx 1/8” wide x apx. 1/32” thick, for even tighter control.