Ex. rare and early stoneware torpedo on ebay

[surfaceone]

Makes me wish I took a pottery class because something like this looks very easy to fake to be honest with you....

Hey Jim,

I think you'd better take 2 classes, cuz I took one and couldn't do it if I tried. Will you make one outta Play Doh, maybe for a Forum auction...

 

[cyberdigger]

I agree with Jim to some extent.. I took a ceramics class and found it quite satisfying.. my dad still has my final exam piece in his living room.. [] ..if I had ever even thought of a torp like that, let alone seen or known of one, I might have tried one.. not an exact copy of anything, of course.. !
Here's a souvenir I kept from that semester.. I made 6 of these.. but I glazed the others, signed them, and gave 'em out for Christmas..

 

[bostaurus]

I taught wheel pottery and that would be very difficult to throw because of the narrow base and heavy shoulders. The clay's natural tendancy is it for the top edge to get wider and wider. For narrowing the lip you have to force it back to the center. Just the slightest variation in the wall thickness or finger pressure would send it off center and off the wheel. The only way I can imagine to do it is to throw a cylinder and then use a form. The form is cut from wood or metal in the negative of the shape you want. It is attached to an articulated arm that is attached to the wheel. It would be swung into place and pressed against the clay. If it is used correctly and attached firmly it negates all the little variations that occur using human hands. Actually I would be very interested in knowing how they did that! Maybe that is why there are not that many around.