The Japanese title of this tool is Dango; in English is Rib. A rib is any object, for example a piece of bone, wood, bamboo, or metal used to change or smooth the inside or outside of a form, usually while it is being thrown (wheel pots) or formed (coiled pots).
Ribs are versatile and invaluable tools that perform a wide variety of tasks both on the wheel and off the wheel.
ribs can:
- Aid in forming the basic shape of a pot, through pressure on the inner or outer
surface, during or after throwing.
- Smooth and bind together the separate coils of a coiled pot, and the thrown and coiled sections of a two-stage pot.
- Support sections of a pot that may collapse during throwing, either through
shortness of clay, thinness of walls, overworking, or from the extreme sharp of the pot, while final manipulations are made.
- Clean the bottom of the pot, much as a substitute for a knife.
- Using the angles a rib to create lines,grooves, shoulders or ridges.
There are a lots of different usages. You just need to hold them and explore the posibilities.
