Slip Cones—Easy-to-Make Pottery Tools for Precise Slip Trailing Charan Sachar

If you ever use slip trailing to decorate your ceramic art, chances are, you have had the frustrating experience of slip spitting out from your slip trailer and ruining a perfectly trailed design due to trapped air.

In today’s video, ceramic artist Charan Sachar shows us how to make a foolproof and ergonomic slip trailer out of some inexpensive materials. Sachar says that of all the trailers he has used, these simple homemade tools have given him the best results. Watch the video now and then make some for yourself. Plus, we’ve included some step-by-step written instruction on the process below. Read on! - Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

Making a Slip Cone

Start with the mylar paper and cut it in a 10-inch square. Then cut across the diagonal. This will make two cones. Larger cones can also be made in a similar way but smaller cones are easier to handle.

Place your finger in the center of the diagonal and start turning the cone between your fingertips. Keep turning to make the cone until you have turned the triangle into a cone with a tight tip. Keep the tip of the cone tight with your fingers. Tape the seam on your cone and your cone is done.

To fill the cone with slip, use a flavor injector. Just fill the cone up to two thirds.

Fold the seams very tight with tape. The cone should feel almost solid and not squishy. When ready to use, just cut the tip off very slightly. Nail clippers work best.

Use the trailer to apply your decoration. You will hardly need to apply pressure and the slip will flow smoothly. Once you feel that the cone is going limp, fold the top end again and tape it to make it tight and stiff. Keeping the cone tight and solid is the key. You will hardly need to use pressure, so there is no strain on the thumbs. No air enters into the cone, so there is no spitting.

The only disadvantage to these is that you can’t reuse the cones. But they are very easy and cheap to make. Just pop in your favorite DVD and make a bunch of these.

To see some of Charan Sachar’s slip-decorated work made using these cones, visit http://creativewithclay.etsy.com.