[Clayart] Fwd: Phil Porburka

Thu Oct 17 17:19:53 UTC 2024

For anyone interested, below is the text from my Tool Times column in Clay Times Magazine from the November-December/2009 issue, based on an interview with Phil Poburka.  He was a fascinating and very talented man, and I am very sorry to hear of his passing.  

Clay Times - Volume 15 Issue 84 - Tool Times Column, by Vince Pitelka.
I recently interviewed Phil Poburka, maker of the remarkable Bison tungsten-carbide trimming and carving tools for clay.  Phil’s objective since childhood was to have a “workshop” where he might pursue various skilled trades, but it was a meandering path that got him there.  Since childhood Phil has loved old books, and assembled a good library of them by the time he was a teenager.   40 years ago he was living in the San Francisco Bay Area working as an antiquarian book cataloger for research libraries and private collections.  A move to the coastal town of Montara meant finding employment, and subsequent work as a house painter, roofer, and carpenter defined his direction as a discerning craftsman.  In May, 1978 he visited a friend in Las Vegas, Nevada, which at the time seemed to him a mellow, quiet, easy-going town.  He made the move, and went to work for a local contractor building custom homes.  In that job he was able to employ most of his talents, doing everything from framing and plumbing to finish carpentry and installing doors and windows: “That was kind of a nice gig, because most of the time I was the only person working, and got things done and everybody was happy.”  That’s a good summation of a healthy work ethic. 

Phil grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas, the son of a Master Sergeant  in the 14th Air Force.  His father graduated from the Pratt and Whitney School and worked with the air-worthiness of warplanes, but never encouraged his son’s natural inclinations towards machinery.  In a clear memory from the age of three, Phil recalls a steam traction engine along a road in Texas, and his parents’ unwillingness to stop and let him watch the beast lumbering down the road.  When neighbors along the block came out to admire a new 1957 Buick sedan, Phil was unmoved: “It rang like a lead bell.”  On the other hand, a rusty 1924 Hudson roadster in a service station parking lot, dragged out of a barn and covered with straw and chicken poop set his heart beating: “I was totally thrilled and wanted to look at it and look underneath it.”

Phil has always had a natural ability to understand how mechanical things work – to envision a blueprint of their workings in his mind.  It’s a specialized variation on what we call a spatial thinker – someone who can easily envision the way things interact in real time and space.  His logical mind and intuitive understanding of materials and mechanisms made him a quick study, easily able to adapt to new challenges and skills.

In early 1986 Phil started Bison Studios, a woodworking shop specializing in repair and restoration of antique furniture and machinery.  He loved the feel of fine tools in his hand and showed a natural preference for older tools and machines, those made with a loving sense of design, craftsmanship, and utility.  With his ability to visualize mechanical problems and solutions, he began to design and make many of his own tools.  Phil acknowledges that the daily rituals of handling and using fine tools are often critically important in sustaining long-term satisfaction and productivity for studio artisans.  To quote his current website, “I have developed these tools for those potters who wish to trim with greater intention, delicacy, comfort and ease, and for trimming to be enjoyable, welcome and satisfying in the larger sequences and rituals of making pots.”

Also in 1986, a cousin in Michigan sent Phil a copy of the Bernard Leach classic A Potter’s Book, and he was hooked.  He signed up for a “pottery 101” night class at the local college, and as his skills developed, he found himself determining overall shape by the inside profile of the vessel, which initially meant considerable trimming on the outside.  With his busy schedule, Phil often trimmed things on the dry side and found that commercially-made tools dulled quickly, sometimes in a single evening.  

Through his wood-working experience Phil was familiar with the properties of tungsten carbide, among the hardest materials suitable for making cutting tools.  In 1987 he designed and made a few trimming tools with tungsten-carbide cutters, and attracted the attention of  his fellow students and the guest potters invited by the instructor.  What started out as “Say, could you make me a few of those?” soon evolved into a significant demand.  He created a simple tri-fold brochure, and with each sale he’d hand out a few and say “Pass these on to your friends.” Phil’s current website features scans from a print brochure, and his fine hand-drawn images seem to confirm the quality of the product.  They remind me of the exquisite engravings found in early machinery catalogs.  

Initially Phil made only the solid tools, but with a knack for anticipating use and need, in 1990 he started experimenting with loop configurations.  There was no precedent for manipulating tungsten carbide in that fashion, and needless to say, the specifics are a trade secret.  Suffice that after a month of experiments, while also doing woodworking full-time, he perfected the loop tools.  

When I asked Phil about the unusually high standards of design and workmanship in all of his tools, he replied, “To me, it’s the minimum that makes something worth doing.”  To me, it’s a logical assumption that all studio artisans would feel that way, but in today’s market for studio crafts it’s evident that a great many don’t.  In Phil’s case, the standards of quality are especially apparent throughout the design, feel, and function of the tools.  The business end is well-fashioned and mounted in a machined brass ferrule and a finely-finished, hand-turned hardwood handle, designed for utility and ergonomics appropriate to the particular tool.  If you have favorite handles from the broad range he makes, Phil accepts orders for tools with specific handles.  He also accepts orders for custom tools if his experience indicates that the proposal is feasible and practical. 

Phil’s website says “There are no employees, 'distributors, retailers, or other interlopers to confuse, exploit, goof up, mark-up, or mis-state matters, or to interfere with communications between me and those potters who may use, or wish to use these tools.”   During the pre-industrial era, local artisans maintained a close relationship with their customers.  It was to the artisan’s advantage to make the highest quality product with original design features in order to win and retain customers.  Feedback was immediate and ongoing, and adaptation of product-design to need represented a beautiful, close-knit symbiosis that rarely exists in today’s world.  Through his conviction to honestly represent these tools with no interference, and now with the help of that most up-to date of technologies, the Internet, Phil has recreated a fluid and responsive maker-user relationship on a national and international scale remarkably like that which existed on a local scale 200 years ago.  The irony is wonderful.  

A perusal of Phil’s website at www.bisonstudios.com immediately reveals a remarkable range of tools, including loop tools in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, plus the original solid tools and a selection of knives and sgraffito tools.  Phil admits that the website is a little out of date, but some of his newer designs can be found on Etsy, a marketing website for things handmade.  To see them, go to www.etsy.com and enter “Bison tools” in the search box.  I am especially intrigued by the “scoopy tools” and “tiny dogleg tools.”  The latter seem the ultimate tool for the discerning porcelain carver.  I wonder if Elaine Coleman has found them.  

The cutting edges on all Bison tools are tungsten carbide, and will perform for years before dulling, depending on the particular conditions of use.  You can even trim bone-dry, with only a slight decrease in longevity.  The tools should be sent back to Phil for resharpening.  I asked if he had ever done a study of how many pots can be trimmed before the tool needs re-sharpening.  His response was, “It’s tough to do because the particular conditions are so variable. But I did sit down one time and work out that the figure of seventeen miles of trimmings was reasonable.”  Seventeen miles is one heck of a lot of trimming.    

In considering the use of Bison tools, remember that tungsten carbide is brittle.  The loop tools are especially fragile, and if dropped on a concrete floor will likely shatter.  The material is inflexible, and the blades should not be tweaked in any way or rapped against a bucket to dislodge clay.  Bison tools should not be stored rattling around with other tools in a bucket or toolbox.  None of this is problematic if one simply accepts the reality of their fragility and adjusts handling and storage habits accordingly.  

Recently Phil sent us a box of tools to test at the Appalachian Center for Craft, and my students and I gave them a rigorous workout for several months.  Included were three variations of the “A” loop, his most popular tool, combining a sharp corner for leveling and deep cuts, a curved end for inside curves, and a straight edge for flat surfaces.  Also included were several other loop tools, a hook tool, and a variety of the solid tools.  

As soon as I received the tools, we took a bunch of large poly sponges and cut a deep slot down the center of each one.  Before a student checked out a tool to test, I made sure he/she was clear in the understanding that the tool must be stored with the business end poked into the slotted sponge at all times unless actively in use in the hand.  We all quickly developed this habit, and had no problems with dropping and breakage.  When we sent the tools back to Phil they were all in perfect condition, and I could discern no lessening in sharpness after several months of use.  

We were impressed with the quality and performance of these tools.  They are so sharp that they take a bit of getting used to, but once you learn to gauge the angle of approach and pressure required, they are easy to manage and give far more control of cut than any other trimming tool on the market.   Though they might seem pricey in comparison to other trimming tools, their longevity, quality, and design make them a bargain.

When I asked Phil to define his philosophy of customer service, he replied, “It should be fun for both parties, and no bullshit.”  That is succinct and accurate.  When I asked if he has considered making other specialized potter’s tools, he responded, “Every now and then I think of things that I would love to do or to offer, but I am just booked up, and don’t have elbow room to do anything more than I have.”  Maybe he’s just waiting for the right suggestion.  

This brief dialogue doesn’t even get into Phil’s commitment to rescuing injured wild birds, nursing them back to health, and releasing them.  Phil is many-faceted, and his writing style seems consistent with the quality and nature of his tools and his convictions.  I’ll give him the last word, a quote from his website:  “The Bison tools come sharp and hold their edge for a long time. Please consider to use them knowingly; with a slow wheel, and when possible let your clay be toward leather-hard. Thus will your work go sure and swift and clean.”  

Vince Pitelka
Potter, Writer, Teacher
Chapel Hill, NC
vincepitelka at gmail.com 
www.vincepitelka.com 
https://chathamartistsguild.org/ 

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart <clayart-bounces at lists.clayartforum.com> On Behalf Of William Schran via Clayart
Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2024 9:40 AM
To: 'Clayart international pottery discussion forum' <clayart at lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: William Schran <wschran at twc.com>
Subject: Re: [Clayart] Fwd: Phil Porburka

I also saw this yesterday from Tom posted on Facebook.I meet and chatted with Phil at many NCECA conferences.He was always very friendly and eager to talk about his Bison Tools.If you didn't know, when living in Las Vegas he would rescue injured pigeons and rehabilitate them.Somebody posted on FB that a friend stopped by for a a wellness check and discovered Phil had passed.It was also posted somebody came and picked up his rescued birds.
I have 4 of his trimming tools that are a dream to use and I shall treasure them even more.We have lost a friend and great tool maker.
Bill

William Schranwschran at twc.com703-505-1617

	-----------------------------------------From: "Antoinette Badenhorst via Clayart" 
To: "clayart"
Cc: "Antoinette Badenhorst"
Sent: Thursday October 17 2024 6:02:59AM
Subject: [Clayart] Fwd: Phil Porburka

 I saw Tom Colman posted that Phil was found deceased in his home.
There
 are requests that anyone who knows about his family come forward.
 I know there were inquiries here about him som time ago. It makes me sad to  know he was all by himself. May he rest in peace.
 Best wishes,

 Antoinette Badenhorst
 www.porcelainbyantoinette.com
 www.teachinart.com
 MSClayworks.com
 arts.ms.gov/artist/antoinette-badenhorst
 www.aic-iac.org/en/member/antoinette-badenhorst
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