[Clayart] Fwd: Phil Porburka

Thu Oct 17 21:56:19 UTC 2024

Thanks, Vince!
      Phil's talents and ethics set a high  bar.
         Dave

On Thu, Oct 17, 2024, 1:02 PM Vince Pitelka via Clayart <
clayart at lists.clayartforum.com> wrote:

> 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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