[Clayart] Fwd: Phil Porburka
ronroy at ca.inter.net
ronroy at ca.inter.net
Sat Oct 19 15:33:22 UTC 2024
Thanks Vince,
Well done!
Quoting Vince Pitelka via Clayart <clayart at lists.clayartforum.com>:
> 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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Ron Roy
ronroy at ca.inter.net
Web page ronroy.net
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