My old instructor warned me about cheap graphite paddles from that online auction site, and he was dead right.

The one I bought for $25 last month started flaking black carbon into my gather after only two uses, completely ruining a set of clear tumblers I was making for a show.

3 comments

3 Comments

taylorellis4d ago

That flaking carbon can get into your ventilation system too. I had to deep clean my whole studio hood after a cheap paddle shed everywhere. The dust gets on everything, not just your current piece.

the_nathan4d ago

Ugh, that's the worst. I ended up just taping a sheet of plastic up inside the hood to catch the flakes before I switched to a better paddle.

xenaf513d ago

Yeah, it's like what @taylorellis said, the mess spreads. You see this everywhere, cheap stuff costs more in the long run because you're fixing the problems it causes. Saving a few bucks upfront just isn't worth the hassle.