Verdict: Mudtools makes some of the most recommended shaping tools a home potter can buy, and most of them cost about the same as a lunch. The polymer ribs are the reason the brand exists: one shape comes in up to five colors, and each color is a different stiffness, so you can match a rib to soft porcelain or firm stoneware. The Mudwires and MudSponges are simple tools done well. The weak spots are thin published specs, a trim tool you must sharpen yourself, and a few premium lines that are sold out. This Mudtools review is research-based: we compared the maker's own store and product pages with US dealer listings and potter comments on the Ceramic Arts Daily forum. We did not use the tools ourselves.
Mudtools at a glance
| Line | What it includes | Maker price band | Mudtools store, 23 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polymer ribs | Shapes 0 to 5, small and large bowl, small and large platter, EDGY, MudMouth, Bulls Tongue | About $9 to $24 each | Listed |
| Stainless ribs | Shapes 0, 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7, small bowl, bean, leaf and pebble drawing ribs, paisley and long scrapers | About $12 to $27 | Listed |
| Wire tools | Six Mudwires, Mudcutter, Mudcutter Max, Carving Bow, spare wires | Wires under $10; bow tools about $45 to $85 | Listed |
| MudSponges | Blue Workhorse, Orange Absorbent, White Finishing, set of three | About $8 to $25 | Listed |
| Trimming and carving | Do-All Trim Tool, Hax, Dragtool, Diamond Burr, Signature Series knives | About $7 to $60 | Everyday tools listed; Signature Series sold out |
| Other hand tools | MudShark, shredders, Bump tools, paddles, DEX stylus tools | About $10 to $45 | Listed |
| Kit | Essentials Starter Kit | About $100 to $115 | Listed |
| PUSH extrusion | PUSH Extruder, cassette, mounting hardware, dies | Dies about $40 to $320; extruder in the $2,000 range | Extruder, cassette and hardware sold out |
Prices and stock come from the Mudtools store on 23 October 2026. Dealers such as Krueger Pottery Supply charge similar amounts; check the live price.
Who makes Mudtools
Every collection page on the Mudtools store says the same thing: the tools are "Designed and made by artist Michael Sherrill in Bat Cave, North Carolina." The About page tells the story in Sherrill's own words: he made his own tools because store-bought ones did not perform, other artists asked for them, and "that is how Mudtools was born." The American Craft Council's partner page adds that the company is family-owned, based in the mountains of western North Carolina, employs 20 people, and that the polymer rib was its first product. Mudtools does not publish a founding year or warranty terms on the pages we checked.
Polymer ribs and the Mudtools color code
Mudtools says its polymer ribs use "unique proprietary materials" and come in "varying degrees of flexibility." The Shape 2 page calls that shape "the firstborn in the Mudtools family" and says the polymer resists wear and burrs and becomes burnished with use. Each color is a flexibility, and the maker's code letter plus the shape number gives you the tool name, so G2 is a green Shape 2.
| Color | Code | Flexibility (Mudtools label) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pink | P | Ultra soft | Final smoothing on soft clay and porcelain |
| Red | R | Very soft | Smoothing outsides, removing throwing lines |
| Yellow | Y | Soft | Shaping curves and bowl interiors |
| Green | G | Medium | All-round throwing and compressing |
| Blue | B | Firm | Straight walls, firm clay, pushing out a form |
Older dealer copy is out of date. The Ceramic Shop and Potclays still describe four hardnesses per shape; the Mudtools store now sells five, with Pink added as the softest. Mudtools does not print rib dimensions in text (its size chart is an image), so we use dealer figures: Clay-King lists Shape 2 at 3.75 in wide by 2.5 in tall. Krueger listed Pink in Shapes 0, 1 and 5 as out of stock when we checked, while Mudtools itself lists P2.
Shapes beyond the kidney
Shapes 0, 1 and 5 are traditional kidneys in small, medium and large; Krueger quotes Mudtools that Shape 5 is "the same traditional kidney-shape as Shapes 0 and 1, only bigger." Bowl and platter ribs add long, even curves for wide forms. EDGY is a newer curvy rib for edge rounding and burnishing, the red MudMouth is sold for burnishing, compressing and slip trailing, and a set of all five colors in one shape costs about $40 to $50. Potters on the Ceramic Arts Daily forum describe picking colors by job, such as red for smoothing outsides and green Shapes 2 and 3 for general throwing. For how ribs from Mudtools, Xiem, Kemper and Dirty Girls compare, see our pottery ribs guide; it picks the G2 as its best overall rib, so we do not repeat that ranking here.
Stainless ribs and scrapers
The stainless line mirrors the polymer shapes in metal: Shapes 0, 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 plus a small bowl rib, so a potter who likes a polymer kidney can get the same curve in steel for refining and removing slip. Archie Bray lists the Shape 1 at 3.50 by 1.75 in in cutlery-grade stainless. The drawing ribs (bean, leaf and pebble, in several sizes) and the paisley scraper are for hand-builders and for altering walls.
The Long Scraper comes smooth or with 12, 18 or 24 teeth per inch, and an Extra Long version sits beside it. The 12-tooth version is the one inside the Essentials kit. Serrated ribs level slab and coil work quickly and leave a texture you can keep or smooth away.
Mudwire cut-off wires
Mudtools sells six Mudwires at the same low price: Standard Green, Standard Short Orange, Heavy Black, Short Heavy Purple, Curly Red and Curly Short Pink. The Standard Green page gives the most detail: a "high-grade stainless steel braided cable" about 15 in long, molded polymer handles shaped so you do not wrap wire round your fingers, sized for a standard 13 in wheelhead (maker SKU MT-06-01). Heavy Black uses thicker cable for wedging and groggy clay, and the curly wires leave a wavy cut for faceting and decorative bases.
The bowed tools are a different idea. The Mudcutter has a ridged stainless frame and polymer handle so you can cut one-handed, for example slicing clay off a pug mill or extruder or angling a spout; it takes straight or curly wire. The Mudcutter Max and the smaller Carving Bow round out the line. Our clay wire cutter guide ranks the Standard Green against Kemper and Xiem wires and covers lengths and technique.
MudSponges
The three MudSponges share a kidney shape that softens when wet, but each uses a different foam. Krueger quotes Mudtools: the Blue Workhorse is "a great all-purpose sponge made of an open cell material that is very absorbent," the Orange Absorbent is "the perfect throwing sponge" and is the most absorbent of the three, and the White Finishing uses "a tight-cell material" for final detail and cleanup. Sponge sizes are not published by the maker. The set of three costs about $20 to $30. Our pottery sponges guide compares them with natural and elephant ear sponges.
Trimming and carving tools
The Do-All Trim Tool is Mudtools' answer to a drawer of loop tools. The maker calls it a "Japanese-inspired, reimagined trim tool" based on the kanna: one end is a sharpened, spade-shaped blade for cutting around the feet of tea bowls, bowls and plates, and the other is a curled loop that combines several of Sherrill's favorite loop shapes. Mudtools recommends wiping it with wax or oil and links a sharpening guide, but does not publish the steel type or size (SKU MT-12-01). Our pottery trimming tools guide ranks it against replaceable-blade and carbon steel trimmers.
The Hax Tool is a bendable stainless scoring tool with a serrated edge, which The Ceramic Shop says suits fine-particle clays such as porcelain. The Dragtool is double-sided for carving or fluting walls. The Signature Series pieces, handmade in Sherrill's studio from carbon steel, copper and local hardwood, include a Fettling Knife in 2 in and 3 in blade lengths and six Petal Knives for carving. All of them, and the boxed Signature Series Carving Collection, were sold out on 23 October 2026, with no restock date shown.
Essentials Starter Kit
The Essentials Starter Kit (SKU MT-09-01) bundles what Mudtools calls "the indispensable basics": three polymer ribs (R1, Y2 and G4), a MudShark, a Standard Green Mudwire, a 12-tooth Long Scraper, a small Mudshredder, the Do-All Trim Tool and a Blue Workhorse MudSponge, boxed. MudShark and shredder colors vary. Teachers can order custom class kits through Mudtools. Bought one by one at the store's listed prices, the same tools cost roughly what the kit costs, so the box is about convenience and gifting more than savings. It also leaves out a needle tool as such (the MudShark covers that job) and any wood modeling tools. Our pottery tools buying guide compares it with cheaper starter kits.
Other Mudtools worth knowing
- MudShark: a needle tool and fettling knife in one, with a needle that folds away; six handle colors. Our needle tool guide covers how it compares with standard needles.
- Shredders: graters for leveling and shaping leather-hard clay, in small, flat and conical versions with replacement blades.
- Bump tools: a bendable aluminum shaft with a dense sponge end for reaching inside narrow forms; The Bump and the shorter Baby Bump.
- DEX stylus tools: weighted stainless styluses, 7.25 in long, in six tip styles; Styles 1 to 3 are for sgraffito, mishima and signing work, and 4 to 6 are for drawing and altering surfaces.
- Paddles: a Big and a Small paddle with fabric socks.
What is sold out or hard to get in October 2026
We found no discontinued notices on the Mudtools store, but several items were marked Sold out on 23 October 2026: the PUSH Extruder, its additional cassette and mounting hardware, the Signature Series Fettling Knife, all six Petal Knives and the set, the Signature Series Carving Collection, and the Rib Peg. The Mudtools Tool Roll and the Flood Kit showed two units each. Dies for the PUSH extruder were still listed. Treat the sold-out lines as wait-and-watch items rather than products you can order today.
What Mudtools does well
- Choice of stiffness: one shape in five flexibilities is still unusual; most brands sell one or two.
- Durable polymer: the maker says the rib material resists wear and burrs and self-polishes with use.
- Low cost per tool: most ribs, wires and sponges cost under $25, so upgrading one tool at a time is easy.
- Clear codes: color letter plus shape number (G2, Y4) makes reordering the same rib simple.
- Wide dealer network: US pottery suppliers stock the core range, so you are rarely stuck waiting on one store.
Weak points
- Thin specs: rib and sponge dimensions, Do-All steel and handle materials are not published in text by the maker.
- Upkeep on the trimmer: the Do-All needs sharpening and oil, unlike replaceable-blade trimmers.
- Sold-out premium lines: the handmade Signature Series and the PUSH extruder were unavailable when we checked.
- Color confusion: dealers still quote four hardnesses, so check the color you are buying against the Mudtools chart.
- No published warranty: we found no warranty or returns terms on the pages we checked.
Who should buy Mudtools, and who should skip
Buy Mudtools if you throw on the wheel and want better ribs, a comfortable cut-off wire and sponges matched to each stage of a pot. Start with one green or yellow rib, a Standard Green Mudwire and an Orange Absorbent sponge; add a second color once you know if you like softer or firmer ribs. The Essentials kit suits a gift or a classroom.
Who should skip Mudtools: potters who want one cheap all-in-one kit with wood tools and loops (a basic kit from the Kemper pottery tools range is cheaper), and anyone who wants trimming blades that never need sharpening.
Alternatives to Mudtools
- Xiem: silicone ribs, coated wires and titanium-fused trimmers; see our Xiem pottery tools review.
- DiamondCore: replaceable stainless trimming blades and carving tools; see our DiamondCore pottery tools review.
- Kemper: low-cost wood, steel and wire basics for a first kit.
- Dirty Girls and Dolan: hand-finished steel trimmers for potters happy to sharpen.
Care and safety
Rinse polymer ribs and sponges after each session and let them dry flat; keep steel tools dry and, as Mudtools suggests for the Do-All, wipe them with wax or oil. Do not leave sponges in a closed bag wet. Dried trimmings and sponge slurry dry into dust that contains silica, so wet-wipe the wheel and floor instead of sweeping and wear a NIOSH-approved respirator when you mix dry clay or glaze. Our clay dust safety guide covers studio cleanup.
Sources: Mudtools store home page, all-products catalog (four pages), polymer ribs collection, Shape 2 polymer rib, EDGY and MudMouth pages, stainless ribs listings, wire tools collection, Standard Green Mudwire and Mudcutter pages, MudSponges collection, trimming and carving collection, Do-All Trim Tool, Fettling Knife and Petal Knives pages, DEX Tools page, MudShark page, PUSH extrusion collection, Essentials Starter Kit page, Care and Feeding collection and About page; American Craft Council Mudtools partner page; Krueger Pottery Supply Mudtools collection, MudSponge Collection and Pink Ultra Soft Ribs listings; Clay-King Shape 2 polymer rib listing; Archie Bray Clay stainless rib listing; The Ceramic Shop and Potclays Mudtools brand pages; Ceramic Arts Daily forum rib thread. Research-based review, no hands-on testing. Specs checked October 2026.