Posted by Eric Abraham on January 18, 2003 at 15:03:57 from 199.240.139.98 user EricAbraham.
In Reply to: Re: naked savage-fettled posted by Duncan on January 17, 2003 at 22:24:50:
In the ceramic arts, there is a tool most potters have, called a "fettling knife" which is used to trim pots, remove mold marks and generally clean up and finish a piece of greenware (unfired pottery) by hand. The flexible blade is about six inches long and about three fourths of an inch deep at the end by the handle, then tapers down to about a quarter inch at the tip. The thin blade is only sharp enough to cut leather-hard clay. And I am in fine fettle over learning where this term originated.