Description:Hand-made iron sorting tool used to 'sound' pottery to test for cracks or flaws.
A perfect item of pottery will make a ringing sound, while a cracked or damaged item sounds dull.
The process is known as sorting or selecting.
This example is typical of the shape of a pottery sorting tool, with its narrow centre for ease of holding.
Roughly 12cm in length.
Taken from the Gladstone Pottery Museum Tools Collection.
This object is now part of the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.