Walnut Hollow Clay Extruder with Easy Crank Handle, Brown

This is easy to crank when you consider your forcing a soften clay through very tiny holes. Any crank will require effort, except a motorized one I guess. The crank arm swings open to provide leverage. The threads are not as robust as I'd like, which is IMO why people are stripping them and having problems breaking it. I suspect the metal is not of high quality but rather a mixed product that is cheaper. A decent metal cut for threads for threads would allow us to screw open/close the two ends quickly. The only thing I see is you need to be mindful when screwing them to not break it.

Received quickly and exactly as described. I was nervous ordering after reading thru the reviews, so I was sure to use it right away, put it away, and go back to use it over a week later.This is what I found. It is easy to unscrew the cap to add your little metal disc, but if you do not clean it well, and you don't screw it back on to store it away tight, you won't have an issue. I found it very hard to clean the screw on cap fully, because Clay inevitably gets stuck in the threads. I did find using a bit of WD-40 or other metal lubricant/greaser meant for metal, definitely helps. You can see the first time you use it, it has a light lihjt coating of grease on the metal pusher inside, so that's what made me think of this.In closing, I'd suggest that after each use, you clean it well with a paper towel, especially the threads inside the screw cap, and spray a little bit of metal lubricant on your paper towel or rag, and wipe the inside threads with that before putting it away! Hope this helps someone! Other than the difficulties in cleaning the threads (which you will have with ALL these tools), I absolutely love this extruder. The body has a comfort grip, the handle turns easily and it's very smooth, even with the OLD clay I tested it on! (I did condition & soften the clay, but it was still old old clay, and I had no issues!)

I’ve used this product a few times now and it does exactly what I need it to do. I use it to make polymer clay earrings. It was very easy to use and figure out the first time. I will say it’s difficult to clean but I think you’d probably have this problem no matter what extruder you use. Some rubbing alcohol and a rag does a pretty good job with cleaning but I do find myself needing to toss the first couple pieces when I swap colors. The case that it comes in is really nice to keep everything organized. Would recommend.

Works fine, but there is still some room for improvement. You have to take it apart for cleaning when changing colors, and for some reason, the clay gets into the threads at the end caps and it is pretty hard to clean out. Also, it is a little difficult to hold both the unit, and turn the crank, it would be nice if it had some kind of flat base along one side of the tube so you could easily clamp it to a table and just turn the crank. Would be nice if the plastic that is molded to hold the unit and the discs inside the case was of a little stiffer stuff.All this may make it sound as if I am dissatisfied, but I am not. It is a good unit, good quality, and I like it and will continue to use it. It's just not quite perfect. I have not seen another one on the market that is any better at any of these things.

I use the Walnut Hollow Clay Extruder with polymer clay (Activa Lumina Air-Dry) and it works very well. Fairly simple in construction, which is a good thing. The clay is extruded by a cranking action, "tightening" down the center threaded rod, forcing the clay out the open/pattern end. The clay comes out consistently to whatever shape you've selected... and there are plenty of shapes to choose from.The inside tube is easy to clean. A rubber grommet/washer creates a seal that prevents clay from squeezing back into the main tube as it's being forced out the end. The center threaded shaft can easily be removed from the tube for cleaning, or - if necessary - grommet replacement (they supply extras.)Really pleased with this clay extruder.

this extruder was cheap and very simple to use. I have to give it that. While forming some of the designs using fondant, I was very disappointed at the ridges it produced on my medium, and the fact that even the wider designs broke a lot. I am also very disappointed that the discs are not labeled, and you have to continuously change them out to find out the designs each one makes? am i kneading my dough too much?

So, I do A LOT of work with polymer clay and when my last Makins extruder wore out, I decided to give the Walnut Hollow a try. I read other reviews and was hopeful that the handle on this extruder would be easier on my arms and go much quicker. Unfortunately, I was majorly disappointed - it's even harder to crank than the Makins extruder, in fact, it makes the Makins extruder seem even easier. And yes, my clay was thoroughly conditioned and even my softest clays are hard to crank out.To add to my disappointment, there's also an oily build up every time I try to use the machine and even though it's washed after use, it has to be cleaned again before use or it will ruin a load of clay by leaving a black residue on the clay. Hard to take apart as well. I'm thoroughly disappointed and will only be keeping this extruder as a back up to use when my new Makins wears out.

I just recently ordered this to make a spaghetti and meatballs cake. I had a different fondant extruder before that was horrible. I bought this one based on the reviews and I was not let down. The package arrived a day sooner than it was supposed to and was packaged very nicely in a case. The handle is it super easy to crank and a fondant comes out very nicely. I had to make quite a bit for my cake and was surprised that my hand wasn’t hurting at the end of it all. I would highly recommend this if anyone is looking to buy one… I don’t know how I’ve gone this long without having one of these before. This will come in very handy for my cake orders in the future !!