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Identify My Clay


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Greetings all,

 

Am just starting out and excited about getting into experimenting and finding out what I can do.

 

Would appreciate if you could help with some advice. Local craftsman makes the pottery in the picture. The clay used is naturally occurring in the area and I would like to try making use of it.

 

What type of clay would it probably be, what properties and good for what applications other than the pots in the picture? One of my interests would be tableware and hope this would work.

 

post-83850-0-36643300-1489429468_thumb.jpg

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For tableware it is best to have a clay body that vitrifies. As to whether or not that clay in the picture will work, you're just going to have to get some and test it out. There's no way of knowing it's working or firing properties without testing it. Get some, fire it to cone 04 and see how it looks. Then fire some to cone 2, and some to cone 5. Do absorption and shrinkage tests for each test. At some point it's going to vitrify or melt. If it's a terra cotta, it may be too brittle when it vitrifies. It may be too plastic, or not plastic enough. It may or may not be good for throwing/handbuilding. You may have to cut it with ball clay or kaolin fireclay or feldspar to get the working properties and firing temperature you want.

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which country are you from? and which part? that will give us a big clue.

 

i agree. the ware looks like pit fired earthenware.

 

in the US if you are doing this on your own it will be far easier to use ^6 claybody and glazes. commercially available. 

 

as neil pointed out the others are available too.

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Appears to be a natural gray vein of clay with limonite. The kind you'd make bricks from.

The one one the right seems to have been fired upside down judging from the smudge marks on the rims. Seeing no visible cracks makes me think the amount of grog in the clay is over 35%.

Probably made for tourist!

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Thanks guys for a lot of good info. I am settling down in Philippines and this is in Romblon province, Tablas Island. Any ideas?

 

Its definitely good for throwing. Thats how the local craftsman does it. They also make bricks from it. Guys here use the bricks for lining hot parts of BBQs. Not likely made for tourists, not enough of them arround to make a living from tourists Mostly flower pots and decorative jugs and other shapes of pretty big size

 

To test it I would have to get a kiln which im thinking may end up not needed if it wont vitrify. At the moment am trying to figure out if there is even a point to get a kiln out here. Transporting it here will probably be close to half the kiln price.

 

Buying commercial clay here would probably be the same additional expense as the kiln so really would like to get away with using the local clay. Yea it may end up very brittle but it will be fun and cheap so it might be worth it anyway even with breaking and replacing half a dozen items per month.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Same craftsman makes these. Good for cooking or any concerns to consider when using them for cooking? No glaze applied just natural fired clay. Pots are slightly sandpapered and washed before use.

 

Love the looks of them and am now thinking to try to make all my tableware almost exactly like it.  Plates, bowls, cups, beer mugs, serving platters. I expect they might break, chip and easily get knife cuts a lot but If I can make them then I can just replace as they break or become damaged too much. Suggestions on the best way to proceed to do this would be appreciated.

 

post-83850-0-31922000-1491919694_thumb.jpg

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Same craftsman makes these. Good for cooking or any concerns to consider when using them for cooking? No glaze applied just natural fired clay. Pots are slightly sandpapered and washed before use.

 

Love the looks of them and am now thinking to try to make all my tableware almost exactly like it.  Plates, bowls, cups, beer mugs, serving platters. I expect they might break, chip and easily get knife cuts a lot but If I can make them then I can just replace as they break or become damaged too much. Suggestions on the best way to proceed to do this would be appreciated.

Likely micaceous clay found in the southwest. These links may be of interest:

 

http://www.felipeortega.com/

 

https://micaceouscookware.com/

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Using unglazed clay for cooking is very different than using it for tableware. The process of cooking gets the pots hot enough to kill off bacteria, and at some point the oils from the food will seal the surface, like with a butcher block. Dinnerware does not get heated up like that, so it will harbor bacteria and be the source of much intestinal discomfort (or worse).

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