Mixing porcelain clays

[Essaily]

I would like to mix a porcelain clay body with a stoneware clay body.

Has anybody tried this before?

What happens after a bisque fire?

Which temperature do you follow for the bisque & glaze fire - the porcelain body or the stoneware?

When it comes to glazing, can I use an earthenware premixed glaze on this mixed body?

Will it be food safe if I leave it unglazed?

 

Thanks for any advice most welcome! I haven't a clue.

[bciskepottery]

Many clay manufacturers sell a blend of porcelain/stoneware, often a 50/50 mix. Look for compatibility in shrinkage; do some small test batches and bisque and glaze fire to see how they perform before going an committing yourself to large amounts. I would mix cone 6 porcelain with cone 6 stoneware, cone 10 porcelain with cone 10 stoneware.

 

Foods safe for unglazed will depend on firing to maturity and surface and what is in the clay bodies . . . something that is rough and pitted, or carved, will offer hiding places for bacteria to grow and fester. You can always put a napkin or other item between food and surface. Restrict yourself to non-liquids, etc. Foods may stain the surface.

[clay lover]

I often mix a % of porcelain, ^6, in with my ^6 stoneware clay to get better throwability, or lighten the color, or reduce the speckles of the stoneware. Sometimes I leave it only semi-mixed, and have swirles in the light-dark clay that make a good look on the finished piece.

[Essaily]

Thanks all for your informative posts! I looked at the packaging and noticed it is already mixed with stoneware. Let's see what happens.