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I saw a video of a potter smashing a mug that was defective. This made me wonder what other potters do with a fired piece that failed. Other than smash 'em up cool videos, are there any good practices or ideas?

I have a couple of buckets of unknown glaze materials. When I test fired them I got a very dry underfired result. Then I set about adding various materials, looking for what would make it fusible, something like a glaze. Testing systematically, I have added every material I have at hand and in combinations, such as, silica, feldspar, talc, whiting, gerstley borate, china clay, alumina, nepheline syenite, borax, rutile, and so on, at various quantities 10, 20 %. I can not get much of a change, and it has got me beat. Surely something has to give. Of course maybe if I added something at 50 to 100% I would get a change but this would be counter productive, adding a lot of material and just creating a double lot of some unknown recycled glaze, and not making primary use of this quantity of waste unknown material. At that rate I might as well discard the waste glaze. But to actually find a solution, adding something in the order of 10 or 20 %, does anyone have any insights? I am quite amazed that I have not found any addition that works. I have tested at cone 1, 3, and 6. Of course it could be it needs a higher temperature, but that's not the point, because even a higher temperature glaze can be modified. The obvious additions just don't seem to be working. Let me put it this way. How can a mix of glaze material not be a glaze? For materials which generally are a glaze, which ones when added together will not act like a glaze? A strange question? Any thoughts?

Hi all, Standing in a thrift shop staring at a pile of white hotel/commercial tableware and thinking of Duchamp. Makers marks showed predominantly porcelain from England, Australia, Japan, German, India, some European, a squillion Chinese.....and some completely unbranded ones amoung the makes. Some 'new' bonechina (Chinese or Thai I would think) and a smattering of earthenware. Usually in industry bonechina is high bisque/ low glaze fired, porcelain high fired and earthenware low fired....but are they??? Bought 6 dinnerplates reglazed 2 in a commercial e/w glaze as the first test pieces, fired to ^03, opened the kiln this morning........and found they were truly ghastly!! Has anyone tried this 'ready mades' approach before and could give me their expert success tips before I deface the other 4 'victims'? ta, Irene