KateKaye Posted July 27, 2020 Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 I bought a set of mugs at a Craft Show. My friend told me to check for lead! Is it necessary? The outside is fairly shiny, only the bottom is not glazed. I was so happy, now I'm worried. Any suggestions? Thank you so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted July 27, 2020 Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 Contact potter. Be v surprized if any potter would be using lead on functional ware these days esp. on surfaces which are in contact with food or mouth. If post pics some folk here may give educated guesses but potter best bet. Lots of v. shiny glazes containing no lead. Which country are you in? @KateKaye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 Post a pic! The Potter is probably here! Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 If they're not here.....best do that lead check! Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 On 7/27/2020 at 2:12 PM, KateKaye said: I bought a set of mugs at a Craft Show. My friend told me to check for lead! Is it necessary? The outside is fairly shiny, only the bottom is not glazed. I wouldn't think twice about it. If the bottom is unglazed then it's highly unlikely its a lowfire mug. Lowfire mugs need to be glazed all over in order to not soak up moisture/liquid. In North America, lead bisilicate frits could have the remote of possibly being used in a lowfire glaze but they are not used it mid or high fire glazes. The most I would do if you are concerned is to dribble a small puddle of water on the unglazed base of the mug, if it soaks in quickly then it is likely lowfire but I think that is extremely unlikely. I think it's a slippery slope to go down when we start assuming a mug from a craft fair contains lead. Spreading false information does nothing but fear monger amongst the public against handmade ceramics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted July 30, 2020 Report Share Posted July 30, 2020 I'd never assume a mug bought in the USA contains lead, unless it's a commercially made product. If you bought it at a craft fair, I all but guarantee it's lead free. Now if you bought it at a craft fair in Mexico, that's another story. Same goes for parts of Eastern Europe, but not here in the US/Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 6 hours ago, liambesaw said: I'd never assume a mug bought in the USA contains lead, unless it's a commercially made product Scariest thing I read all day! Lol! Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 3 minutes ago, Sorcery said: Scariest thing I read all day! Lol! Sorce As far as I know, every commercial ceramic dinnerware manufacturer still uses lead, however it's so well engineered that it stays within the FDA acceptable range for leaching. It's too useful and cheap of a flux for them to stop ;). Them 99 cent plates don't grow on trees ya know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 It's the forced child labor that really scares me! So much of the stuff we buy makes absolutely no sense economically, like stuff does grow on trees! Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 2 hours ago, Sorcery said: It's the forced child labor that really scares me! Kids don’t work nearly fast enough. Everything’s mechanized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Callie Beller Diesel said: Kids don’t work nearly fast enough. Everything’s mechanized. That's right! No need for kids or developing nation's when you have a machine that mixes clay, pugs it, divides it, jiggers it, glazes it, fires it, and packages everything into boxes without a single human being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 Great video! I always love to watch the production process, whether it be a single potter at their studio, or a large scale operation like this. But Man, trimming/ smoothing bone dry wares! Don't let my students see that, because that is a no no in my classroom! Also, around the minute mark, it looks like the worker is smooth areas, that have already been glazed. What exactly are they doing? The handling of those fully loaded ware boards is just ridiculous! I'd struggle with the single hand restaurant serving platter, so there is no way I could deal with a fully loaded ware board that is longer than I am tall! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEP Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 Whenever someone asks me if my work is “lead-free” I know they aren’t very knowledgeable. My answer is “oh, lead has been gone from American handmade ceramics for decades. But that doesn’t mean that all handmade pottery is safe. There are other chemicals that some potters still use (Barium, for example) which can be unsafe if the glazes are not formulated or fired correctly. So it’s important to ask the potter if you’re not sure. If you don’t get a confident “yes” from the potter, then you should assume it’s not foodworthy. Or, use it at your own risk. For anything that’s made outside of the US, all bets are off.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 At around the 1 minute mark in the Chinese video, when he's sanding the bone dry work, he's also got a piece of sandpaper taped to his left thumb! Everything about the RAK porcelain video is cringy, from the complete lack of soul in their work to the style of the video itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 1 minute ago, neilestrick said: At around the 1 minute mark in the Chinese video, when he's sanding the bone dry work, he's also got a piece of sandpaper taped to his left thumb! Everything about the RAK porcelain video is cringy, from the complete lack of soul in their work to the style of the video itself. Yep, that pretty much sums up the entirety of European industrial fine china lol. I've seen other videos I can't find now of the entire process of making plates and it is totally automated, even the QC!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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