Sponging and fired specks

Tuesday 23rd June 2015

The left half of this cone 6 buff burning native-clay stoneware (Plainsman M340) was sponged at the dry stage. That exposed iron-bearing particles that are normally pushed under the surface. The result is a denser population of fired specks. While not usually a problem on flat surfaces, this can be an issue when rims of functional pieces are sponged and glazes stretch thin there during firing.

Pages that reference this post in the Digitalfire Reference Database:

Sponging and glaze defects, Specking

This post is one of thousands found in the Digitalfire Reference Database. Most are part of a timeline maintained by Tony Hansen. You can search that timeline on the home page of digitalfire.com.