Cutlery marking here is directly related to the chemistry of the glaze

Monday 3rd March 2014

This is an example of insight-live.com/glossary/131">cutlery marking in a cone 10 silky matte glaze lacking Al2O3, SiO2 and having too much MgO. Al2O3-deficient glazes often have high melt fluidity and run during firing, this freezes to a glass that lacks durability and hardness. But sufficient MgO levels can stabilize the melt and produce a glaze that appears stable but is not. Glazes need sufficient Al2O3 (and SiO2) to develop hardness and durability. Only after viewing the chemistry of this glaze did the cause for the marking become evident. This is an excellent demonstration of how imbalance in chemistry has real consequences. It is certainly possible to make a dolomite matte high temperature glaze that will not do this (G2571A is an example, it has lower MgO and higher Al2O3 and produces the same pleasant matte surface).

Pages that reference this post in the Digitalfire Reference Library:

Al2O3, Where do I start in understanding glazes?, Cutlery Marking, Glaze Chemistry, Predicting Glaze Durability by Chemistry in Insight-Live

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