Laguna Clay Samples: the search for Goldilocks

In my quest for the perfect body I ordered two of the test packs from laguna and have tried them all on the wheel... even the groggy WC-392 Buff sculpture.  I need to find one body to stick with since I've been having inconsistent results and frustration in working with What I have been.  For me, the perfect body is a midfire buff with low porosity.  I need it food safe, suitable for modern dinnerware (microwave, dishwasher, and perhaps even the oven)  I also would like to get it both dried and prepared so I can reclaim and get it to just the right consistency.

bowls are in the reverse order thrown. Right being the first thrown, left being the last. 

To the right is a chart of all the different Laguna

bodies I can easily order here in the southwest.
It was fun trying them all and am still in the process of testing them for how they hold up in real life. How I like them for hand building and whatever else I may try

I only ordered 2 of the three sample packs available

LC-104  white to tans to light browns

LC-105  soft southwest colors

The third sample pack (LC-103) are reds to oranges to browns which I'm really not interested in since I'm looking for a lighter body

I threw them in no particular order. They weren't sorted in the packages, I just grabbed one at a time. I weighed out the same amount of clay for each bowl and took notes as I went, some were more . The results below are only bisque fired and are organized by laguna body number:

LC-104 Whites to tans to light browns: 

WC-392 Buff Sculpture:  Mega dermabrasion: it has a very coarse grog, so it is rough on the hands while throwing... was a joke to just try it on the wheel. It did burnish decently though. Of course it's not for me since it has an absorption of 10% and therefore not suitable for table or dinnerware.  #2

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			5%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			10%

WC-393 L.B.6: Some grit to it, was creamy and floppy. It trimmed and burnished well. According to Laguna it is "OK" for Table or Oven

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			10%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			3%

#12




WC-395 Porcelain Five: Smoooooth and floppy as porcelain is known for. I had never tried real porcelain. it is so different. It trimmed well and burnishing wasn't necessary. Suitable for table,  OK in Oven

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			13.0%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			0.5%

#9




WC-397 WS-5: Was sandy and floppy, but burnished OK.  No good for me with the water absorption of ~6% and no good in the oven.

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			10%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			6%

#13








WC-401 B-Mix 5 : Floppy, smooth and trims without need to burnish. It has been what I've used in my reclaim so far. The sample was on the soft side. Table or Oven

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			12%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			2.3%

#15




WC-402 Half and Half Cone 5 : Was hard to control. Was way too floppy and a little rough. Is table or oven safe.

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			12.0%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			0.5%

#10




WC-436 B-Mix 5 with grog:  Smooth as regular b-mix, but a little sturdier. It was hard to even notice the grog until trimming where it scratched a little, but burnished easily. Good for the table or oven. Something I may consider. the crack on the side is due to drying unevenly

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			11.0%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			2.75%

#16




WC-850 52 Buff with Sand:  It was, as it's called, sandy.  It was also sticky and needed extra moisture as I was throwing. It trimmed rough as you'd expect, and burnished ok; not for me, the oven or dinnerware

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			9.0%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			3.5%

#2






WC-861 Hagi Porcelain: It was gritty, but still floppy. Burnished OK. is good as oven and dinnerware. Not for me though. It is amazing to consider just how vitreous it is with only .5% absorbtion and such low shrinkage.

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			8.5%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			0.5%

#14





WC-871 Calico: Sample was way too soft to try. It does have grit to it, manganese perhaps, which can apparently bleed through the glazes, table and oven safe. But not for me.

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			13.0%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			3.5%

WC-877 Dover White:  Smooth creamy and floppy. It trimmed ok, but was rough while trimming. it burnished ok. table or oven

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			11%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			3.5%

#11







LC-105  Soft southwest colors:

WC-400 Moroccan Sand:  Sandy and trimmed rough, but burnished nicely. Table or oven

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			12%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			1%

#3










WC-403 Speckled Buff:  Threw nicely, sturdy when going larger or thinner. Trimmed and burnished well, I just don't care for the speckle. no good in oven or as dinnerware

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			12%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			3%

#6

WC-404 Santa Fe:  Coarse and sturdy: would be good for doing planters. scratchy a little more burnishing needed.  not for table or oven

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			12%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			5%

#5








WC-423 Greystone:  It was very smooth and creamy.  The sample was firm to start, but became floppy when I got thin.  It trimmed and burnished nicely.  I don't see it being for me. not oven or dinnerware

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			12.5%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			2.5%

#1









WC-429 RSMC:  Was smooth as B-Mix, Sturdy; Trimmed and burnished well. Is darker than I care for, but will be playing around with this one more. Suitable for oven or dinnerware with likely Iron content will heat up in microwave.

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			12.0%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			0.5%

#7



WC-436 B-Mix 5 with Grog:  Smooth as regular b-mix, a little sturdier, scratched a little while trimming, but burnished easily good Oven and dinnerware

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			11.0%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			2.75%

#16




WC-850 52 Buff with Sand:  was smooth and somewhat sturdy; Trimmed and burnished well. Another needing further testing. OK in oven and dinnerware

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			9.0%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			3.5%

#2







WC-851 52 Buff: was smooth and somewhat sturdy; Trimmed and burnished well. Another needing further testing.  Good in Oven and Dinnerware

Avg. Shrinkage 2±%			10.0%
Avg. Water Absorption 1±%			3.5%

#8






All that said, I have narrowed it down to a few candidates that I will be exploring further. The picture below is the samples I'm considering and have been fired to cone 6:

B-mix, Santa Fe, RSMC, B-mix w/grog, 52 Buff, Hagi Porc.

WC-401 B-mix: While I have been using it all along for my reclaim I will be trying it further

WC-404 Santa Fe: I like the color, it is a bit rough for my taste, but it would be good as far as utility. It isn't good for dinnerware, but will make nice planters.

WC-429 RSMC: It is as smooth as B-mix, but is darker than I'd like. I still want to try it more and maybe come to terms with it not being buff

WC-436 B-mix with grog:  Feels about as smooth as regular B-mix even with the grog.  I really only noticed it when trimming.

WC-851 52 Buff: It trims and burnishes well and is good in the oven and makes god functional wares

WC-861 Hagi Porc: It is too coarse for me most likely, but would still like to try it further since it has such low porosity

All the others weren't OK for one reason or another. I will go into further detail as I  further test them. There is a lot of info here. I really just wanted to publish my notes before losing them.  It has become a bigger,  more tedious to document project,   I hope some find this a useful resource, though It is good by me to have it better documented.  Until later....