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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
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:
Avg. Shrinkage 2±% | 5% | ||
Avg. Water Absorption 1±% | 10% |
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
Avg. Shrinkage 2±% | 10% | ||
Avg. Water Absorption 1±% | 6% |
#13
Avg. Shrinkage 2±% | 12% | ||
Avg. Water Absorption 1±% | 2.3% |
#15
Avg. Shrinkage 2±% | 12.0% | ||
Avg. Water Absorption 1±% | 0.5% |
#10
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
Avg. Shrinkage 2±% | 8.5% | ||
Avg. Water Absorption 1±% | 0.5% |
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% |
Avg. Shrinkage 2±% | 11% | ||
Avg. Water Absorption 1±% | 3.5% |
#11
LC-105 Soft southwest colors:
Avg. Shrinkage 2±% | 12% | ||
Avg. Water Absorption 1±% | 1% |
#3
Avg. Shrinkage 2±% | 12% | ||
Avg. Water Absorption 1±% | 3% |
#6
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% |
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
Avg. Shrinkage 2±% | 11.0% | ||
Avg. Water Absorption 1±% | 2.75% |
#16
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:
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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....