{"id":511,"date":"2011-09-17T07:04:36","date_gmt":"2011-09-16T22:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karatsupots.com\/wordpress\/?p=511"},"modified":"2011-09-17T07:04:36","modified_gmt":"2011-09-16T22:04:36","slug":"shell-geekery-for-shell-geeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karatsupots.com\/wordpress\/2011\/09\/shell-geekery-for-shell-geeks.html","title":{"rendered":"Shell geekery for shell geeks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Warning! Geek alert!<\/p>\n

Today on the way back from teaching, I stopped by the seaside shell pile to collect some cockle shells for firing. Though I usually don’t find “the good ones”, today I got lucky. Pictured below are the two types in the area. The thin type with the many, shallow grooves comprises about 99% of what one can find, so I usually use those, but today I found quite a few of the deeply grooved bumpy, thick shells. These are better for standing pots on because they are thicker and don’t collapse in the firing, so they don’t need to be stuffed with fire clay, at least for small to medium sized items. They also leave a more interesting mark on the pot.<\/p>\n