making pots??

psy-ops

psy-ops

Joined
Sep 27, 1999
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My last and final semester to finish my 4 year degee, I have to take ceramics. This class was not high on my list. As I started making cups and such, I realized that it is not entirely impossible to make a pot for boiling water in.

I have a neighbor who is a fulltime potter. She goes to a stream near her house and digs up some clay. She does have a professional kiln and everything else but I bet in the field she could pinch a pot and fire it primitively.

Before everyone freaks on me, let me say I understand that it is not relevant for a short term situation survival situation.


Making a pot out of found clay, firing it and then cooking in it, seems possible. It would probably take a week or two though.
 
Is this viable for boiling water? I guess the idea of boiling in ceramic just doesn't work in my head.
 
Yeah, it`s viable. Almost all cooking supply catalogs still have lots ofceramic pans for roasting and baking. Just don`t forget to put the water into the pot before you heat it on the fire for boiling. The 2nd season of Survivor they were supposed to use big earthenware pots for cooking and boiling thier water just like the local African natives......One of the geniuses though she`d speed up theprocess. She heated up the pot and then poured the water in while it was hot....The pot cracked, the water ran everywhere, and the fire went out.
 
It is quite viable, just not durable pottery. If water can be boiled in a paper bag, it can be boiled in a home made vessel
 
My only concern would be the porous nature of unglazed clay. It seems like it would crack, but then I'm no potter. Maybe if one lined the pot with tinfoil...sounds like something to try.
 
Every piece of ceramic cookware I've ever seen has been labeled as "not for use on stove top" or something similar. If there are ceramic pans for stove-top use I haven't ever seen them. That doesn't necessarily mean that it wouldn't work, but it may only be good for a couple of uses before cracking.
 
I got the word from a pro.

It can be done. It would have to be low heat at first with water inside then the heat can be slowly increased.

The biggest problem is finding the right additives, i.e. the right levels of silica and calcium carbonate. So it is do-able.

At the very least, this class can hold my interest enough to get an A. If I can develop a survival skill, I will put more energy into the class.
 
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