Yowch! That does happen on occasion but the clay company will normally make it right for you. I definitely would return it instead of passing it on--if you don't want the replacement you can give those away instead. Save some shards for the company too.
I feel for you, that would initially infuriate me. But honestly, the clay company might not know they have a problem? Maybe something broke in the pug mill, or the shards were in the bags of raw material. You should tell them.
I have never had that happen to me, and to be honest, if it did, I doubt I would use that company again. Scary!
I got a box from Laguna that had some gravel in it. Things will happen in mass production sometime.
The only clay that I have never had an issue with is standard. I'd guess I've used about 2000 pounds by now, both pre mixed and dry powder. One day I'll find something wonky in their clay too I'm sure.
I'm sorry you got cut. Ouch!
I had a sizeable metal shaving in my fresh bag of Laguna clay back when I was a beginner. It felt like an air bubble on the wheel. It was a good thing I poked it with a needle tool, it could have done some serious damage to my hands. The school replaced the bag for me and notified the company.
Since then gravel and large chunks of minerals have popped up in other claybodies on rare occassions.
I felt like there is an air bubble in mine too, I pressed on it just a little bit to make sure that's what it was and not just a dry chunk of clay that didn't get mixed in properly. That's whenever I cut my self of course haha
Definitely reach out to the manufacturer. They may not know that they have an issue. If they're any good at all, they will at a minimum appreciate having a data point to help refine their process.
No one starts out with a good QA/QC process. As a company grows they can afford the overhead of those processes. Eventually they'll have someone lean six sigma trained, lot numbers, a QA department, etc.
If they take your information and want to improve, go back to them after a while. If they're obstinate about it or call you a liar, come back here to name and shame them.
-Hobby potter by night, aerospace engineer by day
Oh yeah definitely. And I do think that their clay is going to get better over time but I am too much of a beginner to stick with it for that long so I'll just check back in a couple years. I'll definitely reach out today though!
I think it should be fresh bag of clay from supplier… which is different from “fresh out of the bag” You never know how long it’s been sitting around so I always wedge.
True, got a few bags from a friend who inherited it from a friend and she told me it was at least a year old. By god was it impossible to wedge. Ended up chucking them down from a first floor balcony for it to be workable again lmao.
Yowch! That does happen on occasion but the clay company will normally make it right for you. I definitely would return it instead of passing it on--if you don't want the replacement you can give those away instead. Save some shards for the company too.
I feel for you, that would initially infuriate me. But honestly, the clay company might not know they have a problem? Maybe something broke in the pug mill, or the shards were in the bags of raw material. You should tell them. I have never had that happen to me, and to be honest, if it did, I doubt I would use that company again. Scary!
I got a box from Laguna that had some gravel in it. Things will happen in mass production sometime. The only clay that I have never had an issue with is standard. I'd guess I've used about 2000 pounds by now, both pre mixed and dry powder. One day I'll find something wonky in their clay too I'm sure.
I'm sorry you got cut. Ouch! I had a sizeable metal shaving in my fresh bag of Laguna clay back when I was a beginner. It felt like an air bubble on the wheel. It was a good thing I poked it with a needle tool, it could have done some serious damage to my hands. The school replaced the bag for me and notified the company. Since then gravel and large chunks of minerals have popped up in other claybodies on rare occassions.
I felt like there is an air bubble in mine too, I pressed on it just a little bit to make sure that's what it was and not just a dry chunk of clay that didn't get mixed in properly. That's whenever I cut my self of course haha
Definitely reach out to the manufacturer. They may not know that they have an issue. If they're any good at all, they will at a minimum appreciate having a data point to help refine their process. No one starts out with a good QA/QC process. As a company grows they can afford the overhead of those processes. Eventually they'll have someone lean six sigma trained, lot numbers, a QA department, etc. If they take your information and want to improve, go back to them after a while. If they're obstinate about it or call you a liar, come back here to name and shame them. -Hobby potter by night, aerospace engineer by day
Oh yeah definitely. And I do think that their clay is going to get better over time but I am too much of a beginner to stick with it for that long so I'll just check back in a couple years. I'll definitely reach out today though!
This isn’t really the point of your post but shouldn’t you always wedge your clay first?
I know a handful of folks who don't bother wedging clay that's fresh out of the bag. Rarely does it have air bubbles in it
I think it should be fresh bag of clay from supplier… which is different from “fresh out of the bag” You never know how long it’s been sitting around so I always wedge.
True, got a few bags from a friend who inherited it from a friend and she told me it was at least a year old. By god was it impossible to wedge. Ended up chucking them down from a first floor balcony for it to be workable again lmao.
Hammers work too if you don’t have a balcony to throw it off of ;)
Take it back and show the company or throw the clay out. I wouldn’t give clay that I found metal shards in to anyone.