Short Stuff: All About Porcelain

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0:08Hey and welcome to Short Stuff I'm Josh and there's Chuck and it's just us but it's Short Stuff and Chuck this is the last episode of 2025 That's right And that's it, that's all I had to say about that Alright, well let's talk porcelain because porcelain isn't something I really knew much about until I did this research. And porcelain, as it turns out, you might know this, you might not, is a type of ceramic. It's a subset of ceramics. What? They are both made of clay, and they're both kiln-fired. But porcelain clay has a much higher density, and it's fired longer and at higher temperatures. And thusly is much more durable, has very high-performance characteristics.

0:55and it's, you know, porcelain is that super hard mixing bowl that you got from your grandmother that like you can't break, well, you can't break them, but just super hardy, super dense, non-porous clay-like material. Yeah, I guess I haven't had much experience with porcelain because I always thought of it as very delicate and highly breakable, but apparently that's not true. And once I thought about it a little bit, it was like, actually, I have lifetime experience with porcelain in the form of a toilet, but I hadn't really thought about that. Yeah, toilets, yeah, they don't break. Try it. You can't do it.

1:34So there's three things that show up in any kind of porcelain, and it's all natural. That's one of the big attractions of porcelain, too. It's clay, quartz, and feldspar, which is a kind of rocket that can form from all sorts of different stuff. And there's all sorts of other stuff you can throw in. But depending on the kind of porcelain that you come up with, it's basically dependent on the materials you use, the raw materials, and then how high a temperature and how long you fire it for in the kiln. Those are the big variables that produce different kinds of porcelain. But probably the most common material that's used is called kaolin, which is a kind of clay that's almost white.

2:13And this is like the big money porcelain clay. Yeah, and that's usually going to be like that mixing bowl. Like tableware is usually that kaolin. Very, very fine particle size. It's super durable, like we were talking about, and not permeable by any liquid. Just try it again. And, you know, when we're talking firing temperatures, we'll get to a couple of different kinds of porcelain, but it can go up to 2 ,300 degrees Fahrenheit, about 1260 Celsius. and it kind of just depends on what you're making it for. Like, is it a toilet or is it a mixing bowl or is it fine china? And one other thing about porcelain, too, that I hadn't realized is that some kinds of it are translucent.

2:56And I was like, wait, that means kind of see-through. And I looked up pictures of it and, yes, you can hold porcelain up to a light, like in your hand, and you can see the silhouette of your hand on the other side of it. Did you know that? Yeah, because I've worked with porcelain tile where you can do that. A lot of times, flortile can be porcelain. But this all originated in China about 2 ,000 years ago during the Tang Dynasty. But it wasn't like the porcelain we know. It was basically like, hey, we put out our fire, and they discovered this really hard, unbroken, solid pieces of stuff. And that was just rudimentary porcelain.

3:32Later in the Yuan Dynasty, it was about 700, 800 years later, is when they really developed the porcelain as we know it. the porcelain that Marco Polo found and brought back to Europe, and they just went wild for this stuff. They did. And the market for porcelain opened up pretty quickly because trade routes were open thanks to Marco Polo. But the Europeans could not figure out how their Chinese friends were making this stuff. So all of the porcelain coming into Europe was foreign made, made in China. and that's why a lot of porcelain tableware is called China because it was kind of like the, like champagne is the sparkling wine.

4:14China was the porcelain, right? And it took them quite a couple hundred years, I think, before they finally cracked the code. And it was an alchemist who figured out how to make porcelain by basically reverse engineering a piece that he had from China. Yeah, a German alchemist, Johann Friedrich Brutger, And he figured it out. This was in, I guess, the 18th century. And by the latter half of the 18th century in the 1770s, they found that cowlin clay in Cornwall, England. And so the Brits were like, we can start making this stuff finally. We've got the good stuff right here in Cornwall. Is it cowlin?

4:55Like shaolin? I don't know. I like how you said it. How did you say it? Kaolin? Kaolin? Or reject? No, no, no. So, yeah, so the Brits are like, great, we can put all this together thanks to Butker and Cornwall and start making our own porcelain. And I'm not quite sure. I get the impression that China made its porcelain one of two ways. And the way that they mostly made their porcelain was through hard paste. And that the other one is soft paste. And it has to do with the density of the raw materials you're using and then how high a temperature you fire it at and for how long, like I was talking about before.

5:35These are basically the two types, two main categories of porcelain. Yeah. And I think you're right. I think the Europeans use that soft paste a little more. So it's a little more prone to chipping. It's a little grainier, just not as hardy overall. And then you got to glaze the stuff after you fire it. But the glazing, I thought, you know, because I didn't know anything about this stuff. I thought the glazing might be kind of the final key to make it impermeable to liquids. Me too. But really has nothing to do with it. It's already impermeable. The glazing is just decorative. Yeah, it's impermeable because it vitrifies.

6:09So like the glass-like materials become glass in it. So it's like kind of glassy, really good porcelain is. So I say, Chuck, we take a little break and come back and talk some more about porcelain. What do you think? Let's do it.

6:44chuck i'd like to share something that i learned in our dolls episode that i didn't have a chance to fit in but now i do because it seems like all of our episodes are now interlocking for some reason. But unglazed porcelain is called bisque. Bisque. Okay. Like B-I-S-Q-U-E? Exactly. Like tomato, shrimp. Lobster. Lobster. That's the money one, sure. Although a lot of times that stuff's langostino, you know. I didn't know that. Yeah. I mean, if you go to like a really high-priced seafood restaurant, it'll be real lobster. But that lango is a pretty good sub. Is that a rock lobster, langostina? No, I think it's just like a little tiny guy.

7:29Tastes like chicken. I mean, it looks like lobster meat, but it's their little, you know, it's like a shrimp size. Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah, I've seen those before. I've never seen a langostina, though, now that you mention it. I've never looked that up. I think that's what... Like to see what the creature looks like. Yeah, I'd like to see that, too. I've only seen it dead. I think that's what grabs everyone's faces in beetle juice during the calypso scene. All right. Well, I mentioned earlier before the break about porcelain tile. It's a very hardy tile for flooring or the wall. But if you're cutting porcelain tile, you're probably going to need a tile saw.

8:05We talked about wet saws before. They're wet because they are moving at such high speeds and drawing so much heat that the water cools off that blade. And there's a couple of ways you can actually form that tile. If it's up to like four feet by four feet, you basically have a special mold. But anything bigger than that and you're compacting it like just pressing layers and layers of ceramic powder until you get your desired size. Yeah, with a big old machine, right? Yes. So there's a few reasons that people prize porcelain. For one, it can be really, really valuable as we'll see. But also, like I said, it's an all natural material.

8:47Like a lot of the glaze colors that they use in glazing are like cobalt, iron oxide, copper. The raw materials are things like clay and feldspar. It's really easy to clean, as you know, with a toilet. Very resistant to mold and bacterial growth, as you know, with a toilet. It's water resistant, you know, like a toilet is. It's good for foot traffic, like a toilet. And it doesn't emit harmful substances. Like a toilet. It can also be recycled, but that is a real niche, I guess, method or technique. Like you can't just throw porcelain into your single stream recycling can. You have to go seek out somebody who recycles it.

9:32But the very fact that it's recyclable gives it kind of promise for the future as we get better and better at creating a circular economy. That's right. You mentioned how valuable it can be. The world auction record for Chinese porcelain was set about, I don't know, in 2014 when the Mayan Tang chicken cup was sold for$36 million. And, you know, why is anything valuable? It's because there's not many of them. It was crafted between 1465 and 87 when porcelain was just peaking at its quality, but they were producing the lowest amount. So it's just super rare. So that's why it fetched 36 million. Yes.

10:15And that also points something out about porcelain, too, is if you take good care of it, it's so durable, it can last thousands of years. So at least a thousand years, as far as we know. And there's like people are into porcelain, like collecting tableware or vases or things like that. And so there's like a whole world out there available to you to get into bone porcelain, hard paste, soft paste. Well, basically those kind. And if this thing floated your boat at all, I think good luck with your new hobby. Yeah, for sure. I mean, you said bone porcelain. If you've ever heard bone china, that was something the English did, and that's actual bone.

10:55I think when they were sort of first searching out how to make this stuff, before they cracked the code, they would use like eggshell and stuff like that to no avail. And finally, they landed on actual human bone ground down. Obviously, a very strong thing bone ash would be. Not from humans, apparently from farm animals. And it would really strengthen that stuff. And bone china, you don't have to fire as high. You can fire at lower temps. It's just not as strong. There is no way that in the history of bone china, no psycho has made it with human bones. Yeah, that's a good point. Are you enjoying your coffee?

11:32Exactly. Oh, man, Chuck made me giggle. That means short stuff is out. Hey, wait a minute. Can we say goodbye for the year? Oh, wait. Yeah. Yes. Thank you, Chuck. I say we do that, too. Goodbye. No, we in all seriousness, we want to thank everyone for another great year. Somehow here in year 17, we're enjoying things as much or more than we ever have, which is hard to believe and pretty wonderful for us. And, you know, big thanks to Dave and Ben and Jerry, of course, and everyone who contributes as writers, you know, Julia and Anna and – Olivia, Dave, Kyle. Olivia and Dave and Kyle. I think that's everybody right now, right?

12:15Mm-hmm. It is. Yeah, we can thank the grabster for the old days even. There you go. He comes up and selects sometimes too, doesn't he? Yeah, for sure. So I just want to say thanks for everyone for keeping us employed in what's, for me, the greatest job in the world. It means a lot. Agreed. I second Chuck. And, yeah, thank you, everybody. Thanks for another great year, and we'll see you next year for another great year. And now is Short Stuff out? Yeah, Short Stuff is out.

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