Why do purple clay teapots crack? How to repair cracked purple clay teapots?

Zisha teapots are the most popular tea-making utensils nowadays, but many people find cracks in them. So why do Zisha teapots crack? How to repair cracked Zisha teapots? The following editor will explain them one by one, hoping to help you.

Why does the purple clay teapot crack?

1. It’s a temperature problem. There’s no thermos. You can guess the answer directly.

2. The problem of thickness. There is a type of purple clay body called thin body, which is very easy to crack if used improperly.

3. The nature of the clay actually refers to the degree of crystallinity. For example, Zhuni is likely to crack the most. Compared with purple clay, Zhuni is not as resistant. You can imagine Zhuni pots as glass.

4. Hidden injuries. As the saying goes, after a thousand temperings, the last shiver is the end of ten years of life.

5. Few people should know this. It is called internal opening. It means that the inside of the teapot has opened after firing, but it cannot be seen from the outside. It will open naturally over time. It is usually seen at the joints. In addition, internal bubbles may appear when firing purple clay teapots. That is, a small bag bulges inside. It's just that people usually don't pay attention to it.

How to repair a cracked purple clay teapot

The repair methods of purple clay teapots can be generally divided into: Kintsugi, porcelain mending, tinning (gold, silver), and traceless repair.

Kintsugi: A branch of lacquer, a popular Japanese repair method that uses the adhesiveness of lacquer and the decorativeness of gold powder. It is characterized by strong decorativeness and is suitable for repairing lids, spouts, bodies, and handles. If the pot is damaged and fragments are lost, it is very suitable to use lacquer and tile ash to fill the flesh.

Ceramic brazing: The most traditional ceramic repair method in China, which uses drilling and brazing to connect the fragments tightly, and the joints will be treated to prevent water leakage. It is highly decorative and the strongest, but the fragments must be complete.

Tinning: Wrap the broken parts with tin sheets to achieve the effect of connection. It is generally decorative and requires the fragments to be complete.

Traceless repair: repair with special glue, named because the traces of glue are not obvious. It is not decorative and requires all the fragments to be complete.

How to prevent purple clay teapots from cracking in winter

In winter, warm up the teapot first. Use 40-50 degrees warm water to quickly pour around the pot wall and inside and outside the pot until the pot is full of warm water. Put the lid on and pour warm water on the lid to preheat the pot before using it to make tea. Be sure not to let the boiling water continuously scald a certain point of the pot. When the ambient temperature is very low, the pot will easily crack.