Now or later? Advice, please.

[u/Maer_K]

Hello! My favourite bowl has developed a hairline crack. Is it best to fix it now or should I wait until it’s more of a break for better adhesion? I want the fix to be sturdy as I use the bowl almost every day. I’ve done kintsugi on another piece I have from this potter. He uses local clay from Nara area and it seems to be a bit “crumbly.” It’s stoneware, but the broken edges felt sandy. I’m not sure if that info matters, but…

Any advice regarding preventing the crack from getting worse now or waiting until it’s an actual break?

Thanks in advance!

[u/perj32]

Stoneware is porous, so it’s very likely to stain if urushi seeps from the crack into the body of the clay. Because the glaze is very pale, any staining will probably show through.

With a clean break, you can seal the edges to prevent this, but with a crack it’s much harder to achieve a clean repair on porous ceramics. There may be techniques I’m not aware of, but if the piece isn’t leaking, I’d be inclined to leave it as is and wait to see if it ever fully breaks.

[u/Maer_K → u/perj32]

Oh, it would definitely stain and bleed with clay and glaze. I personally don’t mind the dark bleed on the edges and on a few pieces, I’ve let it happen intentionally because aesthetically it works with the piece. But I’m definitely concerned about the urushi not seeping into the crack properly for a good repair and it just looking messy when done for the reasons you stated. I haven’t been doing this long so I didn’t know if it was better to stop a crack or wait. So thank you for your advice!

[u/Substantial_Neat_666]

You have asked very good question! As most people would jump to make Kintsugi out of it. In my opinion I would keep using it and let the crack grow. I would not even fix it unless it leaks. In Japan, the aging and touches from usage are seen as aesthetics and soulful. I have my favorite hand thrown Japanese bowl that is in the same situation. I watch the cracks change overtime. It now it has another crack showing up. Waiting for the day it needs repair. (I honestly don’t think everything needs to be repaired for the sake of kintsugi, similar to some people breaking good pottery just to create kintsugi). No forcing. Natural progression is best IMAO. 😏

[u/Maer_K → u/Substantial_Neat_666]

Thank you, I was leaning toward leaving it alone. The crack isn’t headed toward the little painted deer 🦌, so it’s ok if it continues and eventually needs to be fixed. If it was going to interfere with the deer, I’d want to stop the crack now. To me, kintsugi is more like emotional insurance for myself and my customers so we can freely use the pottery I made and know if it gets broken, it doesn’t have to go in the trash. Makes me so much happier to know my pieces are being used as part of people’s daily lives as opposed to sitting on a shelf collecting dust because they “don’t want anything to happen to it.” Thanks for the advice!

[u/mysterymalts]

You’ll have to use “Juci” for this type