I believe a lot of Shibuya Deishi Biwa have a dead sound to them. Especially post cornstarch treatment.swordofmytriumph wrote: ↑Sat Feb 16, 2019 3:08 amYeah I always wondered about the soaking thing. My understanding is that it helps with making the color of the crazing more uniform? I’m not sure soaking was meant to help with structural integrity. But I’m not experienced. I have a sum total of one hagi. I plan to get more though. You can’t just have one.Baisao wrote: ↑Sat Feb 16, 2019 1:55 amI used a biwa chawan from Seigan today and was surprised that it sweated so much just from usucha. I think soaking items like this would cause them to disintegrate sooner than if they were not soaked at all.swordofmytriumph wrote: ↑Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:58 amThe survival of the hagis, lol. You know you're into teaware when you're perfectly fine with your cup leaking a bit and cracking and consider that not only normal, but part of the charm. I have not mentioned it to my family. They would not understand.
I began tapping the chawan with my fingernails to test for cracks and indeed the sound is dull, indicating a hidden crack beneath the glaze. Is this common with biwa glazed hagiyaki?
As far as hidden cracks, I’m not sure (again not an authority) but it stands to reason that not all the crackles would be visible.
Cornstarch or similar treatments are for leakers only. I would not do it otherwise.