Yea I should probably have asked before postingBok wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 1:30 amIt is Dr Lu's book on Yixing factory 1 early teapots II (no there is no volume I published and according to him, he abandoned the initial plan for it. You can buy it via the fb group. Chinese only. Well worth the money. Could avoid some a lot of tuition purchases...
and Chadrinkincat should probably ask him for permission to post images of it...
Yixing
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Chadrinkincat
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Chadrinkincat
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Chadrinkincat
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Looking at yet another pot from a reputable maker and vendor.
How much unevenness/irregularity is normal or acceptable in the flat surfaces of a fully handmade teapot? I just happened to notice that the bottom edge of the lid’s internal rim is not absolutely level. One would never notice unless told and looking very, very closely—but once seen, hard to mentally unsee. There is like a quarter or half millimeter of variance in height in one part of the rim versus the others. I would have thought that since the lid is shaped while sitting on a flat surface, the bottom rim ought to be perfectly flat.
How much unevenness/irregularity is normal or acceptable in the flat surfaces of a fully handmade teapot? I just happened to notice that the bottom edge of the lid’s internal rim is not absolutely level. One would never notice unless told and looking very, very closely—but once seen, hard to mentally unsee. There is like a quarter or half millimeter of variance in height in one part of the rim versus the others. I would have thought that since the lid is shaped while sitting on a flat surface, the bottom rim ought to be perfectly flat.
Aren't you a perfectionist?mafoofan wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:30 pmLooking at yet another pot from a reputable maker and vendor.
How much unevenness/irregularity is normal or acceptable in the flat surfaces of a fully handmade teapot? I just happened to notice that the bottom edge of the lid’s internal rim is not absolutely level. One would never notice unless told and looking very, very closely—but once seen, hard to mentally unsee. There is like a quarter or half millimeter of variance in height in one part of the rim versus the others. I would have thought that since the lid is shaped while sitting on a flat surface, the bottom rim ought to be perfectly flat.
I think we have to accept the imperfection of a handmade item that they will never be perfectly symmetrical and straight like its machine made counterpart. Perhaps the flat surface the potter used was not perfectly flat? I don't know...let's wait for the experts.I checked, and my highest grade clay from CJF (I assumed you were talking about your duo qiu?) is also not perfectly level. Both when putting the body upside down, and the inner rim of lid. Her lowest grade clay pot is actually better aligned. Either way, none of this bothers me. Both pots were well crafted and make great tea.
However, the edge of my teapot spouts started to randomly chip. I never hit them with any hard objects. Only rinse with running water, and warm up with boiling water. They just chipped and I have absolutely no idea how that happened. Is that normal? Did I do something wrong? So far the chips are small so they don't affect tea brewing, but if it's something I did I want to be more careful about it.
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Chadrinkincat
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Of course it's not perfect, it is handmade. All hand made things have small subtle "faults".mafoofan wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:30 pmLooking at yet another pot from a reputable maker and vendor.
How much unevenness/irregularity is normal or acceptable in the flat surfaces of a fully handmade teapot? I just happened to notice that the bottom edge of the lid’s internal rim is not absolutely level. One would never notice unless told and looking very, very closely—but once seen, hard to mentally unsee. There is like a quarter or half millimeter of variance in height in one part of the rim versus the others. I would have thought that since the lid is shaped while sitting on a flat surface, the bottom rim ought to be perfectly flat.
If you are chasing after perfection, then it's really easy to fall into the trap of buying a 300 yuan machine made pot, sold for 10x the price.
Understand, understand—I’m not measuring everything with calipers or pulling out a loupe. I just happened to notice this particular irregularity and wondered if normal.
Interesting thanks! I’m not expecting perfect, but more wondering what is acceptable within the range of good workmanship? Obviously, there are certain flaws we would all agree are not okay and we each generally expect fewer and fewer such flaws the more we spend.pantry wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 1:16 pmAren’t you a perfectionist?
I checked, and my highest grade clay from CJF (I assumed you were talking about your duo qiu?) is also not perfectly level. Both when putting the body upside down, and the inner rim of lid. Her lowest grade clay pot is actually better aligned. Either way, none of this bothers me. Both pots were well crafted and make great tea.
However, the edge of my teapot spouts started to randomly chip. I never hit them with any hard objects. Only rinse with running water, and warm up with boiling water. They just chipped and I have absolutely no idea how that happened. Is that normal? Did I do something wrong? So far the chips are small so they don't affect tea brewing, but if it's something I did I want to be more careful about it.
The irregularity in your lid’s bottom rim:
is it an acute “dip” in the level of the edge? How noticeable to naked eye?
Weird about your spouts. I haven’t had my teapot as long, but will observe.
Sorry for the confusion. I meant the other book.Chadrinkincat wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 1:33 pmHow much did you pay in total? You do realized that you could have easily purchased directly from Dr. Lu right?
Shipping + fee from TW to US was $40
Book was around $100
Also, as noted above, while not expecting perfection I assume there is nonetheless a measure of good workmanship at varying prices. Would one expect to see the same “issue” as I’ve described on ANY teapot, even one costing thousands of dollars made by a ranked master? Genuinely curious.