Make Your Own Shibuichi Clay

http://artinsilver.com/blog/2010/02/06/make-your-own-shibuichi-clay/

Shibuichi is an ancient Japanese alloy of copper and silver, with the percentage of silver ranging between 5% – 25%. There is a very informative article about this alloy in March 2010 issue of Art Jewelry Magazine by Lee Rumsey Haga, which I highly recommend.

I have been often asked about combining different metal clays together, so I decided to try. I made “Shibuichi clay” of 5% silver and 95% copper, using mixed Quick-fire copper and PMC Plus.

One way to measure is to use a scale. To make 10 grams of this type of Shibuichi clay, mix 0.5 grams silver clay with 9.5 grams copper clay.

I fired it with a torch for 6 minutes from the moment the binder had burnt off, and immediately dipped in water. I found that torch-fired Shibuichi clay is stronger than torched-fired copper clay.

I also tried it in a kiln. I fired it for 1:00 hour at 1470°F (800°C) in my top loader kiln. In a front loader, fire at 1550°/843°C.

 Another source is www.sculptnouveaux.com. They also have different sealers and their products come with full instructions.

http://artinsilver.com/Quick-fire_clay_instruction_manual.pdf 








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