Signs for lead in a Yixing teapot

[bagua7]

I was wondering how to tell when a teapot of this sort has got that issue, which is a major concern for any potential users.

Cheers.

[auhckw]

There seems to be lead test kits out there. You can try google for it. Eg. http://www.amazon.com/Homax-5250-Househ ... B000E3DX0C

I will be looking around in local stores to find one. Been wanting to test my teapots and teacups.

[JBaymore]

Home hardware store lead test kits will not tell you a piece of ceramic is SAFE, but it will tell you if it is clearly NOT safe.

They are not accurate eough to determine if the leaching factor is over the US FDA limits for hollowares. Of course that assumes you are in the USA and or that you use those standards for a measure. The California standards are more stringent then the current FDA ones.

REAL Yixing teapots, not having glazes, are unliekly to contain lead.....unless they have been treated with something to change their appearacne to do something like fake antiquity. There are threads here that deal a lot more specifically with lead and ceramics. Rather than to re-hash it all here...... maybe do some searching for older stuff on the forums?

best,

............john

[IPT]

John is absolutely right. Real Zisha would have no lead in it. That being said, a LOT of zisha had additives which can contain lead. They are generally added to alter color. They wish to make a teapot look like it is a finer, or a rarer zisha than it actually is. And, as John said, a lot of antiquing is done too and their dyes might not be safe.

[bagua7]

I purchased a lead test kit on a paint shop yesterday, conducted the surface test using the bottom part of the yixing pots -scratched the surface a bit as well- I got and none contain lead. Needless to say none of my pots belong to the cheap and blatantly fake ones which may contain lead.

Anyway, I am pretty sure there would be foreign susbtances mixed with whatever clay they used but at this stage I don't really care as none of my pots have a funky smell either dry or wet.

[JBaymore]

.......and none contain lead.

Home hardware store lead test kits will not tell you a piece of ceramic is SAFE, but it will tell you if it is clearly NOT safe.

[bagua7]

...but it will tell you if it is clearly NOT safe.

Which is lead in this instance.

[Mr. Usaji]

mayayo, I think his point is that if the test kit doesn't detect lead, that doesn't mean the pot is safe: there might still be small amounts of lead, or other materials that it doesn't test for at all.

[JBaymore]

mayayo, I think his point is that if the test kit doesn't detect lead, that doesn't mean the pot is safe: there might still be small amounts of lead,....

Precisely.

best,

..............john