[anniec9]

Can someone advise when is the best stage of drying to carve porcelain? I have just started throwing and handbuilding with porcelain and not sure whether it is leather hard or dry.

Thanks Annie

[Lucille Oka]

The most important thing is to limit the amount of dust that you will create.
You have to determine the best texture for your carving.
Try carving at different 'water content textures' and see what feels best to you. Get a spray bottle just incase you may need to add a little water.

[Marcia Selsor]

I start carving after trimming. Leather hard. I sometimes squirt the surface for a gentle moistening.
Smoothing the edges with a damp chamois is an easy clean up rather than sanding when dry.

Marcia

[Chris Campbell]

The answer lies with what you want your carving to look like as each stage will give you a different look. As your porcelain dries your lines will go from soft and flowing to sharp and precise. Also, every type of porcelain will react a bit differently at each stage with some being more forgiving than others.

[anniec9]

Thank you everyone for your help. I can see I will need to try at different stages to find the result I want.