Humidifier Substitute?

sparrowhawk · Mar 26, 2015

I saw I posting that those coin humidifiers for moisturizing tobacco are just pieces of clay with a metal shell. If this is true, then I can help repay some of you for your good wishes and donations. I'm taking a ceramics/sculpture class right now, and it would be simple to make a slab of clay, cut it into tiles, and fire it in a kiln to porous stone. I can make a couple of tiles if that's all that's involved and send them out to anyone who wants a pair. I will make them larger than the usual coins. What do you think? This depends of course, if the humidifiers are actually made with terra cotta clay.

woodsroad · Mar 26, 2015

That's a great idea. I'd glaze the bottom so that you can sit it in tobacco without having all over the moisture leeched out from direct contact.

sparrowhawk · Mar 26, 2015

Thanks for that tip, woodsroad. So that's the purpose of the metal shell? And it is just fired clay? Bet it has a lot of grog in it to make it more porous, but unfortunately the grog content in the clay we use is very fine. But I will coat the tiles with glaze, and maybe pierce the sides so there's more surface area exposed.

mikestanley · Mar 26, 2015

You also use wet oasis foam. It absorbs water well and its what a lot of guys use for cigar humidification.
Mike S.

woodsroad · Mar 26, 2015

Yeah, but it's not as pretty. You can paint a tobacco leaf on to the clay with green glaze.

sparrowhawk · Mar 26, 2015

Actually, I just thought of putting an imprint of a sparrowhawk on the side...I can make it out of some papermache/plaster mix I have here.

cosmicfolklore · Mar 26, 2015

It is greenware that is the most porous. If you fire it to glazing temperatures the cell structure of the ceramic becomes closed somewhat like a stone and less porous. For example, if you put a greenware clay pot shard, as in a shard from a red planting pot in water and a high fired shard from a glazed plate that has exposed areas, the plant pot will actually absorb water, whereas the broken plate won't.
So you can do it, but just skip the glaze. Or, just do what you want, ha ha. It's your tobacco : puffy

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sparrowhawk · Mar 26, 2015

I will check with my teacher on what kind of firing and/or glaze I should use.

cosmicfolklore · Mar 26, 2015

Ask if they have any raku clay. It is the most absorbent, because it has extra grog to take the thermal shock of the process. Sorry, my metallurgy and ceramics degree makes me very nerdy sometimes, ha ha.

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