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Doug Freyburger
 
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Bob Simon wrote:
>
> I have a set of four hand-made stoneware plates with tri-color glazes
> that I consider art pieces as much as dinnerware. Years ago, we also
> purchased a set of Royal Doulton porcelain plates for everyday use.
> My wife says that since she has noticed scratches on the porcelain
> plates, we should only serve meat on the stoneware which will resist
> scratches from knives.
>
> Does anyone happen to know which is usually harder: stoneware or
> porcelain?


Real porcelin is often so thin light will shine through it. It
has a reputation for fragility not because it is less hard, but
because it is so thin. In fact, the ceramic used in real
porcelin is a bit harder than the ceramics used in other
stoneware and that's why it *can* be made so thin.

So basically, I don't think your Royal Doulton are real porcelin
and that makes your question about relative hardness less easy
to answer. Very likely they are made of similar ceramic and
the difference in thickness is different in strength.

But you are discussing scratches here, and strength is about
breaking more than it scratches. Scratches are effected by
the glaze not by the rest of the ceramic material.

It is very likely that both have glass glaze, equally scratchable
to a couple of decimal points. What's the chance that any plate
will be coated with syntheitc sapphire or whatever? Near
zero unless the plate was sold by Calphalon or Magnalite.

> Even if the glazes are typically about equally scratch-resistant,
> wouldn't it make sense to generally use the commercial porcelain
> plates, reserving the decorative stoneware plates for special
> occasions?


The words commercial and decorative should be enough to answer that.