Frits are important components of most ceramic glazes. A frit is a type of ceramic glass that predominantly consists of silica, diboron trioxide, and soda. This combination of raw materials are industrially melted and rapidly cooled, making them insoluble. This process creates a way to safely introduce materials into a glaze which would otherwise be toxic. While frits typically serve as a component of glazes, they can also be used alone in low temperature glazes, such as Raku and Majolica.  

Because of their various applications, there are numerous types of frits, each with specific uses. Despite the diversity, however, manufactured frits typically all contain more than one kind of flux (for melting) and are stabilized with alumina and silica. This causes the frits to be more reliable in consistently reproducing glazes. Here at The Ceramic Shop, we carry two different general types of frits in the Ferro Frit line -- boron and alkaline. Boron-based frits are typically used in earthenware glazes when a lead-free glaze is required. While these frits don’t produce quite the bright colors that lead does, they do carry the added bonus of not being terribly toxic to both the glaze mixer, and the person eating food off of the finished pot! Alkaline frits, which are similar to boron frits, have high amounts of soda and potash. These are a particularly suitable base for crackle glazes.

Here at The Ceramic Shop, we stock a number of frits. Please click on the links below to learn more about the frits we carry.