Question:
Hello, My wife and I are new to collecting pottery but have both grown up around antiques. We recently purchased a 5 gallon red wing union stoneware crock(handle patent date 1915). Price was $20 but is immaterial to my question because we are not selling this piece. The crock was in a local unheated flea market building and was extremely dirty. Being the type that likes to clean, I decided to buy. After a lot of scrubbing off grease with concentrated laundry detergent and using vinegar for rust stains from the handles, I found hairline cracks. They appear as two 2"x 3" oblongs on the front side at the bottom below the red wing union logo(sorry I don’t as yet have a digital camera). Also a crack goes halfway across the bottom. Strangely the crock does not leak after a week of being filled with water. This might sound odd but I really wanted to use this crock to make sauerkraut(I assume Red wing could supply a new lid if I needed one). I believe in using American antiques as much as possible and would prefer to not make this a display piece. I’m sorry to say that these days a quality American made product is usually an antique. Why Americans do not buy their own products is an issue I probably shouldn’t belabor.

Recommended repair on your FAQ’s is CA(cyanoacrylate aka super glue). Many years ago I believe sodium silicate(water glass) could be used to repair glass and pottery.

Would any of the above methods be food safe? And if I have to use this for display only is there a way to reduce the noticeability of the cracks? Thank You, I hope this question(s) was not too long. Wayne

Answer: Wayne, as of today, I do not know of any glues that are food safe. So if you plan on using this 5 gallon Red Wing crock for making sauerkraut, I would not use any glues on these cracks. If the crock does not leak, then making sauerkraut would not be a problem in this pot. The best & safest way that I know of to reduce or lighten the cracks in your crock is to soak a white rag which is placed over the crack with #20 peroxide for 10 minutes. If you cannot get your hands on 20 peroxide, you can use bleach in it’s place, just don’t leave it on the crock for longer than 10 minutes. Al Kohlman