Iron Oxide, Black
- Unit price
- /per
Item Class Raw Materials
FREE SHIPPING OFFER DETAILS
This item qualifies for free shipping on orders over $50.
Not everything on our web site qualifies for free shipping offers. When you reach the $50 minimum that does not mean that everything in your order is necessarily free shipping. Some oversized and heavy items may not qualify for free shipping regardless of order size.
Free Shipping Restrictions: Kilns, Wheels and other items marked free shipping are for the lower 48 only. Western states, Texas, Long Island NY, some metropolitan areas, limited access locations, island locations may have a sur-charge for larger equipment.
We will have to calculate freight for some items going to Alaska or Hawaii.
Extra charges may apply when shipping freight to hard to reach places such as islands, extreme rural areas, restricted access locations, and metropolitan areas such as NYC, Chicago, LA and North West destinations.
Some manufacturers may have additional sur-charges.
Free shipping on small tools includes all of the USA including Alaska and Hawaii. Free Shipping on Glazes also includes Alaska and Hawaii except for glazes that ship in pails and gallons.
Gallons and Pails of glaze are not including in the free shipping program.
GR FORMS 12" or larger are exempt from free shipping to AK and HIFree Shipping does not apply to any international orders.
Free Shipping is voided if you return an item. You are responsible for the shipping in both directions.
Free Shipping (some items excluded)
Shop with complete confidence knowing that every order is fully insured from our warehouse to your doorstep. We protect your investment against damage, loss, or theft during transit—at no additional cost to you. Experience worry-free shopping and the assurance that your valuable purchases will arrive safely or be promptly replaced.
Kiln & Ceramic Experts on staff
Shop with complete confidence knowing that every order is fully insured from our warehouse to your doorstep. We protect your investment against damage, loss, or theft during transit—at no additional cost to you. Experience worry-free shopping and the assurance that your valuable purchases will arrive safely or be promptly replaced.
One stop shop for Ceramics Supplies
Shop with complete confidence knowing that every order is fully insured from our warehouse to your doorstep. We protect your investment against damage, loss, or theft during transit—at no additional cost to you. Experience worry-free shopping and the assurance that your valuable purchases will arrive safely or be promptly replaced.
Americas Premiere Clay Maker
Shop with complete confidence knowing that every order is fully insured from our warehouse to your doorstep. We protect your investment against damage, loss, or theft during transit—at no additional cost to you. Experience worry-free shopping and the assurance that your valuable purchases will arrive safely or be promptly replaced.
Ceramic Supplier since 1946
Shop with complete confidence knowing that every order is fully insured from our warehouse to your doorstep. We protect your investment against damage, loss, or theft during transit—at no additional cost to you. Experience worry-free shopping and the assurance that your valuable purchases will arrive safely or be promptly replaced.
Free Insurance - Peace of Mind with Every Purchase
Shop with complete confidence knowing that every order is fully insured from our warehouse to your doorstep. We protect your investment against damage, loss, or theft during transit—at no additional cost to you. Experience worry-free shopping and the assurance that your valuable purchases will arrive safely or be promptly replaced.
Adding product to your cart
A black form of iron oxide for browns, blacks, speckles and dark clay bodies.
You must test before you use it, at any scale. Raw materials, mined or man-made, are not consistent. Color, strength, particle size and chemistry can change from one bag to the next and from one supplier to another, even when the name on the bag stays the same. Before you use this material in a glaze, slip or clay body of any size, mix a small test batch, fire it on your own clay in your own kiln, and check the results.
What it is
A black iron powder. In a glaze it gives the same family of colors as red iron oxide: ambers, browns and blacks. Its grains are a little coarser, which makes it good for speckles and dark slips.
Getting started
- Use it like red iron oxide. Start at 2 to 4% in a glaze (2 to 4 grams per 100 grams of dry glaze) and test.
- For speckles, stir it into the glaze or clay without sieving it out.
- It can replace red iron oxide nearly one-for-one by weight, but test first.
For glaze formulators
- Black iron oxide, Fe₃O₄. Slightly more iron by weight than Fe₂O₃.
- Coarser than red iron oxide. Mill or sieve for even color; leave it coarse for specks.
- Ends up as Fe₂O₃ in oxidation and FeO in reduction, so it fires much like red iron oxide.
Safety
- Low toxicity, but don't breathe the dust. Wear a NIOSH-approved respirator (N95 or better) when handling it dry, and clean up with a wet sponge, not a broom.
- It stains skin, clothes and work surfaces.
Sizes & pricing
| Size | Price | Per lb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 lb | $1.45 | $1.45 | Add to cart |
| 5 lb | $6.50 | $1.30 | Add to cart |
| 10 lb | $12.00 | $1.20 | Add to cart |
| 25 lb | $27.50 | $1.10 | Add to cart |
| 50 lb bag | $38.50 | $0.77 | Add to cart |
Full bags mix and match. Every full bag in your order, of any raw material, adds up. That total sets the price of every bag. Smaller sizes don't count.
| Full bags in your order | Price per 50 lb bag | Per lb |
|---|---|---|
| Under 500 lb | $38.50 | $0.77 |
| 500 lb and up | $37.50 | $0.75 |
| 2,000 lb and up | $37.00 | $0.74 |
| 6,000 lb and up | $36.00 | $0.72 |
| 12,000 lb and up | $35.50 | $0.71 |
Prices from our October 23, 2026 price list.
Frequently Asked Questions
In most glazes they fire to the same colors: ambers, browns and blacks. Red iron oxide is finer and mixes in more evenly. Black iron oxide is a little coarser, so it's good for speckles and dark slips. You can swap one for the other nearly gram for gram, then test.
Not in small amounts. 2 to 4% gives ambers and browns. It takes roughly 8 to 12% for very dark brown to black, depending on the base glaze. Most true black glazes mix iron with cobalt and manganese.
Stir a small amount into the glaze after you sieve it, or into your clay, so the grains stay whole. Each grain melts into a dark spot. Start small and fire a test tile, because too much looks muddy rather than speckled.
Glaze and clay recipes go by weight, not by volume, and they don't count water. Each ingredient is a share of the dry total. 2% means 2 grams for every 100 grams of dry ingredients. For a 500-gram batch, that's 10 grams. Colors and opacifiers are often listed as extras on top of a recipe that adds up to 100, written like "+2" or "add 2%." Weigh those the same way: 2 grams for every 100 grams of the base recipe. A digital scale that reads to 0.1 gram makes small amounts easy.
A test tile is a small piece of the clay you use, glazed and fired just like your real work. Raw materials vary from bag to bag, and results also change with your clay, how thick you apply the glaze and how your kiln fires. A test tile is the only way to know what you'll get before you glaze a whole batch of pots. Write what's on each tile on the back (an underglaze pencil works), and keep notes so you can repeat what works.
Yes, whenever you handle the dry powder. Fine dust is the main hazard with most raw materials, and some can harm your lungs over time. Wear a NIOSH-approved respirator (N95 or better) while you weigh and mix. A basic dust mask that isn't N95-rated won't protect you. Once a material is mixed with water, dust is much less of a problem, but wipe up spills with a wet sponge before they dry, and mop instead of sweeping. Don't eat or drink while you work, and wash your hands afterward. Check each product's Safety section for anything extra that material needs.
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
CUSTOMER REVIEWS - Q&A
Got a question about this product? Ask it here and get a response from our staff and also input from the Sheffield Pottery community!
PEOPLE ALSO VIEWED
- +23 more
- +7 more
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
SIGNUP AND RECEIVE NEWS AND SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS