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1 hour ago, happyjillin said:

My cigar guy,don Pablo was just here and suggested soaking in water for a while so that's what I'm going to try. It's a gourd carved on the outside by a father and son in Oaxaca. I got it on Amazon.mx.

Guess what, Pedro...it's not a gourd.  Most people think it IS a gourd, but the jícara is a fruit that grows on the tecomate tree.   The fruits are cut in half and the flesh, reportedly somewhat poisonous, is scooped out of each half.  The insides of the shells are scoured, the jícaras are allowed to dry, and then they are carved or painted or left plain.  They do grow in southeastern Mexico, and they also grow in the beach areas of Michoacán.  Here's a photo I took in September 2020.  I have a bunch of them in a couple of sizes, and I've bought them all in Oaxaca.  Some are beige with darker brown carvings, like yours, and others are beige with black, and still others are painted brilliant red with designs in other colors.  Some are left whole, with the pulp drained out, and turned into sonajas (rattles).  I've never experienced with any of them the rapid absorption that you mention. 

All photos are copy-write Mexico Cooks!
 

Mercado Benito Juárez Jícaras.jpg

Tlacolula Jícaras Rojas.jpg

Tecomate Tree Playa Michoacán Sept 2020 1.jpg

Oaxaca Benito Juárez Mkt 10 Jícaras y Sonajas.jpg

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27 minutes ago, More Liana said:

Guess what, Pedro...it's not a gourd.  Most people think it IS a gourd, but the jícara is a fruit that grows on the tecomate tree.   The fruits are cut in half and the flesh, reportedly somewhat poisonous, is scooped out of each half.  The insides of the shells are scoured, the jícaras are allowed to dry, and then they are carved or painted or left plain.  They do grow in southeastern Mexico, and they also grow in the beach areas of Michoacán.  Here's a photo I took in September 2020.  I have a bunch of them in a couple of sizes, and I've bought them all in Oaxaca.  Some are beige with darker brown carvings, like yours, and others are beige with black, and still others are painted brilliant red with designs in other colors.  Some are left whole, with the pulp drained out, and turned into sonajas (rattles).  I've never experienced with any of them the rapid absorption that you mention. 

All photos are copy-write Mexico Cooks!
 

Mercado Benito Juárez Jícaras.jpg

Tlacolula Jícaras Rojas.jpg

Tecomate Tree Playa Michoacán Sept 2020 1.jpg

Oaxaca Benito Juárez Mkt 10 Jícaras y Sonajas.jpg

Great fotos and gracias for the clarification as to what they are!!

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11 hours ago, happyjillin said:

No it won't and I don't wish to ruin the carvers' creation with a different finish. I did the inside with clear fingernail polish and have used them successfully ever since.

I can't see how beeswax would "ruin"the finish but if you prefer to drink out of something you've coated with toxic nail polish, enjoy.

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2 minutes ago, mudgirl said:

I can't see how beeswax would "ruin"the finish but if you prefer to drink out of something you've coated with toxic nail polish, enjoy.

I had forgotten that instead of using a complex formula for 18th-19th century liquid glass i sealed the leaks on this glass bottomed pewter tankard with nail polish, that I have used after repair for 15 years for my tequila, agua y limon. obviously the HARDENED nail polish is not a problem of toxicity-eh! Beeswax on the carving would discolour it and not solve the problem of the jicara shell sucking up my mezcal. It didn't leak out. Are you in the habit of always arguing with someone who has professional experience/extensive knowledge when clearly you don't nor do you understand what is written on occasion? I never said that they "leaked"

pewter tankard.jpg

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45 minutes ago, CHILLIN said:

You should have stuck with the potassium silicate. Cheap and abundant today. 

On the other hand,

https://www.pritinyc.com/10-Nail-Polish-Toxic-Ingredients-You-Must-Avoid_b_4.html

Not interested in a commercial nail polish producer[pritinyc] who naturally[SNORK!] would promote their product over what I have safely used. And PS is a fertilizer so not relevant in the least. You have the wrong silicate which is the kind of mistake not unusual for you. I didn't stick with it, "as in not being dumb enough to use PS". Don't you get tired of googling irrelevant and/or wrong garbage gary waller?

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I have used gallons of it. From PNG corp. It is water glass, superior to sodium silicate. Silica dissolved in potash, then it turns back to silica. It was invented in Bavaria, hundreds of years ago, and still used to make fireproof, no VOC, mineral paints for exteriors and fresco, among a great many other uses.

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1 hour ago, CHILLIN said:

I have used gallons of it. From PNG corp. It is water glass, superior to sodium silicate. Silica dissolved in potash, then it turns back to silica. It was invented in Bavaria, hundreds of years ago, and still used to make fireproof, no VOC, mineral paints for exteriors and fresco, among a great many other uses.

More unsubstantiated BS. Boy this pandemic is turning you into a bigger payaso than you have shown to be in the past. In any event I bought the jicaras that I liked,treated them ,based on my experience, the way I wanted successfully and made my folk art bases for me and at least one other person to indulge in excellent quality mescal in mi casa not please you or anyone else except my family and friends-eh gary waller! At least some people in this thread have shown an interest in the OP. You truly amuse me with your nonsense though-jajajaj!!

pedro kertesz the magnificent

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The women I deal with have been making cooking ustansil for generation and they use atole, that is the traditional way to do it. They sell the unseal pots and you cn do whatever you want with them. As far as changing their traditons, good luck..

One tey would have to order it from ;exico and then pay for the freight and  companies do not deliver in the village so it is not in the cards. No Amazon.com there.

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