Best clay for throwing?

[Luis Ortega]

Would any of the potters please offer their opinion on which clays they find best for wheel throwing?
And where they get them in the UK?
Thanks a lot.

[potpartner]

There is so many .... different types, colours , temperature ranges etc. If you know roughly what type of clay you want you could ask a company like valentines clays to send some samples to you. They did this for us years ago.. Their V9A is a good buff stoneware for throwing but there are plenty of others too. The Earthstone ES 5 is lovely to work with but fires much more white in colour. Although not in your area CTM have a very useful clay description page here
http://www.ctmpotterssupplies.co.uk/news.htm it's worth a read.

[Luis Ortega]

There is so many .... different types, colours , temperature ranges etc.

Thanks.
I'm not too concerned about those properties right now but more about their facility for throwing, especially for beginners.
At my school, we have some white earthenware and some buff stoneware and the kids have found the earthenware a little soft and prone to collapsing but they complain that the stoneware seems harder to control.
I am not very experienced and have thrown just about anything I can get my hands on, but I don't feel experienced enough to distinguish among the clays in terms of what is easiest to learn on.

[Daesul]

I found that the buff stoneware was best when I was a beginner as it's not so 'floppy' as white stoneware or earthenware. Then I progressed to white stoneware, almost as good to throw but I liked the colour better. I now use white earthenware, mostly because I now only have a small kiln and I don't want to wear it out too quickly by firing to stoneware temperatures! I'd prefer white stoneware though if I had the choice.