Brand arguments in polymer clay get heated, and most of them are really arguments about what people make. A caner wants firm clay that holds a pattern. Someone making 3mm earrings wants clay that will not snap at the post. Those are different products.
How we tested
Same six shapes, same 3mm thickness, same oven, same thermometer, same 30 minutes at 275°F. Then a flex test until failure.
| Brand | Conditioning | Strength | Colour range | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sculpey Premo | Easy | Strong | Wide | Earrings, general use |
| Fimo Professional | Firm | Strongest | Wide | Canes, fine detail |
| Cernit | Easy | Strong | Medium | Translucent work |
| Sculpey III | Very soft | Brittle | Widest | Children, practice only |
Sculpey Premo
The one we reach for. It conditions in under two minutes by hand, holds an edge when cut, and survived the flex test without a clean break. Colours are slightly less saturated than Fimo out of the block but mix predictably.
Fimo Professional
Genuinely the strongest after baking, and the only clay here that holds a millefiori cane without smearing. The cost is the first ten minutes: it comes out of the packet hard, and hand-conditioning is real work without a pasta machine.
Sculpey III
Soft, cheap, wide range of colours, and it snaps if you look at it wrong. Fine for a child’s afternoon. Not fine for anything you intend to wear or sell.
Brand matters less than bake temperature. An oven running 25 degrees cold will make any of these brittle, and most home ovens run cold. Buy the thermometer before you buy the expensive clay.
