@RickCorey I do not use hacksaw as they get blunt very soon on clay pots. I got this experience when I had to make a hole in the roof tile, also of clay and had to use 4-5 saws for just a little job. So what I do is to keep chipping the edges of little by little with a small hammer [with a rectangle tip] keeping the place where I want to chip on flat stone and rotate the pot as I go along chipping so that the edge jams between the stone and hammer tip. If we try to break larger portions, fracture may run along. Then in the end, I rub the brim on flat stone to smoothen the brim to some extent. It will not be a perfect finish but then this is only a standby pot and a good finish does not matter. We can use a file also. I use pliers as you say, inside out too if the pot is thin. Some pots which may already have a fracture but not visible, will break and we cannot save those. Here I did use a round hammer [heavier] as the pot was quite tough.
For pots that have cracked clean top to bottom, I did use wire to keep the two halves together and it lasted a long time. This was some years ago. When we lift the pot to move it around with earth in it, repaired ones are to be handled extra carefully. Tape may he,p with plastic pots, but they do not work on heavy clay pots.
I liked the suggestion of going to the plant nurseries and going to the "manager's good side"!! Beautifully put!!
I request people to share pictures how you have repaired your pots because visuals always help more.
