Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1910-04-29
GLASS AND cut GLASS
Pressed Ware at Times De-
ceives Even Experts.
A GUIDE FOR THE uNwARY.

Tho Seeker After Cut Glass 10 Safe In
Purchasing CLOSED In" Articles, as
They Cannot Be DupIicate>: In Press
ed Giass-Art Of the Cutter.
Buyers for large houses are some
times deceived when buying cut glass
| and find they have bought what Is
commercially known as pressed glass
instead of the genuine article.
Yet there are few simple rules
that will safeguard the ordinary buyer
at retail The chief one is to pick out
only what the manufacturer calls
closed In articles, BY this he means
vases. jugs. pitchers. bottles and the
| like
These cannot be duplicated in press
| ed glassware. which is first nodded In
patterns aud the edges ground. This
process gives II SO close resemblance
to real cut glass that even experts
may be deceived
But in the CLOSED In" articles some
way is yet to be devised by which the
pressed lines can be followed through
the opposite side when put On the
| wheel to be cut. as the pressed part
| interferes with the workman seeing
| through the glass. which he has to do
| in order to follow the lines of the de
sign on the cutter
| The kind of cut glass that Is cOun.
terfeited is called open work. such az
plates. naples or any fat article
through which the work man can reac
| lily see when finishing it,
Another help In selecting cut glass
Is its weight. The genuine is made
from pure lead glass. made chiefly in
America. especially for cutting. This
lead glass is very heavy.
The first step toward cutting Is to
mark on the ''blank" that is. the dish
| in the clear glass-in red or other paint
| the design that has been selected for
it.
The most common designs are dia
| mond shapes. stars OF various points.
| crosses and squares aud other geomet-
rical patterns.
The design must be marked on the
| glass exactl- TO stand the test of CON-
pass and rule When all lines are in
perfect accordance with the pattern
and also fit the blank the ''roughing"
begins. This is cutting the heavy work.
such as the necks of vases and bottles
and the heavy lines on the stars.
This is done on a machine called the
mill a big wooden framed affair. on
top of which is hopper holding about
| half q ton of Berkshire hills sand
This sand is the only kind In this
country that has proved satisfactory
for this work.
The sand runs down through the
hopper, is moistened with water and
comes out of large steel disk. the
edge Of which is sharp. This disk is
turned by power at very high speed.
The wet sand of the disk gives it a
tooth" which when the glass Is held
against the edge of the disk cuts very
rapidly.
All the coarse and heavy cutting is
done on this mill"
The cutting In of the finer work be-
gins on a mill with a stone disk re-
sembling an old fashioned grindstone.
but much narrower and with beyeled
edge. These stones come chiefly from
Italy or Scotland. They are very hard
and carry a keen edge long time
They are used for the fine cutting al
| together.
There is a stone found in Nova SEQ
tia much softer that cuts quicker and
| is used for futing on water bottles
and completes where heavy cuts are
desired. Very often as many as fifteen
| degrees of hardness are used for the
cutting of one article.
After the design has been all cut
comes one Of the most difficult parts
| Of the work, the polishing.
| This Is done on the outside of the
work with very high speeded brush
wheel covered with moistened pumice
| stone powdered. This stone Is lava
thrown off by volcano.
Large wooden disks made to fit the
| cuts and fed with pumice and water
are used for polishing the fine work In
and around the delicate tracery of the
| pattern.
The hand of the glass cutting expert
must be steady. strong and accurate.
for the least mistake spoils whole
pattern. In the case Of a fourteen
inch punch bowl this means the loss of
$50.
Another kind Of glass cutting Is
known as stone engraving. 1t is done
with little stone wheels and copper
tools entirely by hand. The designs
are chiefly vines and flowers. They
are not cut deep and are often mis-
taken for pressed glass. In reality
they are the most expensive kind Of
cut glass. the price for single piece
Of large size and ornate decoration
reaching four figures.
Glass cutting is not only a trade, but
an art, and any one after seeing tn,
method employed will readily under
stand why genuine cut glass COM
mands high prices.-Roston Globe.