can flint glass be blown today?

[Rpm3g]

Hello, sorry for the amateur question, but i have not been able to find a clear answer to my question whether or not flint glass can be blown today? and if there are any artists working with it? i know we have much more reliable materials to work with today, just curious if there are traditionalists still using lead in there formulas?
thx in advance and i appologize for the ignorant question.

[Mike_Aurelius]

Yes, but. It will only be compatible with itself. Flint glass is considered any type of glass that is not "crown" glass -- this designation goes back centuries where only the best glass was given to royalty (hence "crown"), while cheaper glass types ("flint") was used by everyone else. In the optical industry, there's an old saying: "What is crown glass? Answer: anything that's not flint glass. What's flint glass? Answer: anything that's not crown glass."

When I was in the glass bifocal manufacturing business, crown glass had an index of refraction of 1.523, these were the "majors" or full lens. The index segment was flint glass, and had a variable index of refraction anywhere from 1.57 to 1.75 (to make the bifocal add power).

You will need to check COE as well as index of refraction.

Lead glass has its issues, and not many folks use it these days due to the hazards of the dust.

[CalyxAnn]

If anyone is interested in getting their hands on some flint glass, we've got some available at our Lincoln Hot Glass studio. Free pickup. We helped clean out a local University scientific glass lab and no one in the studio wants to use it.
:flame:
Carrie

[hashmasta-kut]

I like this thread.

Approved!