Why spend the money?
 

Just wondering why people buy such expensive clear glass when Effetre's Super Clear is fantastic and soooo reasonably priced? Am I missing something? Discuss.

Oh god, you started a clear thread :hide:

depends on what you are using it for. Or so I am told, i rarely encase so, I use what ever is on sale as a base.....

I've tried the Super Clear, and wasn't impressed with the scumming (I have to say it's been a while since I tried it, so maybe they've changed it). DH's clears are the only ones that I haven't had scumming, so that's why I use them.

Consistency.

I have good ESC and crap ESC and I never know which will show up here.
Every time I order DH Aether or Zephyr I know what's going to show up here. Worth it.

Interesting that this is being posted now. I worked on encasing for quite a while yesterday using ESC and started with peeling the ends of the rods. I'm supposed to be having some Zephyr delivered today, and I ordered it just because of how many people say it melts easier than ESC...


Some of my ESC is pretty clear and some of it is as bad as regular clear with the scumming and cloudiness. Idk.

Have you tried Aether, Zephyr or Clarity? Because that will answer your question. Once you have worked with premium clear it is hard to go back. I use ESC for some things but if I want a pristine clear, it is Clarity for silver glass and Aether for florals.

ESC is much improved from what it was like before. It used to have serious scumming issues and now it is like ice to me. I always soak the rods in vinegar and water, then wipe them down real well, first. And I always remove the molten cut end before applying the glass. I did have some scumming issues last night, with one bead, but I know it's because I super heated it. It was really obvious, too, I was daydreaming and sat there too long and was suddenly like "what am I doing?!!!" LOL, I absolutely love it love it love it!
Anyway, I was just wondering. Thanks for the info!

I have tried many different clear glasses. The reliable results I get with Aether just make it so much more worth it to spend the extra dough. As far as I'm concerned, time is money...the more time I spend sitting around cleaning rods, peeling them, picking out scum, and all the other bother- well, the less time I spend creating something worthwhile. I'd rather spend the extra money and not waste time.

That wouldn't happen with DH clear. Those of us working with some of the striking silver glass have to super heat and work the bead for a while. No scumming, no boiling.

I swear by Super Clear, I really love it. The softer premium glasses seem to lose their shape when I super heat. They want to bloat instead of pull in. So for striking glass that I will have to super heat after the encasement I use Super Clear.

But, I have recently been spoiled by the clarity of Zephyr, and have found love for Aether, which I used to hate. I use them for everything other than my super heated beads.

I do not like Aether with any silver glass. I do, however, use it for all of my encased regular glass beads.

And... thanks for the clear thread. :lol:

LOVE Zephyr and would never go back to ESC. It melts easier, it never scums or gets weird bubbles in it, and is just dreamy to work with. On the rare occasion I actively want a stiffer glass, I will use Reichenbach Clear, which is my next favourite.

I use Reichenbach clear to twist glass because of the stiffness. It holds up well for that.

I also use it sometimes if I am working with raised dots, as I find that Zephyr dots tend to melt in too easily due to its softness unless you are very careful.

This!
I love SC, but some batches are better than others. And some are just really bad.

I just tried Zephyr for the first time today. Be still my heart! I will NEVER go back :love:

I'm not actually sure whether I'm supposed to say something or not (maybe I should do a search?) but I've been testing a new 104 clear and so far it is magnificent!

definitely prefer Reichenbach over anything even DH aether or clarity

quote - " Every time I order DH Aether or Zephyr I know
what's going to show up here. Worth it."
This quote is why I only ever use Double Helix Zephyr
for all my encasing work. What is the point of saving money
by using scumming cheap clear & producing a scummy
encasing on an otherwise nice bead? I will not sell a bead
with scummy encasing, so your not really saving money by
using the cheap scummy clear. I use the best & clearest clear
to make the best bead that I can. I believe that Zephyr is the best.

is it the VS or something else? I never see anyone talk of it other than the one thread asking if anyone's tried it. http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=228150

^^^ This is the exact reason why I have 15 lbs of good Effetre Super Clear and only use it as the core to be encased by another glass. I work hot thus ONLY use Zephyr and Aether to encase now.

Is that the one they've been talking about in the marble room?

Has anyone tried Clear Crystal by VS from Frantz? http://www.frantzartglass.com/index....oducts_id=6320

I don't know! I'd better go look. :)

Is it Uroboros? It's not a secret that they are coming out with a 104 soon. And if it is anything like the 96 it will indeed be magnificent.

The Super Clear I bought from Frantz in March comes out all scummy, but I don't know if I was working it "too hot" or not. The rods themselves have all sorts of scratches on them and even bubbles inside, which is not my definition of SUPER clear glass.

I'll try working the glass cooler next time.

Yes... I've been so out of the loop that I suddenly realized I wasn't sure if it was something I should be talking about. Its really, really great! I work fast and hot, and the main reason I stopped using 104 for encased styles is because even the good clears have been so inconsistent, compared with BE and Uroboros which are always nice. I've been begging Uroboros for years (years! I tell you!) to please come out with a 96 reactive ivory so I could use their colors, and furnace glass colors, in my encased styles, but I guess they took a whole different approach to that problem. :lol:

I haven't had much time to torch lately, but the day I got it I made about a dozen beads, using ivory, silver foil, silver leaf, silver glass, coral... as much as I could think of to throw at it. I put the first six beads in the kiln before it was up to temp... I think it was maybe around 600 degrees. All but three of the beads (the last three I made) are long, thin pressed beads. I thought I'd lose at least the first four. Nope. This glass is beautiful.

I'm in the middle of a large order right now, and I decided to use the U104 clear for them. It's just so pretty, it doesn't scorch, soot or boil even though I beat it up, and I am feeling really confident in it after my test beads came out of that unscathed.

What kinda price point for the new U104?

I love zephyr enough that I hand carried 2 pounds of the damn stuff back from the US - 8mm rods (be still my beating heart)

That makes me so happy! I work hot and fast too. ;) Can't wait to try it out!