Black? Or what??

[emoon]

As I mentioned in an earlier post, last autumn I bought a bunch of new glass, cim, odd lots and the ever-challenging over-priced (imo) silvers. I am really just starting to play with them. A couple of the rods look totally black but cool on the rod with a pale gray tint to the edge where the hot glass of the rod meets the cooler. Sort of looks like reduction without the metallic. What is this glass??

I have tried to find a way to incorporate the effect into a bead, but I haven't been able to. I have tried it with frit, with raku, with silver foil and with silver glass rods to no special effect. I am just a bit intrigued with that line of lighter gray on the rod. Ideas?

[Elizabeth Beads]

Sounds like intense or dense black to me. I have the same problem, silvering that turns to a dull metallic sheen in a bead. So far I just pull stringer from it. I got a full lb. So I'm set for intense black stringer for life, lol. I'm still trying to work with it, I am convinced I will find a way to make it look good in a bead. L

[DesertDreamer]

Possibly Black Nebula. Does the gray have a tinge of blue to it?

[bexrox]

Any chance it's CIM Hades? I know that does different stuff, but I can't remember what. It has some reduction qualities, but not really silvery, if I remember right. Others here are likely much more knowledgeable about Hades than I am, but your description just rang a bell. I haven't played with mine in quite a while. I think I'll check it out...

Becky

[DesertDreamer]

Hades is funny stuff. All by itself, if you heat to molten and try to reduce, it won't do a darned thing. It stays a nice, glossy black. Effetre dense black can get a grayish metallic haze. Black Nebula can mimic boro colors with hints of blue & green. Anyway, Hades by itself stays pretty neutral. It's only when mixing with some other colors that it gets interesting. The more I mess with it, the more "interesting" it gets.

[lunamoonshadow]

The "overpriced" silver glass I can help with!
(or...you can send it to me )
Seriously--the "opaque" looking rods, put a teeny (as in TINY) wrap on they rod, heat it to clear, cool it, heat it to clear again, then encase it...you'll find out if you like the colors you get....that's how I "try" mine. Then try the same thing with the "clear" looking rods of silver glass, but with a spacer of black, then encase it with a thin-wrap of the silver-glass, heat that to clear, cool, reheat, & cool, then encase in clear...Then try the same thing, but with a solid bead of an opaque (white, black, whatever) & run a bit of stringer over it & reduce the stringer to see what you get for colors.
That's how I try each single rod of silver-laden glass I get Only takes a teeny bit of the rod (maybe 2"?) to do that with too!

Loads of info on each glass in Hayley's silver glass bead exchange threads in the patio too...lots of pictures & how-to's in there also.
~luna

[GlassyEyedGirl]

I just bought some Vetrofond Moss Agate Pale that looks just like that... mainly black with a little grey/charcoal tinge. Have not made anything worth writing home about with it yet though!