[HN Gopher] In Japan, Artisans Create 'Cut Glass from Edo'
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       In Japan, Artisans Create 'Cut Glass from Edo'
        
       Author : Thevet
       Score  : 74 points
       Date   : 2022-11-19 17:31 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nytimes.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nytimes.com)
        
       | JasonCEC wrote:
       | Edo-kiriko is one of 2 great glass traditions from Japan; the
       | glass is thick, feels similar to Murano glass, with the edges of
       | the cut pattern "sharp".[0]
       | 
       | There is also a tradition of thin glass (without etching), where
       | the glass is blown to be paper thin and you can feel it flex as
       | you hold it. This is called Usuhari - "Usu" means thin and "Hari"
       | means glass[1]. Shotoku is the best maker, creating a variety of
       | specialty drinking glasses of many shapes.
       | 
       | I have a small collection of Japanese drinking glasses at home
       | which I use regularly and freely use with friends[2] - everyone
       | loves drinking beer or sake from the Usuhari glasses. Shotoku
       | actually did a collaboration with one of the Edo-kiriko makers,
       | by blowing a small sake cup with a thick Usuhari glass ~ it's
       | amazing, and I use it as my personal spirits cup.
       | 
       | [0] Not sharp enough to hurt, yet very noticeably present.
       | 
       | [1] usuhari glasses are exceptionally thin at 0.9mm. Paper is
       | ~0.1mm, so I'm slightly exaggerating.
       | 
       | [2] less expensive than the Edo-kiriko.
        
         | joshu wrote:
         | I would worry about the usuhari glass breaking, no?
        
           | JasonCEC wrote:
           | Shockingly strong! I've always wanted to see the glass
           | blowing process at their factory in Tokyo, but they've been
           | closed for tours while upgrading for at least ~2 years before
           | covid (when I was frequently in Japan).
           | 
           | My understanding is that they use some type of cold annealing
           | process that strengthens the thin glass.
           | 
           | I've not managed to break one in 4 years of dinner party use.
        
           | kurthr wrote:
           | I don't know the process they use, but it would not be
           | unreasonable to harden such thin blown glass with a
           | "pickling" process. This would make it much harder (to resist
           | scratching), tougher (more difficult to crack), and more safe
           | (breaking into many pieces rather than a few jagged ones).
           | The process replaces smaller (typically Na) with larger
           | (typically K) ions putting the outside of the glass in
           | compression.
           | 
           | Notably, cell phone glass (eg Gorilla) is similarly hardened
           | and can go down to 0.7-0.4mm while maintaining these
           | properties.
        
       | simonebrunozzi wrote:
       | If you happen to be in Venezia, Italy, and are interested in
       | glass work, I suggest you visit this show [0] by Ritsue Mishima,
       | a great Japanese artist who lives in Venezia and creates her work
       | by collaborating with glass-makers in Murano.
       | 
       | [0]: https://www.gallerieaccademia.it/en/ritsue-mishima-glass-
       | wor...
        
       | somedude895 wrote:
       | https://archive.ph/DLV5T
        
       | thriftwy wrote:
       | Some of these patterns remind me of Soviet glassware which was a
       | thing in 70's and therefore is displayed in any granny's cabinet
       | to that day.
        
       | kulkarniankita wrote:
       | This is interesting!
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2022-11-20 23:01 UTC)