This is what started it all over here at Ennion Glass Tools. The concept of using bronze occurred to me in the mid 90’s when I tried a friends pair of shiny new jacks from Italy. The blade steel was so hard that they would screetch and scratch the glass. Why not use bronze I thought. Fast forward 25 years and here they are! And I was right ! These jacks are a dream to use. They work best with carnuba wax but good beeswax works well too. Use them on hot glass and dont force them with cold glass. They are delicate and should be treated with care. Why bronze? Theres a bunch of reasons why I chose to make jacks with bronze blades. Firstly, bronze is softer than steel and gives you a very smooth experience when working hot glass with them. Bronze does not chill glass like steel does. The result of this is that you gain working time, which means you might be able to make a piece in less reheats. Because the bronze blades do not cool the glass like steel does, your jack lines will be less prone to creating chill marks, which is the number one cause of wear on jack blades. With this logic one can assume that a pair of bronze jacks could outlast a pair of steel jacks if used with care. Also, bronze does not rust ! Bronze is not for everything and should not replace steel for times when force is needed, or used for prolonged use on very thick hot glass.
