What is "striking" and how is it done"

[TracyCT]

I've got some nice transparent orange Moretti and I don't know how to make it turn a nice orange. I got part of the bead to be orange, the rest went clear. Then I got a whole bead to turn orange but its almost red, not orange. I'm just wanting a plain old orange bead... don'g care if it's opaque or transparant, I just want orange.

Orangeyou happy I asked this question? Dont want peach, don't want tangerine just want orange like the kind you get off a tree in florida.

Thanks

tracy

[alexm]

Striking means that the glass will change color upon reheating. Your bead only turned partly orange because either you didn't cool it enough or you overheated it upon striking or both.

You will need to cool your bead before you can strike it. Glass color is a great indicator of glass temperature, so you will use this property to determine when the glass is cool enough. Cool the bead until it no longer glows in a dark place. Under your work surface is an ideal place for this. Don't worry, the bead won't crack. When it no longer glows under your work surface, bring the bead back into the back of the flame (about 4 to 6 inches from the torch), do not strike near the torch, it's too hot there, use the back of the flame. Give it a twirl or two until you see it color up, then pop it into the kiln or cooling medium. Do not overheat it, or else it will go clear again, and you will have to cool it before restriking it.

If your orange is turning out red, you are working it too hot. Turn down your torch and work farther out in the flame. This will take longer, but it will preserve the orange color. If this still doesn't work try using a small base bead of yellow transparent, then layer the orange transparent over it.

[Handy Andy]

Alex did a great job of answering your question, and what I am about to add may be irrelevant as I am a boro worker. But I do most of my striking in the kiln. If you have a digitally controlled kiln you should be able to set it to a program that will bring you work to its ideal striking temp.

[alexm]

Unlike boro, soft glass does not strike in the kiln. The only exceptions are Rubino and the new reds from Trautman glass.

[TracyCT]

Thank you!!! And now I know why the beads went clear, why they were half colored, etc.

[prairieson]

Originally Posted by alexm

Unlike boro, soft glass does not strike in the kiln. The only exceptions are Rubino and the new reds from Trautman glass.

Soft glass will, in fact, strike (and unstrike) quite readily in the kiln. It's the easiest way to control the strike in larger work, much easier than in the glory hole.

[alexm]

I stand corrected! I haven't seen it happen in glass beads except for Rubino.

[beadmama]

On the subject of Rubino, what is the best way to work this glass?

Thanks Becky

[prairieson]

Originally Posted by alexm

I stand corrected! I haven't seen it happen in glass beads except for Rubino.

The problem arises with soft glass in that there's not the amount of data available for kiln striking as there is with boro, "recipes" are few and far between.

My experience with kiln striking is a result of working mainly in public hotshops with "communal" kilns... and unstriking and overstriking, heheh.

[alexm]

Originally Posted by beadmama

On the subject of Rubino, what is the best way to work this glass?

Thanks Becky

Work rubino cool, otherwise you run the risk of ruining the color. Turn down your torch if needed and work further out in the flame. Make your bead, then strike as outlined above.

[alexm]

Originally Posted by prairieson

The problem arises with soft glass in that there's not the amount of data available for kiln striking as there is with boro, "recipes" are few and far between.

My experience with kiln striking is a result of working mainly in public hotshops with "communal" kilns... and unstriking and overstriking, heheh.

It occurred to me that when I garage and anneal soft glass, I don't manipulate the kiln temperate, I just use a constant temperature of 968F, so I don't see kiln striking. It would be interesting to experiment with changing the kiln temperature, although the temperature range is narrower for soft glass than for boro. Soft glass starts to deform earlier than boro, so any temperature changes would have to be done slowly and carefully to avoid deforming the beads.

[prairieson]

Originally Posted by alexm

It occurred to me that when I garage and anneal soft glass, I don't manipulate the kiln temperate, I just use a constant temperature of 968F, so I don't see kiln striking. It would be interesting to experiment with changing the kiln temperature, although the temperature range is narrower for soft glass than for boro. Soft glass starts to deform earlier than boro, so any temperature changes would have to be done slowly and carefully to avoid deforming the beads.

The striking temps should all be between the strain point and the softening point (aka the Littleton point...trivia for the day). That's the range where the glass itself is "set", but the molecular crystals that cause color are still free to grow and collapse.

Striking is also a function of time, so the right temp too long can also be an issue.

[Margrieten]

Hi Alex,

Thank you so much for your clear explanation. I still struggled with striking. Now I really understand what to do and why.
Thanks!

[alexm]

You're welcome! I'm glad I was able to clear it up for you. If you still have trouble post questions here and I'll be glad to answer them.

[Firebrand Beads]

Striking is also a function of time, so the right temp too long can also be an issue.[/quote]

Yes. What he said (and what she said, too.) Paul Trautman describes striking as a "relationship between time and temperature." This means you can get color to strike in the kiln faster if you run the kiln hotter. That's great in boro, where distortion is less of a risk. But it's good to understand this principle with soft glass, too.

I tested one batch of our kiln-striking TAG Black Cherry red 104 that was very slow to react at my normal annealing temperature but went dark pretty fast at boro annealing temperatures. So I left the test bead in the 104 kiln for a couple of days until it was the color I liked. I knew that more time at that lower temp would give me what I wanted without distortion.

I like this level of color control, myself, but I realize it's more work/attention than some folks are up for. The reason for a kiln-striker is that you can work it long and hot, then "reset" the striking (and eliminate 'livering') by bringing the piece back to clear before striking it all at once in the kiln. This was the name-of-the-game for boro reds forever -- including Paul's original Ruby at Northstar -- until he started his new company and began making Red Elvis, the only boro red that DOESN"T need to be kiln struck!

[beadmama]

Originally Posted by alexm

Work rubino cool, otherwise you run the risk of ruining the color. Turn down your torch if needed and work further out in the flame. Make your bead, then strike as outlined above.

Thanks Alex!