Explore the Magic of Double Helix Silver Glass
Striking Silver Glass
left to right: Khaos, Luna 3, Terranova 2.1, Luna+Terranova
The Striking Sequence
Striking is a three-step process
1 Heat the surface of the striking silver glass – pass the bright orange glow – to when the glass starts to get hazy.
2 Cool until the glow is gone (put the bead under the table to check), sometimes amber tones will bloom.
3 Reheat at the tip of the flame just until it glows, move the bead further away from the torch so it doesn’t glow so much that you can’t see the color of the bead (and miss seeing the “first strike”).
Observe the “first strike” as dark brown/dark purple tones bloom. Do not proceed if you do not see "first strike." Start step 1 of the three-step process again instead.
Bring the bead back to the normal working zone (about 2 in / 5cm from the torch face). Waft the bead in and out of the flame to coax out various colors, e.g., rotate one revolution in the flame to warm a bit, one revolution out of the flame to cool a bit, repeat until desired effects are achieved
Depending on the striking silver glass, colors bloom from dark to light – purples, magentas, blues, and greens.
Most striking silver glass allow you to re-strike (going through the three-step striking process) multiple times. However, colors won’t be as dark or saturated with each subsequent re-strike.
Video Demonstration with Double Helix Khaos
How Does Striking Work?
“Silver glass strikes due to silver crystal growth. When the glass is worked hot, the silver crystals dissolve, yielding a clear glass. When the glass is reheated, crystals form inside the glass. These crystal lengths grow to the same size as various wavelengths of light. The color sequence of lengthening crystals is as follows: clear, yellow, orange, red, red-purple, purple, blue, green. When glass is worked hot (‘reset’), the glass looks clear. Due to ambient heat within the glass, the first stages of striking usually occur automatically, yielding yellow-orange-red, which all blend together to read as ‘amber’ or transparent dark brown. As the glass is cooled and reheated, purples, blues, and greens are developed.”
Jed Hannay, Double Helix Glassworks