Stronger and more shock-resistant than traditional soda-lime glass, borosilicate glass is used to produce lab equipment and cookware. Glass artists use it for items that need to withstand frequent handling or heat, like marbles, paperweights, pipes and stemware. Known by artists as “hard” glass, borosilicate melts at higher temperatures and has a shorter working time than traditional soda-lime (“soft”) glass.
Flameworked art made from borosilicate takes longer to shape and may have less surface detail than pieces made from soda-lime glass. But the strength of borosilicate glass allows artists to make larger and more durable pieces. Most boro art starts with a base of clear glass to which small amounts of color are added, often deep inside the piece. Colored glass is expensive, so every scrap is used. The color range is not as wide as with soda-lime glass, but brilliant boro offers dazzling optical effects and the illusion of depth.
