Blenko Water Bottle-Ice Blue with Overblow
Firstly, the color on this is not the old Ice Blue from the early 50’s. This is Blenko’s cased Turquoise, Ice Blue. This is a special water bottle, created to show how all water bottles are made. When the water bottle is blown into the mold, the blower creates a bubble above the top of the mold. After allowing it to cool slightly, the water bottle is placed in a holder called a snap. The snap performs the same function as the pontil rod allowing the finishing of the top but it saves time over the use of a pontil rod. (Use of the snap is why water bottles do not have pontils.) Snaps are costly to produce and each glass design requires it’s own special snap. They are cost effective only if a large number of pieces are being produced. The bubble is thinner than the old Christmas ornaments and is removed from the top of the water bottle by rolling it along a piece of metal on the floor, The bubble shatters and leaves a somewhat jagged edge which is then reheated and smoothed with the same tool that is used to form the spouts, a simple piece of copper tubing with an attached handle. The bubble on the top of this is not as thin as the one on a regular water bottle. It was specially made with a thicker overblow.
Close-up of Overblow
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