Bottle Blow Pipe?

[Bixby Bill]

I picked this up at an auction recently, and it looks a lot like a blow pipe for blowing glass, but I`m not sure, I`m far from being an expert on these things. It is 4 feet long, the tube is rolled steel tubing, the mouthpiece end is brass, and the glass end has a brass hook thingy in it with 2 air passages coming out of it. I would think that glass would melt the copper, and why have the hook on it? Can anybody shed some light on what this is? I couldn`t pass this thing up, I love a good challenge!

 

[Bixby Bill]

The mouthpiece.

 

[Bixby Bill]

The glass end.

 

[Bixby Bill]

Another view.

 

[Bixby Bill]

The other side with the other air passage.

 

[AntiqueMeds]

that is a blow poker for a fireplace I think. I have a similar steel one.

 

[Bixby Bill]

I don`t know why I didn`t think of that, I have my fireplace going now about 6 feet away from me. I really didn`t think it was a blow pipe, but I couldn`t figure out what it would be. Thank you!

 

[AntiqueMeds]

I have one of those giant cook fireplaces, its useful there. Yours is much nicer than the blow poker I have.

 

[cowseatmaize]

I don't dispute anything your saying. I just wonder "what were they thinking".
They did have bellows and could add an extra tube at the end, couldn't they?
But yes, I have seen that.

 

[RED Matthews]

Inreresting thread, but I guess the air blow hook is for a fireplace job. I have a nice glass blowpipe standing here in my office. It is rather short for big hot gathers, but came from a friends collection of glasshouse tools. It measures about 50 inches long and the main tube is a straight 1/2" diameter tube with a 1/8th inch hole at the tapered mouth end and at the gathering head the hole is about 1/4 inch opening. The gathering head is 1" in diameter and rounded around the outside edge of the head. The tube then tapers up toward the blow end about 4-1/2" to the 1/2" diameter. I have seen them up to about seven ft. long, and I am sure it took a strong man to hold a big gather of glass up in the air at about 50 degrees for the blowing and spinning operations. If I get a chance I will take a couple pictures of it and try to get them on a thread posting.
> It is a great experience to go to the Corning Glass Museum and watch the men blow glass products. There a lot of places that you can visit to watch it being done.
RED Matthews