Fake pontils

[ombudsman]

In area antique malls I have seen obvious snap case bottles with glass tubing fused to the bottom, then broken off, simulating (very, very badly) a blowpipe pontil. The deception is so obvious to anyone with any experience, but I could see someone just starting out fall for it.

Is this common elsewhere?

Dave

 

[madpaddla]

Good question. I have heard similar stories. Most of em were pinned to the Cali area but I think that is b/c its so far away from me here in CT. I would sure like to see a pic of one of these fakes though........

 

[GuntherHess]

I havent seen it so far. It would be tricky to actually fuse the glass since the bottle would have to be heated up to temperature and cooled properly or it would crack.
It could probably be done in a glass kiln if you used a low temperature glass for the pontil glass that is below the melting point of the bottle.

 

[ombudsman]

The next time we go where these bottles are I'll try to remember (no mean feat, what with my incipient Alzheimer's [] ) to take in a camera and get some pictures. I have no doubt these bottles are faked. In all my years of collecting (about 46 years) I haven't run into bottles with stubs of glass tubing stuck to the bottom and now, in one antique mall there are a number of them.

 

[JOETHECROW]

Maybe they used some sort of 'super' adhesive to pull off the deception.....I'd like to see a pic as well...I assume they're not too convincing? Joe

 

[ombudsman]

ORIGINAL: JOETHECROW

Maybe they used some sort of 'super' adhesive to pull off the deception.....I'd like to see a pic as well...I assume they're not too convincing?                                                                    Joe

Not convincing to me at all. I'll try to get some pics. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than I am will tell me they're genuine. I don't think so, though.

Dave

 

[NYCFlasks]

It would not surprise me that someone is faking pontils. Does anyone remember the fake embossings from a few years back? If I remember right, it was on flasks (strap/coffin/shoofly) from out West. Done with epoxy I think.
Using some kind of super glue sounds about right, just have to get the right one. There is stuff out there that will glue steel just as strong as a weld. Seen steel studs glued together and then pulled apart, the glue held, the steel ripped. Not bad from a caulking gun.