Shamrock Marbles

Fixed your photo. 😉

Some can “see” the geometry, but others may need an illustration. Glad you have the capacity to create in the mind’s eye.

It is one of those things that need a diagram.

In the Fall of 2003, I publicly demonstrated the “Genesis” machine at Moon Marble in Bonner Springs, KS. Most people wanted to buy the marble that they saw me make during the demonstration. It wasn’t until the Spring of 2004 that Les Jones looked at my marbles and the “Junk” that people started buying my 50-cent creations. Les saw similar features in my rudimentary marbles that caused him to question me. (That is a whole different story!)

Not exactly. It is a function of the Blade Thickness and Bevel Angle. Trigonometry.

Let me set the stage… I’ve demonstrated the marble machines since 2003/2006. I’ve let people make marbles at those events. Craig stepped up on the smaller machine (“Genesis”). It is a completely different mindset versus using a graphite marble mold that he was familiar with. I told Craig he had to get the glass molten so he could cut it off the punty. He got it so hot that it extruded off the punty. By the time he cut it, it was about 1.5” long. It landed on the rollers and formed a “Loop”! We were all flabbergasted!! That loop danced on the rollers. I knocked it off and put it in the kiln for annealing. I used to sell the “screw ups” for 50-cents, then later 1-dollar. Those anomalies made people very happy.

I get the same “fingerprint” when I cut with my Fiskars. One could actually measure that distance and determine the thickness of the shear blade.

I’m just a sucker for blue. Super marbles!! -John

The polar opposite of the “Football” or “Dumbbell” is the “Loop”. This example is a rarer variant. I never saw a “Loop” until Craig Snider made one on my “Genesis” machine. I was amazed!! Keep that specimen close! Just lovely. -John

Fire, I just love posts like this! For starters, great marble! What gets me excited is I see is a “Shear Shadow”! The leading edge of the shear is the actual “Cut Line”. The trailing edge is the “Shadow Line”. It is such a subtle feature that is often overlooked. As someone would say, “Marble On!” -John

Question: Is there a specific post that discusses “Quality” versus “Quantity”? This spectrum is quite interesting.

Agreed, but we can’t defeat the trend that UV marbles deserve a premium or if a back-lit marble shows a hidden ribbon or bubble. I have tried to understand the perspective. Some people are genuinely excited to see something new. On the other hand, there are those that hype to extract maximum cash. Luckily, you have matured and defined your criteria. Hopefully, others will scale their learning curves quicker! Thank you for your insightful posts!

I see it. But which one?

@Alan Somewhere in this house I have a Gerry Colman VHS tape on making marbles. Sadly, I have no VHS player. Oh, the irony!

If there was anyone that had one, it would be you. Thank you for sharing! If I recall correctly, he had a monkey face, too. True? How early would you say the momentum started for contemporary marbles? 1995? Sooner? Help me with the makers in your picture. Fritz Lauenstein? Gerry Coleman? Hot House Glass? John Hamon Miller? Geoffrey Beetem? Harry Besett? Others?