Mikie_T

I had no idea.... WOW.... these Alleys are..... WOW.... (speechless....)

OH WOW....!!!! Those are real beauties! SO, are these Ray Laubs marbles out there for the public to consume or just his private collection? I have to say... I LIKE those... I need at least ONE... (dozen).

You know, I think the blue one is now my favorite too. I think the yellow one comes in second.

SWEET!

LOL.... I think that would be as good a reason as any to take scuba lessons!

Really...? Heck, all I have ever seen (I think) is the 4 vane cats that are like a plague down here. Where can I get some good 'uns? Mike

WOW.... I have never been real big on cats but those are KNOCK OUTs!! I say again........ WOW!

WOW..... what a beauty! Both sides of that one turns my crank! 2 thumbs up!!

Yep, I agree! Thanks!

I can see why... Those are real beauties! 2 thumbs up!!

Are they the ones with that "fold" in them?

I'm starting to venture out into new and more exciting colors.... (I was stuck on red and yellow too long...LOL) Thanks for the comments everyone!

NICE!!..... who made 'em?

Yep, I might be over exaggerating the size of the marks on mine. You are right Steph, more like little "hits". I know I was mad when I got them and didn't go back for more...... I have seen some listed on the bay that look really nice and wet. Maybe a second look is in order.

Got any pics of Ray's Marbles?

Ahhhhh yes. Thanks for that lesson Steph.!!

More from wiki..... "For example, in the "cat's-eye" style, colored glass veins are injected into a transparent main stream. Applying more expensive colored glass to the surface of cheaper transparent or white glass is also a common technique." I wanna see it happening.....

One thing I noticed when I got these "straight from the factory" marbles was that almost EVERY one had a moon on it. Like the Jabo company let their marbles just fall onto one another causing the chipped spots. I got a sour taste in my mouth for Jabos after that. I figured marbles straight from the factory should be pristine and not damaged...... oh well.

more views of the red and green.....

A few more....

When I first started collecting marbles I thought I only wanted the older vintage marbles. Then I started to warm up to the makers that were producing new marbles. I first discovered Vacors and then next came Jabos. I liked the Jabos mostly because of the swirls. Here is some of my 2004 batch of Jabos. It looks like the "fold" is common in their 2004 batch. I just noticed this trait in some I just bought that were advertised as vintage. More studying to do. Here are some 2004 Jabos.....

Sometimes google can be your friend.......LOL. I found this explanation online.... "Glass, when heated, can be made to behave like taffy or clay: it can be stretched, cut, rolled, and shaped just like a child might stretch, cut, roll, or shape those things.To make balls of clay, you'd first stretch or roll the clay out to the rough diameter of the balls you were trying to make. Then you'd pinch off pieces and roll them between your hands to form balls. The same technique is used to mass-produce glass marbles, but the steps are performed by machines instead of kids.If a marble is to be a solid color, or just clear, the clear or colored glass is heated, stretched, cut, and rolled to produce the marbles. For cat-eyes, clear glass is used, but as the glass is stretched, small streams of colored glass are inserted at the center. As the glass is cut, the colored pieces are cut too, which is why they are 'pinched' at the ends. Once these little chunks of glass, with their colored centers, are cut, they are rolled into balls. That rolling leads to the slightly twisted shape." FUN...FUN....FUN.

Ahhhhhh.... I might have to google this issue to see if anything turns up. The way the colors fade in the vanes is just wild. I have never been much of a cat fan but I like these. I also like the ones with more than 4 vanes and multi colors. Red, white and blue is always a good one to pick up.

The base glass in this one is clear. I had this one filed back away from my other bananas because it is more "sloppy" that the others I have. My others are DEFINITELY bananas.... they have a good banana shape. Steph, you ruined my day when you said Master made bananas and some came from Asia also.... I thought I had bananas filed into a "one maker" category.....LOL. The bubbles in the glass on the one above seems to set it aside from my other bananas. (Asia maybe?) Oh well, the learning experience goes on.... Peltier below?

Yep, that blue and yellow stood out to me as Vacor. This seller has a BUNCH of Vacors. I was intrigued by the colors in this one. Does it look modern? I know Jabo made a bunch of swirl marbles and many are hard for me to distinguish from the vintage marbles.