Hand bevelled, leaded glass is a spectacular art glass tradition dating back over a century. Thick, clear glass is hand- ground at a steep angle and then polished to a brilliant, refractive finish.  Regrettably, most bevelled glass today is mass-produced using thin glass in standard shapes and patterns called "bevel clusters." They're a cheap but poor imitation of the best bevelled glass from a century ago. The difference is due to the glass thickness, hand-polishing techniques and design originality.

The Glass Studio in Toronto was one of only a few studios in Canada to offer custom bevelled glass. In 1982, The Glass Studio was fortunate to acquire a set of three antique Henry Lange bevelling machines. Made in Chicago in the early 1900s, Henry Lange's glass machinery could produce the best quality bevelled glass. Hand-bevelled glass is produced in five stages: blank cutting, steel grinding, stone smoothing, cork polishing and felt buffing. The Glass Studio used 8mm glass for its custom bevelling - twice the thickness of commercial bevel 'clusters.' A typical handmade bevel requires anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours to fabricate, depending on its shape and difficulty. The studio's bevels were always finished with optical-grade cerium oxide for incredible brilliance and sparkle.

The studio's 'roughing' wheel was a 24" diameter, solid cast iron disk, machined flat. Grinding the glass edges on the steel wheel surface was the first step in a four-step process. A silicon carbide/water slurry was applied to the wheel as an abrasive to grind away glass and create the initial bevel angle. The second step used a sandstone smoothing wheel to begin 'smoothing' and polishing away the roughness left by the steel wheel. The Glass Studio's stone wheel was a vintage 'Newcastle' sandstone from England - an incredible wheel from a long-exhausted stone quarry - which gave The Glass Studio's bevels a brilliance which was noticeably different from those produced with modern diamond abrasive wheels. The third stage Henry Lange machine spun a solid, slightly tapered, 6" thick cork wheel charged with a water/pumice slurry as an abrasive. Cork/pumice polishing transformed the satin opaque finish left by the stone wheel and left the glass almost clear but ever-so-slightly hazy. The fourth and final step used a traditional felt polishing wheel (made by Denver Glass Machinery) charged with optical grade cerium oxide abrasive powder. This wheel removed the slight haze left by the cork wheel and produced a brilliant, sparkling and refractive bevelled edge. Thomas Smylie started bevelling by hand in 1981 and mastered the skill of hand-bevelling over his 42-year career as a glass artist, making almost all of The Glass Studio's thousands of bevelled glass pieces.

Some of the studio's very best hand-bevelled work was on display at the studio's showroom - called 'The Showroom Collection' - now available for sale on this website!