How to Collect Flint Glass for Use

Video Transcript

"So you're collecting the flint glass now and you have acquired a few pieces and now you have to decide whether you're going to use this or just display it which either way it’s very subjective. You can use these pieces you just have to keep in mind, putting them in dishwasher, I would not recommend because there are pressure points in here that you wouldn’t want to heat it up too much. They didn't have dishwashers in the 1850's. I would highly recommend that if you use these to wash them by hand in a warm water, not hot, and use a mild soap and water and dry them off. But I would highly recommend using them too. I have a collection and I use it everyday. I use the compotes for displays. These are great for any season of the year, for flowers, for candy, for fruit, for serving a dinner. To use them for serving I use them for cold, I don’t use them for hot because I am too worried about cracking or breaking them so I prefer to use them with cold. But you can use them. Like I said, cleaning them just be careful. If you have a clumsy person in the house, I would do the dishes myself. I would say using any one of these, the tumblers, the goblets I use everyday, enjoy them. For me having a collection is to enjoy it and use it. These people, when this came out in the 1850's it was tableware that was used everyday. So I see no reason why we couldn't use it today. You just have to be a little more careful with how you clean it, I wouldn't recommend using a dishwasher because of the heat involved. The other recommendation I would say is if you have a beer or bar bottle or a water pitcher or a milk pitcher, or anything that's going to contain water, I wouldn't recommend leaving it in because that's what leads to that sick glass or cloudy glass which is what you don’t want to have happen to your piece. So I would highly recommend that you not leave any fluid in any of your containers because it's not good for the glass and it's not good for you because the lead leaches out into the compotes or the bar bottles. I highly recommend keep them dry but use them and enjoy them."