The Story of SmoothEdge - Part 1.

"Hot n' Cold." Welcome to the exciting story of SmoothEdge. This is part 1 of a series of blogs where we tell the story of how SmoothEdge is where it is today, our techniques we have developed and our not so smooth experience on the way… SmoothEdge is a company founded by three directors (who you’ll meet throughout the series) who share a deep love for the sea, adventure and watersports. As we stroll along the shore after watersports activities we are inspired by the driftwood and sea glass that washes up, we can't help but feel a burst of excitement at the potential of what we find.
Justin, one of our talented directors, is especially enthusiastic about experimentation and finding innovative ways to repurpose unused things. At our homes, we've accumulated a whole bunch of upcycled "experiments" - from tables made of driftwood to draining boards, wine racks, and even pan lids! But, as a family of gin lovers, this is where we sparked a unique idea... We often admired the intricate designs of gin bottles and felt disappointed when we had to throw them away. Then in 2017 Justin's daughter, Emily, stumbled upon a YouTube video showcasing a rudimentary method for cutting bottles. Leah (another amazing director of SmoothEdge) and Justin were instantly intrigued and decided to give it a try. However, it wasn't as easy as we thought. We experimented with various methods, from wrapping the bottles in flamable material and chucking them into a bucket of cold water to scoring and tapping the score, but none of them were reliable. It was smelly, frustrating, messy, and far from a viable business proposition. But we were determined to make it work. After some trial and error, we finally discovered a reliable and cost-effective method. This involved scoring the bottles first, then heating them to the right temperature and cooling them rapidly. With this breakthrough, we were able to kickstart production just in time for Christmas gifts and presents. However, the process of sanding down the tops of the bottles to make smooth drinking glasses still took a considerable amount of time, and the profit margins were not viable. But hey, we could at least boast about our success and popping the tops off bottles became a fun party trick and it was quite a satisfying process for many types of bottle.
Encouraged by our initial success and feeling confident, we offered to show some friends in a hotel on a skiing holiday how to cut bottles so they could make their own glasses. However, despite having plenty of snow and ice for cooling, we faced an embarrassing setback. We went through dozens of bottles, cracking and shattering them all in our attempts to get the cuts in the right place. Justin had lost his audience and the showcase backfired…
Back to the scientific drawing board it was...
It turns out, the temperature of the hot water was critical to the process. It needed to be hot enough to gently expand the glass without causing cracks. Luckily, our hot tap back home that we used for "bottling" provided water at exactly the right temperature without us even realising it! Armed with this newfound knowledge, our cut rate improved significantly, and we learned that water temperature was everything in this process. It may still be a slow and meticulous process, but the satisfaction of transforming bottles into unique drinking glasses is immeasurable.
After a lot of trial and error, experimentation and frustrations, with a bit of elbow grease we could now upcycle a bottle into a glass with the right amount of hot and cold water...