Description
Grozing Pliers are used to break off flares of glass (sharp flakes or slivers) at the edge of newly cut stained glass. These slivers are known as groze, and the process is known as grozing.
Grozing Flares
Cutting stained glass often leaves flakes or slivers of glass at the edge of the new cut. When cut, the glass behaves as if it is many thin planes of glass, and some of these planes don’t all break right at the line of the cut, and usually the top or bottom will be left sticking out as a razor-sharp flare. The jaws of the Grozing Pliers have small serrations for catching and breaking off these tiny slivers. As an alternative to Grozing Pliers, you may prefer using the fine-grit side of a rubbing stone or a marble file because these tools can also be used on ceramic and stone, and they can be used to shape and notch tile.
Scoring and Snapping Stained Glass
Scoring stained glass is done with a Pistol-Grip Cutter, which can be used to make complex curves or long straight lines. Once the glass is scored, it can be snapped apart by placing the glass on a flat surface with a pencil or spaghetti stick under the line of the cut and pressing down on both sides of the glass. For snapping apart complex curves, Running Pliers with padded jaws can be used. Stained glass artists report that Grozing Pliers can be used for this task, but our experience has been that they are of limited utility in snapping score pieces apart. What they are are particularly useful for is cleaning the groze from relatively large cuts as quickly as possible.
Grozing Pliers
- tool type: hand tool/compression tool
- steel pliers with one straight jaw and one curved jaw, both serrated to catch and break off sharp glass flares
- vinyl grip
How To Make Mosaic Art
For more advice on designing your mosaic project or mounting, cutting, and grouting tile, please see our page of Mosaic Frequently Asked Questions or our Mosaic Information Guide, which lists instructional pages described by topic. We also post new articles about making mosaics at our How to Mosaic Blog.
