How to Cut a Glass Bottle

Usually, it’s nearly to impossible to cut glass at home without special tools. To do this, you usually have to turn to professionals. But there is a method that can help you cut any glass bottle into 2 parts without any special tools on hand.

5-Minute Crafts would like to share with you how to easily cut a bottle in half with jute twine and cold water.

Attention! Be careful! You’ll have to work with fire, therefore it’s recommended to perform all your actions at a safe distance from flammable objects. Don’t bring alcohol or acetone close to your mouth and nose. Don’t allow children to conduct this experiment on their own.

You’ll need

• A glass bottle

• A basin with cold water

• Jute twine

• Rubbing alcohol or acetone

• Rubber gloves

• A lighter or matches

How to cut a bottle with a piece of twine

Step 1. Cut about 3 feet of twine or thread. This should be enough to wrap around the bottle tightly several times. You can use wool, cotton, or jute thread. Place the twine on the bottom of a glass and pour in a little rubbing alcohol on it to allow the fibers soak in it. Leave it on for a few minutes.

Step 2. Take the twine out of the glass, squeeze it out if necessary, and wrap it around the bottle in the place where you want to have it cut. Wrap the thread as tightly as possible. Then put on rubber gloves, take the bottle in your hand, tilt it at a right angle to the floor, and light the twine on fire. Before starting a fire, make sure that there are no traces of alcohol on your hands, the bottle, or the floor. Alcohol should only be on the thread.

Step 3. Hold the bottle at a right angle to the floor over the basin with water, turning it slowly so that the heat of the fire is evenly distributed along the twine. After 30 to 40 seconds, when the alcohol has burned off, put the bottle into the basin.

Step 4. If you’ve done everything correctly, you will hear the sound of the glass cracking. The bottle will break into 2 parts at the place where it was wrapped. The more evenly the thread is wrapped around the bottle at the very beginning, the neater the cut will be.

The secret of this method is simple. Glass cracks due to the temperature difference that affects it — the burning thread heats it first, and the water cools it afterward.

Alternative option. Take a bottle and wrap a metal wire around it. Light a candle and hold the bottle above it at a right angle to the floor so that the flame touches the wire. Rotate the bottle to distribute the heat evenly. Put the bottle into cold water after a minute or so. The result will be the same — the bottle will break into 2 parts, along the wrapped line.

Don’t forget to polish the edges of the bottle so you don’t get cut. Or you can glue over them with some material.

This way, you can turn bottles into glasses, vases, candleholders, or other containers that can be useful in your household.