Short answer: The best soft glass lampworking torch for most people is a modest entry-level surface-mix bench torch, not a big production burner. Soft glass (soda-lime, COE 104 or 90) goes pliable at a much lower temperature than borosilicate, so it does not need a lot of heat to work well. If you want to start with zero oxygen, the Hot Head is the true entry point. Once you add oxygen, the Nortel Minor, Nortel Mega Minor, GTT Bobcat, and Bethlehem Alpha all melt soda-lime with room to spare. Spending up to something like the Bethlehem Star buys comfort and growth room, not necessity.
If you are still mapping out the whole rig (oxygen, fuel, safety gear), start with the complete glass torch buyer’s guide. This article zooms in on the soft-glass torch decision specifically.
What soft glass actually asks of a torch
Soft glass is forgiving on heat. It softens and moves well below the temperatures borosilicate needs. Search summaries put soft glass in the neighborhood of 560 C (roughly 1000 F) for working, against something closer to 820 C (roughly 1500 F) for boro to soften. Those figures are approximate and vary by source, so treat them as a range rather than a spec, but the direction is not in doubt: soda-lime needs far less heat than boro.
The practical consequence is that almost any oxygen/fuel bench torch in the catalog melts soft glass easily. The buying decision is not “can this torch melt soda-lime” (they all can) but “how big a flame, how much oxygen, and how much headroom do I want.” A beadmaker working COE 104 does not need a production burner. A big torch on small soft-glass work mostly means you run it turned down and feed it oxygen you do not strictly need.
For the deeper comparison of how the three glass families behave, see soft glass vs boro vs quartz.
The Hot Head: the true no-oxygen entry point
The Hot Head is the honest starting line for soft glass. It is a burner head that screws onto a hardware-store MAPP or propane canister and needs no oxygen, no hoses, and no regulators. It heats fast and is aimed squarely at beginner soda-lime beadmakers.
The trade-offs are real. It runs a reducing flame, which cannot fully strike the oxygen-hungry colors (the silver and reactive glasses), and it is slower and cooler than any oxy/fuel torch on this page. Most people who stay with the hobby move up within a year or two. But an enormous number of beadmakers started here, and for pure “can I melt a bead tonight” soft-glass work it does the job. Because it is not an oxygen/fuel bench torch, it lives in our full Hot Head guide rather than the torch catalog. The oxygen/fuel picks below are what you graduate to.
Nortel Minor and Mega Minor: the studio-standard starters
The Nortel Minor is probably the most common “I learned on this” torch in soft-glass beadmaking. It is a surface-mix bench torch with a 7-port stainless front end and precision needle valves, and Nortel calls it the first choice for entry-level or small-scale lampworking and “virtually indestructible.” It runs propane or natural gas with bottled oxygen or a concentrator, dials from about 1/8 in up to a 3/4 in flame, and is primarily aimed at soft glass with some borosilicate: beads, small sculpture, and marbles up to roughly 3 in. In the catalog it is an entry-band torch around $224, with an oxygen estimate near ~9 LPM.
The Nortel Mega Minor is the same 7-port surface-mix design with slightly larger ports, which run hotter and use oxygen a little more efficiently. Its flame opens from a needle point up to about 7/8 in. It is still excellent on soft glass and does better on boro than the Minor if you expect to wander into harder glass. In the catalog it is an entry-band torch around $268, also with an oxygen estimate near ~9 LPM.
For a soft-glass beadmaker, the choice between them is simple: the Minor is the proven economical entry, and the Mega Minor is a small step up in flame size and boro headroom for a small step up in price. Neither is a wrong answer for soda-lime.
GTT Bobcat and Cricket: surface mix that grows with you
The GTT Bobcat is a 7-jet standard surface-mix torch. It is not a Triple Mix torch; GTT’s Triple Mix line starts higher up at the Lynx. The Bobcat runs well on a 5 LPM / 5 psi concentrator, is optimal around 8 LPM, and does extremely well on 10 LPM or tanked oxygen. Its flame goes from a roughly 2 in pinpoint up to a large bushy flame, which makes it a versatile starter for beads and small-to-medium boro. In the catalog it is an entry-band torch around $275, with an oxygen estimate near ~8.5 LPM.
The GTT Cricket is a 5-jet surface-mix torch (again, not Triple Mix) and GTT’s most economical bench burner. It is designed to get the best out of a single 5 LPM / 5 psi oxygen concentrator, runs on as little as 1/4 psi fuel and 3 psi oxygen, and works larger soft-glass pieces and up to a 2 in boro pendant. That makes it a natural fit for intro classes and soft glass on a tight oxygen budget. Its oxygen estimate sits near ~5.5 LPM.
Both GTT torches share the same appeal for soft glass: they sip oxygen, so a single home concentrator feeds them comfortably, and the surface-mix flame is calm and forgiving of the uneven rotation that comes with learning.
Bethlehem Alpha and Star: soft-glass workhorses with headroom
The Bethlehem Alpha is a single-stage surface-mix bench burner with 6 gas jets that works both soft glass and borosilicate. It can run from household gas and a 7 psi oxygen concentrator, and forum users describe dialing it from a super-pinpoint up to a bushy warm flame, noting it runs hotter than the Nortel Minor. In the catalog it is an entry-band torch around $350, with an oxygen estimate near ~10 LPM.
The Bethlehem Star is a step up in size: a single-stage stainless surface-mix burner with 6 center plus 5 outer jets (11 total). Bethlehem lists roughly 5 LPM propane and 20 LPM tanked oxygen at full flame, and says it works 22 mm boro rod and 36 mm heavy-wall tube. For pure soft glass that is more torch than you need, but it is exactly the torch to buy if you want soft-glass comfort now plus real growth room into larger and harder work. In the catalog it is a mid-band torch around $446, with an oxygen estimate near ~20 LPM. Note that the Star’s appetite is more than double the Minor’s, so it is a torch that assumes a tanked oxygen setup or a strong concentrator bank, not a single small concentrator.
How the soft-glass torches compare
Every figure below comes from the catalog, which follows the makers’ own pages and manuals where we have them. Oxygen is a rough estimate, not a precise spec, and prices move with time and configuration, so confirm the current spec with the maker before you buy.
| Torch | Mix type | Mount | Jets | Oxygen (estimate) | Reference price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nortel Minor | Surface mix | Bench | 7 | ~9 LPM | ~$224 (entry) |
| Nortel Mega Minor | Surface mix | Bench | 7 | ~9 LPM | ~$268 (entry) |
| GTT Bobcat | Surface mix | Bench | 7 | ~8.5 LPM | ~$275 (entry) |
| GTT Cricket | Surface mix | Bench | 5 | ~5.5 LPM | Built economical |
| Bethlehem Alpha | Surface mix | Bench | 6 | ~10 LPM | ~$350 (entry) |
| Bethlehem Star | Surface mix | Bench | 11 | ~20 LPM | ~$446 (mid) |
A simple way to read the table: if budget and soft-glass beads are the whole story, the Nortel Minor or GTT Cricket are the economical entries. If you want a bit more flame and boro headroom without spending much more, the Mega Minor, Bobcat, or Alpha are the surface-mix middle. The Star is where you go when growth room matters more than saving money.
Do you need to spend up?
For soft glass, no. Because soda-lime is forgiving on heat, an entry surface-mix bench torch (the Minor, Mega Minor, Bobcat, Alpha, or the Carlisle Mini CC) already melts COE 104 easily. Larger torches like the Star add flame size, faster heat, and boro capability; they do not make soft glass work “better” in any way a beginner will feel.
So the honest framing is that spending up on a soft-glass torch buys comfort and growth room, not necessity. If you know you will chase larger sculptural work or move into boro, a bigger torch is a reasonable early investment so you do not upgrade twice. If you just want to make good soda-lime beads and small work, the least expensive surface-mix bench torch that runs on your oxygen supply is genuinely enough. For the broader first-torch decision, including oxygen matching and budget order, see best beginner glass torch.
Eyewear and safety for soft glass
Eyewear for soft glass is different from eyewear for boro. Soda-lime throws an intense yellow sodium flare as elemental sodium sublimates and burns in the flame, and staring through that flare all session is both uncomfortable and a strain on your eyes. Didymium lenses remove the sodium flare and UV, which is why they are the standard soft-glass lens.
One correction worth stating plainly: didymium does not block infrared. The lens makers describe didymium as a sodium-flare and UV filter, and it has no IR protection. For soft glass that is fine, because the sodium flare and UV are the concern. But if you move into boro you additionally need proper IR protection, so do not carry a plain didymium lens over into hard-glass work and assume you are covered. The Crucible’s guidance lines up with this: for soft glass, choose a lens that blocks UV and the sodium flare; for boro, add IR protection on top.
On the gas side, fit the flashback protection your torch and gas supply actually call for rather than a blanket rule, and follow the maker’s manual for pressures and setup. See flashback arrestors explained and the glass torch safety setup guide. This article informs your decision; it does not replace the manufacturer’s instructions or advice from a qualified professional for your specific rig.
Editor’s note: soft-glass and boro working temperatures here are approximate and vary by source; they are a range, not a measured spec. Torch specs and prices reflect our catalog, which follows manufacturer pages and manuals where we have them; verify current lineups, configurations, and pricing with the maker before purchase.
Related guides
- Hot Head torch guide
- Soft glass vs boro vs quartz
- Best beginner glass torch
- Glass torch safety setup
- How to choose a glass torch
Sources
- Nortel Manufacturing, “Minor Bench Burner”: https://www.nortelglass.com/minor-bench-burner/
- Nortel Manufacturing, “Mega Minor Burner”: https://www.nortelglass.com/mega-minor-burner/
- Glass Torch Technologies, “Bobcat”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/bobcat
- Glass Torch Technologies, “Cricket”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/cricket
- Bethlehem Burners, “Alpha”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/alpha/
- Bethlehem Burners, “Star”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/star/
- Corning Museum of Glass, “Sodium flare and eyewear”: https://libanswers.cmog.org/faq/354680
- The Crucible, “Lampworking/Flameworking tools & supplies”: https://www.thecrucible.org/guides/lampworking-flameworking/tools-supplies/