Short answer: Both torches put Bethlehem’s Sharp Flame centerfire, a fine, defined center flame, at the middle of a two-stage surface-mix bench burner. The difference is size and appetite. The Bethlehem Bravo Sharp Flame is the smaller of the two, an 18-jet face pulling about ~30 LPM of oxygen at full flame, aimed at small-to-medium work. The Bethlehem Champion Sharp Flame is the larger torch, a 36-jet face pulling about ~40 LPM of oxygen, built for large-diameter boro. If your work is beads, small tubing, and medium goblets, the Bravo Sharp Flame is enough torch and the cheaper buy. If you routinely push heavy-walled tube and thick boro rod, the Champion Sharp Flame is the one with the outer fire and oxygen headroom to keep up.
If you are still weighing Bethlehem’s plain bench line against these Sharp Flame versions, our Bethlehem Alpha vs Bravo vs Champion guide covers the standard ladder first.
What the Sharp Flame centerfire is
The Sharp Flame is a centerfire design, meaning it lives at the center of the torch face surrounded by the outer ring of jets. On the standard Bravo and Champion, that center flame is a general-purpose surface-mix flame. On the Sharp Flame versions, Bethlehem swaps in a six-jet centerfire that the company describes as one you can pull down into a tight pinpoint or sharpen into a long, driving needle. Bethlehem frames it as a flame for precise heat application, for driving heat penetration into a joint, and for assembly work, while staying gentle to glass colors (the company’s own framing on the Champion Sharp Flame page).
The design is not new to these two torches. It first appeared on Bethlehem’s Sharp Flame Hand Torch, a six-jet surface-mix hand torch that Bethlehem built to mimic the center-fire flame of the discontinued PM2D bench burner. The Bravo Sharp Flame and Champion Sharp Flame bring that same centerfire idea onto full bench torches, wrapping it in a larger outer fire so you get both the fine center flame and a bath of surrounding heat.
Both are all surface mix
Every burner in Bethlehem’s line is surface mix, and these two are no exception. In a surface-mix torch the fuel and oxygen stay separate until they reach the face, then mix and burn just past the ports. Bethlehem describes the result as a soft, quiet flame that produces penetrating heat and bathes the glass in even heat from all sides, much like working glass inside a furnace. That is a different feel from a premix torch’s harder, faster flame. If the surface-mix versus premix distinction is new to you, our surface mix vs premix torches guide walks through what each does to the flame and to your working rhythm.
Both Sharp Flame torches are also two-stage: the outer fire and the inner Sharp Flame centerfire are controlled separately, each stage on its own gas and oxygen valves. That lets you run a small sharp center flame alone for detail, or open the outer fire to flood a large piece with heat, or blend the two.
Bravo Sharp Flame: the smaller Sharp Flame bench torch
The Bravo Sharp Flame is a two-stage, stainless steel, surface-mix bench burner. Its face carries a layout of six centerfire ports inside a twelve-jet outer fire, 18 gas jets in all, on a one-inch face diameter.
At full flame, Bethlehem publishes roughly ~30 LPM of tanked oxygen and about 6 LPM of propane (from the company’s stated figures of about 63.57 cubic feet of oxygen per hour at 20 psi and about 12.7 cubic feet of gas per hour at 5 psi). Bethlehem rates the torch to work glass rods up to 30mm and glass tubes of 42mm and larger. Those capacity numbers are the maker’s own claims, not measurements we have taken, so treat them as Bethlehem’s framing of what the torch is built for.
The Bravo Sharp Flame carries a catalog reference price of about $1,284 and ships on Bethlehem’s swivel base with modular stainless-steel precision needle valves. Confirm the current price with Bethlehem before you buy.
Champion Sharp Flame: the step up in size and oxygen
The Champion Sharp Flame looks like a standard Champion but carries the Sharp Flame centerfire inside. It is the same two-stage, stainless steel, surface-mix construction, sized up. Its face is a larger 1.125-inch diameter and carries 36 gas jets in all: a six-jet Sharp Flame centerfire inside an outer fire of 30 gas jets, with 78 oxygen ports feeding that outer ring.
At full flame Bethlehem publishes about ~40 LPM of tanked oxygen at 20 psi and about 8 LPM of propane at 5 psi. The company states the torch produces about 800 BTUs per minute, enough to work up to 44mm borosilicate rod and 80mm-plus heavy-walled tube. Again, the BTU and capacity figures are Bethlehem’s own claims about what the torch is designed to do, not numbers we have independently verified.
The Champion Sharp Flame lists at a catalog reference price of about $1,928, on the same swivel base and modular precision needle valves as the Bravo. Confirm the current price with Bethlehem.
Side by side
| Spec | Bravo Sharp Flame | Champion Sharp Flame |
|---|---|---|
| Mix type | Surface mix | Surface mix |
| Stages | Two-stage | Two-stage |
| Centerfire | Sharp Flame, 6 jets | Sharp Flame, 6 jets |
| Outer fire | 12 gas jets | 30 gas jets (plus 78 oxygen ports) |
| Total gas jets | 18 | 36 |
| Face diameter | 1 inch | 1.125 inch |
| Oxygen at full flame (estimate) | ~30 LPM | ~40 LPM |
| Propane at full flame (maker figure) | About 6 LPM | About 8 LPM |
| Rated capacity (maker claim) | Rod to 30mm, tube 42mm+ | Rod to 44mm, tube 80mm+ |
| Reference price | $1,284 | $1,928 |
Editor’s note: oxygen figures are single estimates at the largest usable flame, converted from Bethlehem’s published flow tables (cubic feet per hour times 0.4719). They are not precise minimums or per-flame settings, and Bethlehem publishes no separate minimum oxygen figure for either torch. Prices are catalog reference figures that move over time; confirm the current spec and price with Bethlehem before buying.
How to choose between them
The Sharp Flame centerfire is identical on both, so the decision is not about the fine center flame. Both give you the same tight pinpoint or driving needle for detail and assembly. The decision is about the outer fire and the glass you work.
Choose the Bravo Sharp Flame if your work sits in the small-to-medium range: beads, small to medium tubing, marbles, and boro rod up to about 30mm. Its twelve-jet outer fire and roughly ~30 LPM oxygen demand are enough for that work, and it is the cheaper torch and the lighter load on your oxygen supply.
Choose the Champion Sharp Flame if you routinely work large-diameter boro: thick rod and heavy-walled tube where you need the outer fire to flood a big mass with even heat. The step up is a larger face (1 inch to 1.125 inch), a much wider outer fire (12 to 30 gas jets), higher oxygen at full flame (about ~30 LPM to about ~40 LPM), and greater rated rod and tube capacity. You pay for it in both purchase price and a hungrier oxygen setup, so match the torch to a supply that can feed it. Our best torch for borosilicate guide puts these in context against the wider field of boro bench torches.
A simple rule: buy the Bravo Sharp Flame unless the size of glass you actually work needs the Champion’s outer fire. Extra torch you never open is oxygen appetite you pay for and do not use.
Setup and safety notes
Whichever you choose, the manufacturer’s manual sets the pressures, and it takes precedence over any figure here. Both torches run their published full-flame settings at 5 psi gas and 20 psi oxygen, but your regulators, hoses, and oxygen source should be set from Bethlehem’s own instructions for your configuration, not from a general rule.
On flashback protection, fit the protection your torch and gas supply call for, and read our flashback arrestors explained guide before you buy hardware. Bethlehem states that its surface-mix burners, which is the whole line including both of these, do not require a flashback arrestor, while premix torches do, subject to local regulation. That is a maker statement about their own design, not blanket advice for every torch and every code, so confirm what your setup and local rules require. Leak-check every connection, ventilate properly, and wear eyewear filtered for the glass you work, boro-rated lenses once you are on borosilicate. This article informs your decision; it does not replace Bethlehem’s instructions or advice from a qualified professional for your specific setup.
Related guides
- Bethlehem Alpha vs Bravo vs Champion
- Surface mix vs premix torches
- Best torch for borosilicate
- Flashback arrestors explained
Sources
- Bethlehem Burners, “Bravo Sharp Flame”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/bravo-sharp-flame/
- Bethlehem Burners, “Champion Sharp Flame”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/champion-sharp-flame/
- Bethlehem Burners, “Champion”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/champion/
- Bethlehem Burners, “Sharp Flame Hand Torch”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/sharp-flame-hand-torch/
- Bethlehem Burners, “Introducing Bravo Sharp Flame”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/news/introducing-bravo-sharp-flame/