Carlisle CC: the classic combination torch for goblets and stemware

The Carlisle CC is a genuine classic — one of the oldest production torch designs in American lampworking, and the model that built Carlisle’s reputation. It’s a combination torch: a premix center fire surrounded by a surface-mix outer flame. The premix center runs hot and detailed; the surface-mix outer is bushier and good for soaking heat into a larger area. Having both in one burner is the whole point, and it made the CC a long-time workhorse for goblets, stemware, and detail work in both soft glass and boro.

The combination flame

Most torches are one thing or the other. The CC is both. The premix center mixes fuel and oxygen inside the torch for a hot, focused flame you can use to articulate a stem or a detail; the surface-mix outer mixes at the face for a broad, soaking flame that keeps a bowl or foot evenly warm. Few single torches cover that range as naturally. To understand the two halves, see surface mix vs premix torches and soaking vs penetrating flame.

Who it’s for

The CC suits intermediate makers doing detailed soft-glass and boro work — and goblet and stemware artists in particular have long appreciated what its mixed flame can do. It isn’t usually a first torch: the premix center asks the operator to understand and respect a combination design, especially at startup and shutdown. New lampworkers more often start on the gentler Mini CC and step up once their routine is second nature.

Living with a combination design

The CC has a well-known quirk: it can be loud, and it’s prone to a backfire ‘pop’ if shut down out of sequence. That’s a characteristic of the design rather than a fault — it simply means the CC rewards a careful, consistent startup and shutdown routine, and it can intimidate newer users until that routine is automatic. The pure surface-mix members of the family are calmer here, which is part of why they make easier first torches.

Glass, fuel & oxygen

The CC handles soft (soda-lime) glass and boro, and burns propane or natural gas with oxygen. Carlisle doesn’t publish the CC’s jet count, stage count, or exact oxygen flow in our source data, so we won’t put numbers on it — confirm those with Carlisle and match them to your oxygen supply before buying. For sizing your system, see how many LPM does my torch need.

Where it sits in the Carlisle lineup

The CC is the heart of the family. Below it, the surface-mix Mini CC is the gentle beginner’s torch; above it, the CC+ and CC++ add outer rows for more heat, and the larger surface-mix Wildcat moves into heavier boro and production. The CC itself is the model the brand’s goblet-and-stemware reputation was built on.

Before you buy

Budget for the whole system, not just the torch: oxygen (a concentrator or tanks), the correct propane or natural-gas regulator, flashback arrestors on both lines, didymium eyewear, and ventilation. New to plumbing a torch? Start with the fittings, hoses & connectors guide and the glass torch safety setup guide.

Editor’s note: spec details reflect Carlisle’s own materials. Carlisle doesn’t publish the CC’s exact jet count, oxygen flow, or current pricing in our source data, so confirm those specifics with Carlisle before purchasing.