This smaller float really isn't even a float (yet). In fact, if you put it in water it will sink. But there's more to the story than just that.
When I worked in the glass bottle factory we create "perform" bottles. This was the step before we blew the bottle to its full size.
This perform glass fishing float is hollow on the inside.
What makes this perform float even more interesting is that it has been sealed. To understand the reason why this perform was sealed, see Stu Fransworth's explanation below.
This perform float is quite heavy. It may be equivalent to the weight of a 9 or 10 inch glass fishing float.
It also has some nice amber swirls in it.
When I purchased this glass fishing float from Evan Buffington, he shared this correspondence he had with Stu Fransworth about this float:
Stu Fransworth on May 31st, 2021:
"Hey Buddy; I can help you with this float. It is called a bottle float, is Japanese, and were blown to be a larger float such as a 26 to 38 incher depending on the girth of the glass.
I knew a lady that had one back in the late 70's and it was so heavy it just sank. How the hell it made it onto the Long Beach Peninsula is anyone's guess.
Do the water trick. If it sinks, then it was made for Long Line Tuna Fishing. If it sits low in the water, it was probably made for Long Line Cod Fishing.
They don't care unless it's just too big a glob and either they use it or throw it into the kiln and do it over again.
Nice float, if you ever want to seel it keep me in mind."