There has been a long tradition of finding floats on the Oregon Coast. In the past, these were made specifically for the nets of Japanese fishermen. More recently, they are made by glassblowers along the Oregon Coast, using the same techniques as the glassblowers of generations ago.
The first mention of the manufacture of glass fishing floats was in the production registry of Norway's Hadeland Glassverk in 1841. The first evidence of their use by fishermen was also in Norway around that same time - being used with fishing nets as well as fishing line and hooks.
In the Pacific, Japan’s fishing fleet started using glass floats around 1910, and glass replaced most other materials used for floats by the 1940's. Today, though, the use of glass in fishing floats has been replaced by materials like plastic, aluminum and styrofoam.
There are still many of those escaped glass fishing floats circulating with the currents of the Pacific Ocean. In the 1960's, their arrival on west coast beaches were plentiful enough to prompt Amos L. Wood to write a book in 1967, titled "Beachcombing for Japanese Floats":
Since that time in 1967, the arrivals of those "good-will messengers" from across the Pacific have dwindled. Their impact and popularity, though, has continued with the production of locally blown glass floats. Though now more decorative than functional, they still capture some of that "mystery and enchantment" that Mr. Wood describes in his book.
Over time, the arrival of those "good-will messengers" has become more and more rare. However, the tradition of finding glass floats on the Oregon beaches continues, with the "mystery and enchantment" being provided by local glassblowers.