What kind of crafting technique is the "hikiashi" mentioned in the glass description?

Hikiashi (引き足) is a glasscraft term that, true to its Chinese characters, means pulling glass downward to form a leg.

Usually, for stemmed glasses, a method is commonly used where the upper bowl that holds the drink, the stem handle, and the base plate are made separately and then fused together with heat. With this method, a subtle seam or ridge can remain where the parts join.

In contrast, the hikiashi technique involves blowing glass into a mold to shape the bowl, and then directly pulling the lower part of the glass with tongs before it hardens to form the stem ^[1]. Because it continues as a single piece of glass from the bowl to the stem, a smoothly flowing curve without any seam marks is realized. Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten's mold-blown stem glass is finished through both the mold-blowing technique using a frame and this hikiashi method ^[2].

hmmm, the absence of a seam between the bowl and the stem also means that when holding the glass in your hand, you can feel a smooth texture with no ridge catching against your fingers.