| Brought to you this hour by |  | Advertising and Web Hosting on Woodwind.Org! |
Doublereed Archive - Posting 000055.txt from 2008/05
From: herb fawcett <herbgosia@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] oboe reed knives
Date: Thu, 08 May 2008 14:12:46 -0400
David,
The Good Tone Guild knife.
Total weight 4 oz.
Total length 184.5mm
Blade length 90.5mm
Max width of handle 20.5mm
Max thickness of handle 14mm
Width of blade 18mm
Thickness of blade 4mm
Top of blade is 10mm below top of handle (approx).
Edge of blade extends approx 7mm below the bottom edge of the handle.
The tang is full length and full width of the handle and is the same
thickness as the blade, slightly tapering in thickness toward the butt end
of the handle - an artistic consideration (?). Total handle thickness is
essentially constant, resulting in increased wood thickness at the butt,
possibly a weight and balance consideration (?).
The hollow-ground bevel starts at 7.5mm below the top edge of the blade and
is cut for right handed use on my knife. My colleague oboist has a left
handed version. I have rounded the acute angle at the straight-cut tip of
the blade because I use this area in a reed finishing procedure. The metal
is some sort of stainless steel and it sharpens easily on my fine diamond
stone or my Arkansas hone, holding the edge very well, and it will shave arm
hair (useful ?).
The material of the handle is a modern laminated wood material similar to
that found in custom rifle stocks, and the securing rivets are decorated and
embellished in a bi-metallic star pattern. Some of the handles of these
knives were made in a less artistic form (rivets etc) and were more
utilitarian in appearance.
It is a lovely artisanal piece and a pleasure to use. It was not cheap, but
true quality often has a cost that may reflect the art as well as the
utility.
If I were to order another, I would suggest that the blade should have the
same rotational axis (mounting point in the handle), but might benefit from
being only 15mm wide, rather than 18mm. That would minimize the "swing" of
the blade in scraping movements without limiting the length of the scrape.
That, however, might change the angle of the bevel and affect the efficiency
and the ease of sharpening of the edge.
I hope this is useful to you.
Herb
On 5/7/08 11:24 PM, "David Crispin / Crispin's Creations"
<crispinscreations@-----.net> wrote:
> Very interesting....
>
> So... it's sort of like the height at which the blade is "mounted in the
> handle" that you like. It's the distance between the center axis of the
> handle and the knife's edge that you like. (?)
>
> Would you be so kind as to measure that distance for me? Would you think
> that the ideal specification for this distance would vary with other
> factors, like the weight of the blade or the weight or size of the handle?
>
> -Slightly Less Confused But Still In Mississippi
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "herb fawcett" <herbgosia@-----.net>
> To: <doublereed@-----.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 11:02 PM
> Subject: Re: [DR-L] oboe reed knives
>
>
>> My "balance" reference is to the axis of rotation when scraping. As far as
>> I
>> am concerned, a blade doesn't need to be more than a couple of inches
>> long,
>> so I guess that would be tending toward the handle. What I like about
>> Meg's
>> knife is that the axis of rotation is right down the center line of the
>> handle, and that makes it very comfortable for my thumb as the "stop" and
>> the swing of the edge is from the thumb down to the edge. It just feels
>> right. Pushing on the knife is unnecessary because of the weight of the
>> whole unit and the ultra-sharp edge. It minimizes those embarrassing
>> notches
>> in the tip of the reed.
>> Sometimes with bassoon reeds, I use a pull stroke and this blade is a
>> little
>> wide for total comfort with that stroke. I could get used to it, but it
>> would be better in that application if the blade were just a little
>> narrower
>> (for me)
>> Hope that explains my remark,
>> Herb
>>
>>
>> On 5/7/08 8:46 PM, "David Crispin / Crispin's Creations"
>> <crispinscreations@-----.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Herb,
>>>
>>> Regarding your comment:
>>>
>>> "It is not only beautiful, but very sharp and nicely
>>> balanced."
>>>
>>> Could you tell us more about the "balance" of the knife? I'm a bit
>>> confused
>>> about what the desired balance is in a reed knife. Some say that if fine
>>> CONTROL is desired in a knife, then the balance should be more towards
>>> the
>>> handle, the opposite of say, a meat cleaver, in which the weight of the
>>> blade helps to do the cutting. But others say that in a reed knife, the
>>> balance should be towards the blade, so that the user can let the weight
>>> of
>>> the blade cause the edge to catch the cane, instead of bearing down.
>>>
>>> By the way, I've spoken with Meg about her custom knife maker, and know
>>> that
>>> in her custom knife, the tang goes all the way to the end of the handle,
>>> the
>>> "handle" actually being two "slices" of wood sandwiching the knife's
>>> tang.
>>> This would act to put the balance towards the handle, but what do I know?
>>>
>>> Signed,
>>>
>>> Confused in Mississippi
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "herb fawcett" <herbgosia@-----.net>
>>> To: <doublereed@-----.org>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 4:43 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [DR-L] oboe reed knives
>>>
>>>
>>>> No, I have one of the first custom knives that Meg ordered from the
>>>> knife
>>>> maker in Florida. It is not only beautiful, but very sharp and nicely
>>>> balanced. I have sharpened stuff for years as a dentist, and the
>>>> technique
>>>> doesn't vary a lot, so I don't have the jig etc. except for profiler
>>>> blades.
>>>> Too bad Meg was out of the knives.
>>>> Herb
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 5/7/08 11:48 AM, "Miriam Williams" <mwquacker@-----.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Yes, thanks; I've known Meg for years. She is a very nice person, and
>>>>> her
>>>>> customer service is unparalleled IMO.
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you use the Speedy Sharp, Herb?
>>>>>
>>>>> Miriam
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "herb fawcett" <herbgosia@-----.net>
>>>>> To: <doublereed@-----.org>
>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 12:55 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: [DR-L] oboe reed knives
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Miriam,
>>>>>> That reference was to Meg Cassell at Good tone Guild. A very nice
>>>>>> person!
>>>>>> Herb
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 5/7/08 10:35 AM, "Miriam Williams" <mwquacker@-----.net> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> What are you teachers recommending for a decent hollow-ground
>>>>>>> beginning
>>>>>>> reed
>>>>>>> knife these days?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I have a couple Rigotti I like.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I am familiar with "a good reed knife is one you can keep sharp". I
>>>>>>> seem
>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>> be able to do that with the Rigotti.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I'm doing some internet reasearch for students who may start
>>>>>>> reedmaking
>>>>>>> this
>>>>>>> summer.
>>>>>>> Preferably under $30 if possible.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>>> Miriam
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
>>>>> Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
>>>> Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
>>> Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
>> Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
> Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
For personal help: email doublereed-owner@-----.org
Doublereed is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org
