Klarinet Archive - Posting 000214.txt from 1995/07

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: your mail
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 1995 18:13:05 -0400

On Mon, 24 Jul 1995, Anne M. Schnack wrote:

> On Mon, 24 Jul 1995, Linda Shockey wrote:
>
> > someone has mentioned that it is POSSIBLE to buy cork grease in lipstick-
> > type dispensers. i haven't been able to find it in any other form. does
> > it come in jars? it is awfully expensive in the lipstick applicator.
>
>
> I've personally seen cork grease come in about 3 different kind of
> containers... the chap stick variety, the lip balm variety (containing
> little more than just a sample), and a larger form of the chap stick
[snip]

Or, you could do what I did when I was 11 years old and a beginner on the
clarinet. I learned that cork grease consists of mutton tallow. So.....
I went to a butcher shop (this was in Kentucky, where people like to eat
barbequed mutton) and asked for 5 pounds of mutton fat. He gave it to
me, as his only other option was to throw it away.

I took it home, put it into a skillet, a little at a time, and fried it
until the grease melted out, then poured it into a jar until it cooled.
So I had a lot of free cork grease, just like what they charge an arm and
a leg for in the music store.

There was only one problem. Before too long, I realized that the gallon
of cork grease would supply the clarinet sections of all the bands in the
United States for several generations. But it was a learning
experience. I learned that in large quantities, cork grease turns rancid
long before you can use it! So, if you try this experiment, make sure
that you do so in *very* small quantities. 8-)

Ed Lacy
*********************************************************************
Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
el2@-----.edu (812)497-2252
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