Klarinet Archive - Posting 000658.txt from 2004/11

From: Tony Pay <tony.p@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Sandpaper vs. Reed knife
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 17:53:56 -0500

On 23 Nov, GrabnerWG@-----.com wrote:

> I work my reeds, moistened, and placed on a small plaque of plate glass. I
> cut approx. 1 inch squares from waterproof sandpaper of 320 and 600
> strength. Using the corner of the moistened sandpaper over my fingertip, I
> can exercise fairly precise control over where I want to remove a hard
> "spot" on the reed. Using the glass to support the cane, I can also get a
> very nice thin tip evenly over the entire top of the reed. This is very
> hard to do with a knife without tearing the fibers of the cane.

What is good about this description is that it makes clear precisely what
Walter is trying to do.

Moreover, I think it gives us a hold on what may lie behind the prescriptive
injunction that you 'should' use a knife rather than sandpaper.

Because, if you use sandpaper carelessly, you may remove the softer wood that
lies between the fibres, whilst leaving the fibres themselves relatively
intact. (That cannot happen with a knife, because a knife doesn't mould to
the surface it is abrading.)

Clearly you want to control how much you thin the fibres, relative to how
much you thin the softer wood, in order to obtain the best results.

But once you understand *that*, then you can use a knife, or sandpaper, or
*both*, to modify a reed.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd tony.p@-----.org
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE http://classicalplus.gmn.com/artists
tel/fax 01865 553339

... Help! I'm parked diagonally in a parallel universe.

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