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Hakam Din clarinet key material

Author: clarnibass
Date: 2024-05-04 09:26

Hi

Specific question if anyone knows about Hakam Dim clarinets.
What is the actual material of the keys, and how do they respond to bending/straightening?
Trying to find out where they are on the scale between "normal" (most known clarinets) to mazak that can easily break.

There are signs that the keys are brazed, which suggest they are not mazak or anything like that, but it's not definite enough to be sure.

I also contacted the company to ask but mainly interested if someone has experience e.g. trying to adjust key angles on these clarinets.

Thanks

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Re: Hakam Din clarinet key material

Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-05-04 11:54

I'm guessing they're cast in either brass or nickel silver, so they may be brittle if there are any impurities or defects in the castings, so proceed with caution. Although a good clean up to expose shiny metal will be all that's needed in order to silver solder (and I mean hard solder there) them back together.

Although that's applicable to many cast nickel silver, brass or bronze key pieces, even on more expensive instruments which can suddenly break if there's a hidden flaw or weakness in the castings, usually only seen once it's happened by the corrosion on the broken surfaces if they're plated.

The clarinets I've seen from Pakistan are largely based on old Boosey&Co. or Hawkes&Sons clarinets (usually with ebonite bodies) as they'd have been shipped out there or brought across along with British military bands doing service over there before independence. I don't know if Boosey&Co./Hawkes&Sons had overseas factories or workshops based there in that time.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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Re: Hakam Din clarinet key material

Author: LFabian
Date: 2024-05-09 00:56

The day after it arrived from overseas, some things were not right and I brought it in to a tech and suggested me to send it back. He would not making any repairs for it because the metal is too soft and there are no parts available. A third tech who was involved with the maker said everything was handmade. This other tech with him directly. Anyway to make it short, I sent it back and got refunded minus charges. It was not sent back overseas back to Pakistan. I got burned on this deal. The Eb clarinet was in red and gold it was good looking but sounded horrible.

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Re: Hakam Din clarinet key material

Author: clarnibass
Date: 2024-05-09 10:16

I guess I'll just check a small spot like the end of a key foot.
I know it's not the best quality (to put it mildly), but the owner would still like to have it repaired. I was mostly concerned about keys breaking from the significant adjustments needed (nothing that would cause a problem on any normal clarinet). Especially if it's a material that can't be brazed, but even if not, having to re-braze parts could move it into the "not worth it" realm.

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