 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Jeff
Date: 2000-02-14 15:47
Which type of swab is better-Silk or Cotton?
Jeff
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Author: Drew
Date: 2000-02-14 16:04
Having used many different types of swabs, I have a definite preference for silk swabs. Silk swabs seem to be more "slippery" in the bore and rarely get stuck. They are easily cleaned by using room temperature water and a little "Woolite" or other delicate fabric cleaner. I've used Gem and Hodge brands with good results.
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Author: Joris van den Berg
Date: 2000-02-14 17:37
Silk fibres are much harder than cottonfibres. When swabbing a lot silk can wear the bore more easily than cotton
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-02-14 18:20
Joris van den Berg wrote:
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Silk fibres are much harder than cottonfibres. When swabbing a lot silk can wear the bore more easily than cotton.
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Uh huh. Have you been able to measure the wear differential? No one I know so far has been able to come up with any measurements.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-02-14 21:41
Yes, B J, chamois, as recommended by Stein, with instructions as to how to make your own swab. Don
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Author: Margaret Copeland
Date: 2000-02-15 13:36
I have lots of different swabs. We are talking oboe here and the issue of getting a swab stuck is a big one. BG makes a synthetic chamois swab - a microfiber swab. They probably make a clarinet sized one. The set I got has a smaller one for the upper bore and a larger one for bell and bottom joint. The smaller swab is double ended which is a good idea.
I also have silk swabs - Anne Hodge swabs are double ended. I don't think with grenadilla wood that a swab can be abrasive. Probably the metal drop pin does more damage (if any) than a silk swab can do. Cotton has shorter fibers than silk and they lint so it is not a choice for me. Any swab can push dust and dirt into the tone holes. For silk swabs use something like dish washing liquid and warm water and rinse with a tat of vinegar - then rinse thoroughly. Dry on a towel. Silk loves the vinager acid and will absorb more moisture when clean . Silk is not particularly absorbant when compared to cotton so I may use more than one swab when I put my instrument away.
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Author: Mario
Date: 2000-02-15 16:26
For these who are really fanatic about it, a long goose feather is the way to go. Guaranteed not to damage anything.
The chosen solution for discriminating oboists I am told...
The comment about the metal drop is a good one. I only use (silk) swabs with the drop covered in plastic.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-02-15 17:01
I once bought a swab with a metal pull-through by mistake, because I wasn't paying attention. Rather than go back to the store, I dipped the metal in tool handle grip compound. This plastic goop dried to a flexible, protective coating. Silk is my preferred swab for regular use, but I like a cotton swab for oiling the bore.
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Author: beejay
Date: 2000-02-15 20:15
Don was right. I got the idea from the Stein book and made up the swab exactly as he stipulated. The advantage is that the instrument gets absolutely dry with just one pull, whereas I find I have to pull a cotton swab through two or three times to get the same effect. It never occurred to me that I might be wearing out my bore, but what the heck, In a few years my Buffet-Crampon RC may turn into a Pete Fountain special. I also keep a piece of soft unwashed chamois in my case to clean the keys. It works beautifully. And that is the only care my clarinet gets.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-02-15 20:57
Thanx, B J, the drying ability of real chamois plus it's bore-lubricating character is what recommends it to me. If there is even slight frictional enlargement of the cl's bore, perhaps it would compensate for the long-term shrinkage due to drying!. Now for oboe, if one cannot find his own turkey feather, I like the silk swab, which doesn't get stuck!! To each his own!. Don
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Author: Margaret Copeland
Date: 2000-02-15 22:06
No offense Mario but discriminating oboists know that turkey and goose feathers leave crap in the tone holes. It doesn't take much to block those holes. Maybe a clarinet is more forgiving in that regard but it is amazing what can accumulate around the holes. This is also the reason that I use no oil in the bore of my oboe. I feel it is better to keep the instrument in a stable environment, swab the bore dry, keep a Dampit or cigar humidifier in the case (depends on your climate)to attempt to slow down the moisture transfer rate inside the bore.
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Author: Kim
Date: 2000-02-15 23:56
I prefer silk. The cotton swabs get stuck on the register key thing. I say "thing" since I don't what it is called, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The cotton swabs rip because they get stuck on it. The silk swabs do not though.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-02-16 00:32
Kim wrote:
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I prefer silk. The cotton swabs get stuck on the register key thing. I say "thing" since I don't what it is called, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The cotton swabs rip because they get stuck on it. The silk swabs do not though.
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I have never had a cotton swab get stuck on the register tube when the swab was of the correct size and softness. Of course I make sure that it is smoothed out and not all bunched up when it goes into the instrument. Unfortunately some swabs are too large while some others are made of a very stiff, glazed type of cotton.
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Author: BAC
Date: 2000-02-16 00:56
Call me cheap, but I simply use and old tee-shirt (cotton) cut to the correct size. Since these are so absorbent, just one pass and it is dry. I never had it bind on anything. Best part is I never have to clean it, just throw it away and cut a new one.
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Author: Donn
Date: 2000-02-16 20:22
The thing about silk is that it's not very absorbent compared to cotton. Isn't the object to draw the slobbers out? I like cotton felt or chamois
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-02-16 21:13
Donn wrote:
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The thing about silk is that it's not very absorbent compared to cotton. Isn't the object to draw the slobbers out? I like cotton felt or chamois
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Actually - no, the idea of a silk swab is not to absorb the moisture but to spread it out in a very thin layer where it dries very quickly. Silk is a bit absorbent so the "gross" stuff is absorbed, but the very little bit of moisture left is spread out.
If you go to recitals where there's lots of professionals or professors playing you'll see most (at least in my experience) use silk. Doesn't mean it's best (except cotton leaves a lot of fibers), but it is the most common swab.
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Author: beejay
Date: 2000-02-17 16:34
Kim mentioned that the cotton swabs you buy from the music store tend to be too big. I think she is right. The old Buffet-Crampon swabs were made in France of soft cotton. The new ones are made in India of a stiffer fabric and are about one inch wider all round. I never had any problems with the old ones. The new ones rip. The answer is to cut them back to where the design starts and re-hem them and then they pull through without any difficulty.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-02-17 17:38
As some have said, swab the UJ starting at the top, but first of all, consider the projection of the register tube into the bore, selecting the size of swab in accordance! Don
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Author: Roger Merriam
Date: 2000-02-19 13:27
Only a silk swab should be used. While my R-13 is off for replating I borrowed a friends's R-13. It is his back up clarinet. The open G sounded more like F#. It turned out that there was gunk in the tone holes---once I removed it the instrument was in tune. The gunk appears to be lint and cork grease, etc. I have seen lint and deposits on my R-13. A lint swab can cause problems---use silk.
I was also taught to insert the swab into the bell---that way it naturally works itself into being long and narrow.
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Author: James Marioneaux
Date: 2000-02-23 14:41
I use a cotton swab, but if you cut the corners off to where it looks like a flat football with the string and weight coming out of one of the pointed ends and hem up the parts you cut, it will not get stuck. I also swab from the top just in case it could get stuck. I have also been told that it is best to swab from the tpo because it draws the water down in the same direction it came into the horn so you don't pull it back into the tone holes. I don't know how caccurate this is, but it sounds good.
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