 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: krawfish3x
Date: 2003-05-07 00:56
i was thinking about getting a reed knife. what are some brands you would recommend?
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Author: PJ
Date: 2003-05-07 01:21
Try www.pyne-clarion.com and check out the reed balancing kit.
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Author: Pam H.
Date: 2003-05-07 02:34
I have the pyne reed balancing kit. I like it for what little knowledge I have in the area. I'd rather play a reed than work on it though.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2003-05-07 12:22
With due respect to all who sell them all you need is a small pocket knife without a serrated blade. For safety purposes a blade that is protected when not in use is probly best.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2003-05-07 12:39
The Landwell knives are great, but possibly more than you need if you only use it once in a while.
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2003-05-07 12:58
Wally Bhosy made a great knife for reeds awhile ago, if you can find one.
I use one, and many of my student find them comfortable, easy to use, and sharpen well.
Good luck,
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2003-05-07 13:32
I have an old oboe-reed knife, hard to keep sharp enough. I routinely "polish" the back of reeds, viewing, and trying to "balance" reed-tip thickness by the carbide-paper "sanding". Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2003-05-07 13:55
krawfish -
Any knife that costs around $20 will have good steel. What counts is how the handle fits your hand and how the blade width and profile fits your scraping style. I've used a Vitry knife with a round, slightly pear-shaped wood handle for many years. It's perfect for me, but the fit is completely individual.
You need to try several. Go to a large music store with some old reeds, or ask an oboist or bassoonist friend for a quick try with his/her knife.
I do almost all my reed work with a knife. It's much more precise than rush. I rub out any irregularities with a small piece of thoroughly worn 600 grit sandpaper.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: msloss
Date: 2003-05-07 16:54
You have a lot of choices as to the blade, and you'll pick according to your reed working technique. Look at the Woodwind or another website and you'll see a lot of choices. If you don't have a teacher that can show you how to use one and which type to get, look around for any number of terrific reed adjustment technique guides (discussed frequently on this board).
I do beg to differ on the pocket knife recommendation. I've used them in a pinch when I left my reed blade at home, but there are a couple problems, particularly if you are not already deft at your blade work. First, pocket knives are ground to cut and slice, not grind. You don't whittle when you adjust, you gently rub away little bits of the reed surface. Second, the curve of a pocket blade is not terribly accomodating of good reed adjusting technique. Most reed knives are straight blades, which makes leveling surfaces a lot easier. Finally, a good reed knife should be as sharp and pristine as possible. Any dull spots or nicks and dings in the edge will introduce surface imperfections or catch and dig into the reed. Open a couple boxes with a pocket knive and you may well have ruined the edge for delicate adjusting. If you spend $15 - $20 a box for reeds that will last weeks, it makes sense to splurge $20 - $30 for a purpose-cut blade that will last years.
Good luck with your search, krawfish.
Oh yeah, brand -- I don't know if he still imports them, but I've gotten terrific results with a folding double-beveled blade from R.D. Gilbert.
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Author: funkymunky
Date: 2003-05-07 17:43
I never bothered with reed knives or rushes. Razors and 2 grits of wet/dry sandpaper have always work very well for me. Mostly use razors to clip the tip,or to make tenor reeds from alto, or alto reeds to clarinet. some 120 sandpaper for adjusting and 400 for a smooth finish have always worked nicely.
$20 for a reed trimmer and rushes doesnt beat $2 worth razors and paper that will last a lifetime. Plus rushes will probably need fine paper for a smooth finish anyway.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2003-05-07 19:41
If you travel with your instrument, be sure to put your knive and any other tools in your checked luggage.
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Author: Benny
Date: 2003-05-07 19:45
The Edmund Nielson (double reed supply company) makes good knives. They hold an edge very well. If you are going to sand the reed's backs, 120 grit sandpaper is too coarse. Instead use 400 grit and then go over it with some 600 grit. I have recently been using Reed Rush on my reeds after I go over them with the knife.
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2003-05-07 19:52
I use a single edge razor blade and sometimes number 600 sandpaper.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2003-05-08 12:51
Obviously not everyone is familiar with pocket knives and woodworking. I have never "ground" a reed with a blade but I do routinely scrape them. There is no doubt in my mind that a hollow ground blade will produce the best results(since thats what my experience proved to me) however most people cannot sharpen a hollow ground blade properly so when your expensive hollow ground blade gets duller than a single edge razor blade you are back at square one. Since most people can't even sharpen a kitchen knife properly they will find that using single edge razor blades until they are dull and then discarding them "works" for them. But this presents a safety hazard for people who are all thumbs. There are many good relatively low cost pocket knives on the market and there are a few good folding knives made and sold specifically for reed work that will cost you about the same as a pocket knife. A surgeon's scalpel with disposable blades works well too and you can use it for amateur surgery but they are extremely dangerous.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2003-05-08 16:56
Daniel Bonade specifically recommended not using a reed knife for clarinet reeds because of his concern that it would put nicks in the reed. He was known as a player of very thin reeds. As I recall, he preferred to use "Dutch rush".
While I don't share that concern, I prefer to use single edged razor blades and fine silicon carbide abrasive paper for single reed work. As an oboe player who has made thousands of oboe reeds, I prefer the inexpensive Vitry double hollow ground knives for making and modifying oboe reeds. Good luck!
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-05-08 18:09
In the Robert Marcellus interview that's referred to here from time to time http://www.clarinet-saxophone.asn.au/articles/marcellus.pdf, he says he used a Herder Philadelphia knife. "It's the nicest feeling knife in the entire world. Just try it!" he says. If the feel of the handle is the main thing, I'd say that's pretty high praise from the master himself.
I assume this is it: http://www.jonesdoublereed.com/products_122d.html (available from other retailers as well).
FWIW, I don't own a reed knife myself and am minimally skilled in reed preparation.
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
Post Edited (2003-05-08 19:12)
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Author: beejay
Date: 2003-05-09 12:05
I use throw-away surgical scalpels, which I buy in boxes of 10 for about $10 from the pharmacy. I throw them away when they start losing their edge, usually after segveral weeks. You can find them in several diiferent shapers and sizes.
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Author: Sandra F.
Date: 2003-05-11 04:27
I use an oboe knife. A good friend uses a bassoon knife. These are made for reed work. I've always hated using Dutch Rush. It is so imprecise.
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