 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Larry G.
Date: 2000-06-12 20:54
My daughter wants a reed-knife for her birthday, but I know very little about them. What brand/type is recommended for clarinet reeds. What sharpening stones are recommended? Dry stone vs. oil stone, etc.? Also where can she get information on the proper techniques to use to achieve the desired results?
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Author: Karel Vahala
Date: 2000-06-13 03:59
Larry Guy has written agood small book "Selection, Adjustment and Care of Single Reeds" which goes into reed knives, stones, and techniques. I got mine from Garry Van Cott at www.vcisinc.com/
Karel.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-06-13 14:25
Yes ! Consult you local oboist and/or bassoonist who use reed knives regularly. I fought the oboe reed battle earlier, and didnt do very well! I did try the knife on cl/sax reeds , didnt like what I could do, so I sand the reed backs [dry] on fine emery [carborundum etc] cloth/paper on a very flat surface to flatten and soften and am happy with the results. Luck, Don
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Author: paul
Date: 2000-06-13 14:36
Reed knives are dangerous tools. Sure, if you care for them and use them properly, you can shave a reed into shape in no time at all. One slip with a very sharp knife like this, and you could rip open a finger all the way to the bone. That would be a disaster to someone who depends on their fingers for something as fine as playing the clarinet. My pro tutor strongly cautioned against the use of reed knives by adult novices (like me) and especially by kids. The risk was to great for very little potential gain by less experienced clarinetists. Only once in a couple of years of lessons did my tutor do anything with a reed knife. He used it to shave my medium-hard artificial Fibracell reed down to approximately medium strength. However, he very strongly cautioned me to not attempt this trick on my own. When it came to natural cane reeds, the only thing he ever used was a wetted reed rush.
May I suggest something that doesn't have as much danger? Try various roughness grades of sandpaper instead. The extremely coarse sandpaper (very low grain count) can take a stiff reed down almost as quickly as a reed knife, but at much lower personal risk. Plus, you can fine tune the reed adjustment with higher grain (i.e. less abrasive) sand paper as you go along. For instance, a moistened piece of the high tech ultra fine (1400 grain) wet/dry sand paper is the closest I've seen anything artificial compare to a wetted reed rush.
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Author: Irwin
Date: 2000-06-14 11:30
I've had a different experience with reed knives. I find it easier to control both the amount and location of shaving with a knife as opposed to sand paper. Even better, I can shave a reed when it's wet which I couldn't do with sand paper - allowing me to shave a very little, try the reed and then shave a little more if the reed still isn't playing properly. But I agree the knife is sharp and you need to be careful. Also, a very light touch helps.
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