 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2007-11-13 00:57
I haven't found one, i was just sitting idly by and was wondering if a tungsten or tungsten 'alloy' or mixture would be good for a reed knife. I thought of the idea after seeing this info-mercial about a face razor that never needs to be replaced or sharpened because it's a tungsten alloy (tungsten is one of the hardest metals around, almost impossible to chip or wear away - popular as a ring).
So I thought about the possibilities of tungsten as a knife or other sharpening device that, ironically, never needs sharpening. Just thinking about the possibities of a reed knife that never dulls or chips if dropped, or at least dulls so slow, it could very well have a lifetime guarantee . . .
Alexi
{EDIT} - http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/inf_razor_ontv.html for the "infinity razor! The last razor you'll ever have to buy!" (where I got my idea from)
US Army Japan Band
Post Edited (2007-11-13 00:59)
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2007-11-13 02:12
Ya have to wonder if the guarantee on it is good for the company if they charge their cost of the item for shipping. So if it's a $4 razor and they charge $7 for shipping for the guarantee they make another $3 on the back end every time.
There's almost always a catch to stuff like that.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2007-11-13 02:45
If you pass an electric current through it, would it glow?
There was an "as seen on TV" store in a local mall. It lasted all of maybe 6 months.The stuff on display was junkier than it appeared on TV (self-straining spaghetti cooker was made of very thin metal, the battery operated buffer had the heft of a diseased pigeon feather, and the hand tools--well, Fisher-Price makes them sturdier). Just my opinion.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2007-11-13 03:22
Yeah. But I was just wondering. Tungsten is a pretty darned hard metal. But it CAN be shaped and worked with with the tools. So I'm wondering why it hasn't been fashioned into a use where regular metals might need more maintenance (such as, of course, a reed knife!)
I mean if we're looking at other materials for OTHER parts of the clarinets to make them last longer (legere reeds, greenline/hard rubber clarinets) it seems that to me, the harder the material of the knife, the less likely it will be dulled through repetitive use against a reed. Just like the reed wizard using a hard enough bit to keep it from being replaced for VERY long periods of time (if ever), why not reed knives?
US Army Japan Band
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-11-13 03:31
sfalexi- "So I'm wondering why it hasn't been fashioned into a use where regular metals might need more maintenance (such as, of course, a reed knife!)"
Well, maybe for knives in general, not just reed knives. A knife that really never needs sharpening would be useful. But would the added benefit be worth the cost??
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-11-13 06:13
"But would the added benefit be worth the cost??"
An untapped market will decide. great idea though sfalexi for being resourceful and looking outside "clarinet designated" products.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-11-13 06:15
I'd rather see a ceramic knife.
Besides, sharpening my kitchen knife before going busy is part of the ritual. Rituals are important. They make a dull job look interesting.
--
Ben
Post Edited (2007-11-13 06:16)
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2007-11-13 09:54
I bought a knife advertised like that one. I used it on some metals, as per the advertisement, and it bluntened very quickly. I sent it back. One customer lost. Never mind... another thousand suckers born every minute. Plenty more profit to be made from the 99.9% who DON'T send them back.
"Yeah. But I was just wondering. Tungsten is a pretty darned hard metal. "
As a general rule, the harder the material, the more brittle it is. As soon as you start scraping the reed, bits snap off the edge of the blade.
Demo: Get a steel razor blade, heat it red hot, and immediately dunk it in water. Now it is significantly harder. But watch it shatter as soon as you do anything that bends it slightly. Heat it red hot again and cool it slowly. It is now quite soft, but you can bend it a lot without it snapping.
The hardness of tungsten carbide is used a lot for cutting tools in engineering, and it cuts steel very successfully. However the cutting edge is sharpened quite close to a right angle, to resist snapping, and the cutting edge itself is actually quite blunt, so it does not chip. Not appropriate for a knife.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2007-11-13 11:15
tictactux wrote:
> I'd rather see a ceramic knife.
My ceramic kitchen knives only need sharpening every couple of years, and are tougher than I thought they'd be. But they're relatively inflexible - making them useless for some applications, such as a fish fillet knife - and will chip on hard (bone) material.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2007-11-13 11:24
My first reed knife is still sharp, from the first use after 4 years.
Most of my reed adjustment was done with sandpaper until I began to use the Legere synthetics.
Steel can last a long time, if properly handled.
I can't imagine sharpening anything made of tungsten, using household materials... tungsten carbide router bits can be touched up with diamond hones, but it takes forever!
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2007-11-13 14:02
Trying to recall my senior year course, MSU, in Metallurgy [back in those ?good ole days {1941}] as to alloy research, I made a Google search of the above title, finding many ref's., Alexi, good reading !. Being in an automotive-influenced state, a career in electroplating R&D had prospects for me, but I went for petroleum research, FBOW ?? Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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