 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: John
Date: 2002-02-19 14:22
What do people use to hold their reed while adjusting them with a knife? Do you just keep the reed on the mouthpiece, or use a handy table top, a piece of glass or plastic?
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2002-02-19 14:41
John, keeping the reed on the mouthpiece is not a good idea. For one thing, you need a rigid, flat base under the reed while working on it. Aside from that, you should avoid any possibility of damaging the mouthpiece by hitting it with knife or sandpaper. A piece of plate glass at least ¼ inch/3 mm thick (thinner glass has greater likelihood of breaking) is preferred by most; however, some use plastic, even though it may require more frequent replacement. A table top would surely become damaged.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-02-19 18:35
John -
I went to a glass shop and got a 9" x 12" sheet of 1/2" thick plate glass, on which I can put a whole sheet of sandpaper and also work on the vamp with a small piece of sandpaper without worry. This is a bit excessive (not to mention obsessive), but then you only buy it once. Avoid plastic -- it scratches too easily.
I also got the glass shop to make a 1" x 6" piece of 1/8" plate glass, with the edges nicely eased, which I keep in my case along with strips of sandpaper cut to that size.
For fine work, though, I lay the reed on my left index finger with my thumb on the bark, brace my reed knife against the tip of my thumb and scrape the vamp. This gives me more control and makes it easy to hold the reed up to a bright light to see how it's going, and also to test the the tip by flexing it gently back against my thumb nail.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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