 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-11-21 23:03
Have a reed shortened at tip 6 mm. Believe I need to shave topside of reed to thin and reshape it so it will play. Is a box cutter blade or a reed knife better for this? Have blades. If reed cutter is best, can anyone recommend an inexpensive but effective one for occasional use? Have a few reeds I want to restore, but not a lot or often.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-11-21 23:09
Do you really mean you clipped 6 mm off of the tip?
Karl
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-11-21 23:19
Regardless of how much you clipped this particular reed, I'm fairly certain some people use almost any kind of knife successfully for scraping reeds. My reaction to using a box cutter is that the sharp edge is fairly short and does not lead flush into the body of the tool, so it's harder to get exactly the angle you want, especially on the side of the reed opposite your hand. The tool body might be in your way. So, I'd opt for a reed knife.
Whatever you use, it needs to be sharp. A dull blade will tear more than scrape and you risk putting divots in the reed from having to press a dull edge too hard to get wood to actually come off cleanly.
Inexpensive is in the eye of the shopper. The online music outlets all sell them at varying price points. Some cutlers sell suitable knives. I have two Herder knives, which will tell old-timers here how long it has been since I was knife-shopping. Oboists tend to use triangular blades. Clarinetists I know who use knives tend to prefer hollow-ground ones because they're easier to use if you're trying to remove bark to lengthen the vamp (which, if you really cut off 6 mm of tip, you will surely need to do).
Karl
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2016-11-22 00:29
I use a single edge razor blade as a scraper. Obviously you have to be careful. I thought about getting a proper reed knife, but they're kind of expensive and to keep them properly sharp you would have to strop them or something (but maybe they don't have to be so sharp). I just know my uber-sharp chisels get dull fast, even though they are hard steel. Some guys like the "Reed Geek". Cabinet makers and violin makers use finishing "scrapers" which are just a piece of flat steel, with a "burr" made on one edge by a ceramic rod or something.
- Matthew Simington
Post Edited (2016-11-22 00:42)
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2016-11-22 00:30
I would suggest you don't use the "good" reed knife for removing the bark, which is very hard and would rapidly dull the edge.
A second "gardening" i.e. cheapo knife would do the bark work although some reed makers I believe also use files for this.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-11-22 00:52
I've always used a single-edged razor blade and a rectangular piece of glass (.25 x 3 x 1.5) as my reed scraping kit, and a Cordier trimmer. Take the sharp corners off the blade with an oilstone or diamond lap. I'd discard any reed that I had to take 6mm off. There are better things to do than scraping reeds. I have a reed knife, I use it to sharpen the pencil in my music bag.
Tony F.
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-11-22 01:45
I have never done this before and am only assuming that is what is needed..to restore the length/thickness relationship. I have knives of one kind or another and havent tried them but had some spare box cutter blades I thought would try. Hate to admit I did this but to be truthful I had some reeds I thought were moldy and was soaking them in clorox of maybe too much concentration and forgot about them. When I remembered I found the ends were eaten away. But the mold was gone. I had to trim off 5-6 mm from tip end to get a solid instead of a feather tip. Now that I admitted this, I have some reeds I can either discard or use as subjects for learning a new skill. I am not out of reeds, can afford as many as I need, but I like to try to fix and improve things. Certainly not going to try with a good or new reed. I did succeed in getting one to play so I want to try lengthening and thinning the end so the others will play. Thought I had to extend the thinner part back toward the butt by shaving the op of reed. Whole reed started out 68 mm in length and now is 62 mm. I had hoped someone had done this before and could suggest tools or procedure before I progress and fail or mess them up more. I do not NEED them; just want to see if I can make them play. Have a digital caliper also to measure the thickness. Have looked at some You Tube videos where they were using box cutter blades at a 45 degree angle. Have no specific detailed books on it though. If I cant succeed I will just discard them and assume they are too different too improve.
Then I will at least have learned what not to try.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-11-22 02:03
You should look for some online material on making reeds from scratch. You won't need to do the basic steps of producing a blank from tube cane, but you're going to need basically to re-cut the profile from scratch.
As a learning experience it may turn out to be worthwhile, as long as you can afford the time.
Karl
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-11-22 02:57
I have just gotten a second reed to play the lower register up to C6 working with the blade. I feel I will succeed if persist.
after reading replay 1,2 and 4 I was wondering if it were even possible and 6mm really is too much. But I think I will keep on.
Post Edited (2016-11-22 03:03)
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-12-03 06:24
Update. All 10 reeds now play E3 to C6 and sound fair to good. Need more work for some harder to blow and one is a bit soft but all will play a song and sound OK. Pleased with progress.
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Author: Fuzzy
Date: 2016-12-03 09:53
This was a real hoot to read - thanks for sharing your experience(s) with us!
Fuzzy
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Author: BGBG
Date: 2016-12-03 10:24
As I said somewhere, I have no experience or knowledge of this except what I recently read online and in forum, and have no fancy tools. Just figured out a plan and went for it. I used the utility blade some but I feel it dulls quickly or isn't sharp enough except for mild scraping. I don't want to spend a lot for nice correct reed manufacturing tools because I don't plan to do this often or maybe ever again. I accidentally damaged 10 reeds that were not old or bad and wanted to restore them. Had to clip at least 6mm of tip and then cut back the bark area so vamp length was right. Then measured 3 points with caliper on a new reed and tried to approximate that by using a half round file, round side at 3 points then flattening with flat side and when proportions similar to new I sanded vamp equally until played well. Have to refine some but they do play almost as well as my others. I have 39 reeds in rotation that go back to 2 years old when I started and one was lost, several had split or chipped ends and I didn't know how to try to fix at that point. I keep them around, maybe 5 or 6, but do not try to play them. I do believe they just wear out eventually. But I would say my reeds date back to maybe Nov 2014 to 3-4 months ago. I do not play professionally or for anyone else so do not have to be perfect but I want to be as good as I can even for myself. Usually play on one reed each day until start over.
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