Author: oboi
Date: 2012-12-02 10:47
So this is my progress so far on baroque reeds:
I'm still having a heck of a time making them, probably new issues compounded with the issues I'm still having with modern reeds. But I think I found some light at the end of the tunnel.
I'm much more comfortable shaping without a shaper now. And I'm very much liking my bevel knife now that I know how to sharpen it!! I do not create a burr. I just sharpen it flat. Then, as I already mentioned before, I use it to trim down the width of the cane using inward strokes (hold cane in hand and bring knife towards myself). Do that for all 4 edges until desired width met. Then, I make all the correct markings and start shaping the cane, holding the knife and cane the same way. It is awfully slow but I've now got a decent knife technique. I'm still having issues making a playable reed at pitch, but I think it has to do with my tying issues (as I've mentioned in other threads) and probably dimensions/cane issues. Long story short, my reeds currently need a wire. The scraping has been quite a challenge, making sure I have VERY long strokes so I don't end up with an accidental heart. This is a long scrape but there is no heart. Back goes straight down to the start of the tip. Also, caring more about keeping the spine rather than the rails. If I can sort out my tie-ons so that the blades don't flare outrageously out, I think I'm good to go.
That bevel knife.... It is of great use to me now. As mentioned above, I use it to narrow and shape the baroque cane. It has also been of great use on my modern reeds. It's much more effective for the first initial scrapes to remove the bark and creating the channels than the double hollow ground knife. Way fewer strokes. It's horrible for the tip, though. I also use it to get rid of nicks in the cane and smoothing out the heart/window cliff. I very carefully run the knife inward (and almost flat against the reed) to get rid of nicks at the cliff and in the windows. I'm pretty sure this is unorthodox but it works pretty well.
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