Reed-making is so artistic. You start with the cane (which must be gouged and shaped to even be usable) and soak it. Once it is thoroughly soaked, it can be folded over a mandrel, tied, and clipped. When tying a reed, every revolution of thread around the cane must be carefully placed. There must be no gaps between threads, so the thread must be held taut, but not too taut to break or fray the thread.

But my favorite part is scraping, though it’s misleading to consider all of scraping one step. The bottom of the reed is anchored between the index and middle fingers, and the hard cane is securely placed in the pad of your index finger. Then, with the thumb of that hand glued to the knife held by the other hand, you peel the hard, glossy bark from the surface of the reed, creating tiny, perfect coils of cane. Your thumb serves to push the knife down the reed, but it isn’t a tool; it is an extension of the knife itself.

Once the bark is peeled from both sides, you carve away more of the reed. The hard bark has been carved away, so you only need very light pressure to shape the cane under the hard top layer.

You also must create two channels in the bottom half of the reed. By scraping both sides of each of the reed’s faces, and avoiding a line down the middle, you naturally create a spine. For a finished reed, when you hold it up to the light, the channels must glow. If the light shining through the channels isn’t bright enough, then you need to scrape more.

Near the top of the reed, you also must create an upside-down V shape by angling the knife and pressing down. I haven’t quite gotten the hang of this step because I am more used to long, slow scrapes. And of course, this is by no means a comprehensive guide to reed-making I’ve skipped and glossed over many steps, because I’ve only really learned basic scraping so far.

Though reed-making obviously serves a concrete purpose, I admire its artistic value. It is a skill that will allow me to pursue an artistic hobby (oboe playing), but it is just as artistic as music-making. It takes so much control and understanding to carve anything, let alone a playable carving.

Last modified on 2024-07-18