Cutting the Tip: Part I

Materials needed for today: Measuring ruler, blanks, pencil, knife, cutting block, and razor blade

The picture above is a diagram of the typical reed. A tied blank should be around 73.5 mm, and the finished reed should be 70-71 mm. After all the scraping on the tip, heart, and back is done, the tip can then be cut. 

It is important to make sure the reed is soaked before cutting the tip & scraping the reed. 

Julia measuring her blank before cutting. It is a good idea to lightly mark the measurements with a pencil before cutting!

The cutting block is shown above. When cutting the tip, you should hold the reed at a slight angle & rock the blade back and forth to ensure that it has cut all the way through. You can always cut more than once, making sure to cut only a very small amount of the reed.

-Olivia