Five Minute Reedmaker: Understanding and Constructing the Tip and Transition

This week I am releasing TWO videos. They go together, but I couldn't bring myself to combine them - it's ridiculous for the FIVE MINUTE Reedmaker to appear to take TWELVE minutes on a single concept, however important. Hence, two videos.

The very tip of the reed is the most crucial area, and the easiest thing to ruin as you scrape. It is by far the thinnest section of the reed, so it's terribly sensitive to errors - a micron's worth of thickness in the wrong place, or a single grain unnecessarily removed on the side can wreck the whole thing.

In this first video I draw and discuss the various dimensions I consider as I create the tip and transition.

In this second video I demonstrate four different methods of GETTING to that good transition and tip. Four different knife techniques, in ascending levels of difficulty and danger.

These Five Minute Reedmaker lessons post once a week on Youtube. You can subscribe to me there, or keep watching this space for updates. Soon I'll figure out a way to mount them on my own website as well. I’d love to hear what else I can help you with, and what my next short video should address - let me know!

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