Oboe knife

[That Sharpening Guy]

I have a customer that needs her oboe knife sharpened. Has anyone ever sharpened one? If you have do you know the bevel angle and can it be sharpened on the Tormek

Thanks!!!

[Herman Trivilino]

Can't you just duplicate the existing bevel angle. The oboe knives that I saw online look like they have a simple geometry.

If the bevel angle is about 10 degrees or less I would caution against using the Tormek unless you are already familiar with grinding an edge at that sharp of an angle. You could practice on utility knife blades, or razor blades, and you'll see the difficulty of the task. The steel on the oboe knife is probably easier to work with, though, than the steel on razor and utility knife blades.

[Elden]

http://forum.tormek.com/index.php?topic=1148.msg2973#msg2973

This does not answer the bevel question, but is interesting reading from the archives.

I also found the following article. I have not read all of it nor do I know anything about reed making knives.

http://m.wikihow.com/Sharpen-a-Knife-to-Scrape-Oboe-Reeds

[stevebot]

Oboe players really do not want their knives sharp.  They want them thinned so they are easier to sharpen themselves. When making reeds they sharpen the knife every few minutes. When they are no longer easy to sharpen they buy new ones. One player brought me 20 knives at one time.

What you want to do is re-hollow grind the blade.  Lay it flat on the Tormek wheel, the 10" radius is almoxt perfect,  Grind until you geta burr.  Repeat on other side. You're done.  Give it back with the burr.

Caution, keep your fingers off the wheel.  It will slowly and painlessly take your fingerprints off, right into the quick.

[Ken S]

One of my frustrations with this forum is the search function. Sharpening oboe knives came up before at least once. It was a year or two ago. I remembered it because my daughter used to play the oboe.

For those of you who are not familiar with oboes and other reed instruments, the reed can make or break the player's performance. Oboe players are not only known for playing; they can also be known as very proficient reed makers.

The knife is a key part of this, and deserves very careful thinning as Steve says.

By the way, I think Steve may have hit on a far more profitable use for the Tormek--grinding away fingerprints!

Ken

[Jan]

For bassoon reeds there are often used heavier beveled knives with the other side flat. These knives are believed to be harder then the double hollow ground knives.
The beveled oboe knives are handed. Some double hollow ground knives may also be handed, with the leading and trailing edge ground at slightly different angles.

[Herman Trivilino]

When making reeds they sharpen the knife every few minutes.

Reminds me of the sushi chef I know who sharpens his knife every night. Apparently it's standard practice.

I've mentioned before the local sharpening service available here in the Houston area. Shortly after buying my Tormek I talked with the owner on the phone. He mentioned to me that one of the machines he has is used exclusively for thinning knives. Apparently chefs who sharpen their knives daily will need to have them thinned on occasion.

The other tip he gave me, which I'll never forget, is to use Easy Off oven cleaner to remove the residue on carbide saw blade tips. This residue accumulates from the pitch in woods like pine, but what really creates a build up is plywood or the like because of the glues. He removes this residue with a chemical before using his diamond grinder to sharpen carbide-tipped saw blades.

[Elden]

Ken,
   The first link I posted is a previous thread on oboe knives here on the forum. I remembered reading it some time in the past so I knew it was there.
   When entering "oboe knife" in the search of this knife section of the forum, all that came up was this thread. By entering "oboe knife" in the search of the General Tormek Questions section that thread came up. I was not aware that the search function worked that way previously.
   Apparently the search only works for whichever segment of the forum you are currently browsing but not the other segments.
   That thread was written before the knife section was made and has not been moved by the administrator.
   Maybe you all are aware of that but I was not.  I think this will make the search engine work better for me since I realize it is searching in the section I am currently browsing.

[Ken S]

Thanks, Elden. I did not know that. That should make future searching more productive.

Ken

[grepper]

After you log in, there is a link to Advanced Search under the search box.  It has an option: Choose a board to search in, or search all.  The default is:  All Boards.  The search term "oboe" returned 2 post one from General Questions, and then other from Knife Sharpening.
 

[Elden]

That is good to know, Mark. That would be better than searching each one individually.

[Ken S]

I did some very early morning Internet searching on selecting, using and sharpening oboe knives. The results reminded me of the old Mark Twain quote, "Man is the only animal with the one true religion, all seven of them."

Among the interesting variety of  knives were a couple references to using Delta jointer knives. (This may be the best use for a deeply nicked blade. Sharpen the blade; ignore the nick, and give it to a struggling musician.)

What I did not see in the postings was anyone with a background in toolmaking and metallurgy. Blue Spruce now makes top drawer Sloyd knives and carbide burnishers. It's too bad Dave Jessup's (owner of Blue Spruce) daughter, Hannah, doesn't play the oboe.

Now if only Steve Bottorf played the oboe instead of the bass flute..........

Ken

[That Sharpening Guy]

Thank you everyone for the great advice!!!!! I will let you know how it turns out.