The Complete Handbook of Woodwind Reed Knives
Selection, Use, and Maintenance for Professionals, Repair Shops, and Serious Players
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
The practical reference for choosing, sharpening, and using woodwind reed knives—written for players and repair pros, not marketers.
About this book
Most reed players learn knife skills by trial and error, often after ruining several reeds and a few perfectly good blades. This handbook changes that. It starts with what a reed knife actually is—a precision edge tool with specific bevel angles, blade steels, and handle shapes—and explains how those variables affect the cut on cane, synthetic reeds, and profiling work. It then gives clear criteria for choosing a knife based on your instrument, your reed-making method, and your budget, with honest discussion of where cheap knives fail and where expensive ones are worth it.
The middle sections cover daily use: correct grip, cutting strokes, and how to avoid common mistakes like digging into the cane or chipping the edge. Maintenance is treated as a skill, not a chore—with detailed sharpening methods, from bench stones to strops, and a troubleshooting table for symptoms like dull tips, rolled edges, or rust spots. The book also covers the business side: reselling, repair services, private labeling, and how to evaluate suppliers.
Written for professionals but accessible to serious amateurs, this handbook is the resource that should have come in the box with your first knife. It is neutral, specific, and built for reference—you will keep it next to your workbench, not on a shelf.
Reader Reviews
Jason Allen
★★★★★I was hoping for more on actual sharpening technique—I still feel like my angle control is a guess. That said, the chapter on blade geometry finally explained why my cheap knife keeps chipping, and the troubleshooting table is genuinely useful. The business chapter felt out of place for me, but I can see a repair shop using it. Decent reference, not the final word.
Carol Campbell
★★★★★Twenty years of making oboe reeds and I never understood why my knives dulled unevenly until I read the steel metallurgy section. This is the first book that treats reed knives like the precision tools they are. The sharpening chapter alone is worth the price—I rebuilt my setup the same week and noticed the difference immediately. This is going next to my workbench, not on a shelf.
Nancy Anderson
★★★★★As a band director who teaches reed-making to high schoolers, I've bought way too many cheap knives trying to save money. The selection chapter saved me from another bad purchase. The comparisons between blade shapes and bevel angles are clear and honest, and the maintenance section is practical enough that I've started having my advanced students read it before they touch a stone. Highly recommend.
Eric Wright
★★★★★Good, thorough coverage of the basics, better than any forum thread I've found. I appreciated that it didn't hype up expensive knives and actually gave concrete numbers on bevel angles and steel hardness. Knocked off a star because the future trends chapter felt a bit speculative—could have used more hard data on synthetic reed adoption. Still, I've already changed how I strop because of this book.
David Scott
★★★★★The chapter on types and specifications is exactly what I needed. I repair band instruments part-time and I had no idea the knife I was using for clarinet reeds was actually a bassoon-style blade. The business opportunities chapter gave me a realistic path to add sharpening services to my shop without a huge investment. The writing is dry but that's kind of what you want in a reference like this.
Jonathan Wright
★★★★★Solid, practical book. I've been playing sax for 15 years and making reeds for 3, and I learned a lot about why my strokes were inconsistent. The grip and technique illustrations described in the text were clear enough to follow. I'd have liked more photos, but the descriptive prose works. The troubleshooting section for rolled edges saved a knife I was about to throw away. Four stars because I think the FAQ chapter is a bit thin.
Betty Moore
★★★★★Some good information tucked in here, but I felt the book was written more for repair professionals than home hobbyists. The business and reselling chapters took up space that could have gone into more detail on sharpening, which is the hardest skill to learn. Also, the section on synthetic reeds comes across as an afterthought, which deserves more attention given how common they've become. Fine as an overview, but I expected more depth.