Put Cork Grease on Reeds?

[JamesWipplinger]

Yo, I somehow found this video of of guy who rubs cork grease on his reeds. Whats the point? On my new reeds I rub my finger from the thick end to the tip to close any pores and to make it nice and smooth but in this video he goes the other derection.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKxxBruSD1c&feature=fvsr

[hakukani]

Yuck! I don't even like putting cork grease on corks!

[bandmommy]

Good way to get a little contact dermatitis if you're allergic/sensitive to any of the ingredients.
I've seen girls lips swell up and blister from using cork grease as chapstick. Not pretty...

[clarnut]

I've seen girls lips swell up and blister from using cork grease as chapstick. Not pretty...

[soybean]

Haha! ya got me.

[marton]

So that's what happened!

[cpete]

Good way to get a little contact dermatitis if you're allergic/sensitive to any of the ingredients.
I've seen girls lips swell up and blister from using cork grease as chapstick. Not pretty...

Hell I thought that was collagen.

[JamesWipplinger]

Yah, I think puting cork grease on my lips is the last thing I'd want to do on this planet!

[RandyJ]

It amazes me how many strange rituals are performed on reeds...and of course they are all "the very best thing you can do for a reed". I think two of my favorites are nose grease and ear wax...yea baby!

[jthole]

Sounds like a bad way to seal them indeed.

[dorono]

Wow, yuck! Even if that did work, I'd rather practice the extra hours to not have to resort to such an icky measure.

[bari_sax_diva]

No idea what the point is, but it sure sounds gross.

The lesson you should probably take from this is to cast a skeptical eye on any sax-related stuff you hear that sounds weird. Years ago, a friend whose daughter was taking lessons on sax for the first time told me that the teacher told her never to use cork grease on corks, as it would cause them to break down. Hmm. So I pointed out that it's far cheaper to replace a cork than to replace a pulled-down saxophone neck. People put their faith in VERY odd things.

[milandro]

I've heard that elbow grease really helps your playing........

[RS]

"...elbow grease..." Good one, milandro.

[Bill Bryant]

I've worked out a deal with Rico. The more I practice, the more good reeds they send me.

[jimmitch]

I just dip them in rum and I'm good to go.

[ffshoe]

Hmmmmm, I watched the youtube clip. I have never used cork grease for chap stick but I have used chp stick for cork grease when I had to! LOL We were taught to seal reeds in college as part of the preparing process. However, we didn't use cork grease nor did we rub against the pores. We rubbed hard down the pores to the tip, just as we did if we did any fine sanding. We were taught to never go towards the pores doing any work. Now, for a little grease to help seal we were told we could just wipe a little oil off of our forheads, a little body oil was fine to help seal them but never cork grease. And as far as sticking it in his mouth to wet it and then play, no, we soaked ours in water for a few minutes.

[differencetone]

He was using Chapstick not cork grease which is similar. Maybe that's what he uses for cork grease. It certainly would not make your lips swell up.

I'm thinking about trying it with some beeswax Chapstick I have. It seems like it would make more sense to soak it in water first though because if it is covered with wax, the water won't get in. Maybe you don't need water this way.

[ffshoe]

Yo, I somehow found this video of of guy who rubs cork grease on his reeds. Whats the point? On my new reeds I rub my finger from the thick end to the tip to close any pores and to make it nice and smooth but in this video he goes the other derection.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKxxBruSD1c&feature=fvsr

Thought about this again today so I went back and watched the video a couple more times. This must be his last step in preparing a reed. looked to see if he had anymore videos for reed care and didn't see any. Sealing a reed is actually the last step and it needs to have moisture first, it's like putting on lotion after you shower you want to seal the moisture in. I watched closely and it does appear it is a new reed so that confused me as well. I hope this isn't how he preps his reeds right out of the box! If he is sealing them dry then he won't get moisture in them and how do you play on a dry reed?

[Ronish]

So how do you play a Platicover reed, which is a Rico Royal. It is sealed, how does the moisture get in then? Well I put a protective film of lip grease on my lip side of the reed. It reduces the abrasiveness of some reeds during long playing sessions.