What Are All These Bassoon Mandrels?
Our mandrels offer a wide range of functions and applications. To give you a quick overview, we have prepared this concise guide for you. It provides information on our forming mandrels, functional mandrels, and the various available handle options. Whether you’re looking for the right forming mandrel, a tool to bring your reeds back to life mid-performance, or a fully equipped, interchangeable mandrel system, you’ll find the product that best meets your needs here. With this guide, choosing the ideal tool for your workflow becomes quicker and more intuitive.
Forming Mandrels
These mandrels are used when forming the blank. Their primary purpose is to give shape to the inside of the tube as you form and dry your blanks. The choice of forming mandrel can greatly affect the performance of a reed by providing a different internal structure.
Standard
The classic forming mandrel.
The forming mandrel is 2.3 mm wide at the tip and has a two-part progression towards the back to allow the reeds to be gently opened from the inside.
Ideal for smaller shapes and those who prefer reeds which are less round in the area of the first two wires.
PLUS
For those who prefer a more rounded throat we have developed, together with Prof. David Petersen, the forming mandrel PLUS. The tip is 3.2 mm wide, which helps give reeds a larger and rounder throat opening.
Ideal for wider shapes and those who prefer a larger inner cavity in the their reeds.
US
This forming mandrel US is inspired by the forming mandrels designed by Don Christlieb.
The mandrel includes several engraved lines: one to mark the recommended position for forming the tube, and one which marks a recommended position after beveling. The mandrel has also been extended to include a third line for contrabassoon reeds.
Contrabassoon
The parabolic forming mandrel for contrabassoon reeds is the ideal forming mandrel. It provides key thicknesses at the back of the reed as well as throughout the tube.
The tip of the mandrel is small enough to fit between the pieces of cane after folding allow you to use one mandrel to form the tubes from start to finish.
Functional Mandrels
While all mandrels are themselves functional, these mandrels are designed for specific tasks outside of those outlined above. They were designed by and in collaboration with bassoonists all over the world to make certain tasks easier, repeatable, and precise.
Holding
Available for both bassoon and contrabassoon, this mandrel is often the first mandrel a bassoonist purchases. Designed to hold your reeds and still allow ample space for a plaque, the holding mandrel gives you ultimate control of your work while keeping your fingers at a safe distance from any knives you may be using.
Anti-Crack
Gone are the days of inserting your forming mandrel all the way into the shaft to round the back end of your reed. The Anti-Crack Mandrel allows you for form only the back of the shaft while keeping the throat flat. This prevents cracks from spreading into the blade.
This enables you to then gently open the throat of the reed only the desired amount with your forming mandrel of choice.
Tip Opener
This mandrel is designed to return the tip opening to its original dimensions. This mandrel works by bypassing the tube and opening the space between the blades of the reed from the inside. This allows you to open up the inside of the reed again without the need for drastic adjustments with pliers.
This mandrel will rejuvenate flattened reeds even mid-performance with one quick push.
Handle Styles
After choosing a mandrel for its function there remains the additional choice of handle style. Choose for comfort or function from the variety of handle styles available.
Classic
These ergonomic handles are made of beech wood and offer plenty of space for a firm grip.
COMPACT
This smaller handle is designed for musicians who travel a lot, have smaller hands, or are just looking for a smaller handle on their reed making tools. It offers space savings while still providing enough handle to have a solid grip on the tool.
Interchangable
In addition to the two fixed handle solutions, we also offer all our mandrels as part of our modular mandrel series. These tips can be used with our three styles of handles for interchangeable mandrels.
Classic
Using the same wooden handle as the fixed solutions, these handles come with a vice grip to hold your mandrels while you use them.
COMPACT
This vice grip is also available in the COMPACT handles, allowing for full flexibility and maximum compactness.
ERGO
Our line of handles for the interchangeable mandrels is completed by two sizes of ERGO handles. These round handles enable a looser hold, so your fingers do not have to close as much when holding the mandrel. This reduces cramping, and the flat segment keeps the mandrel from rolling off the reed desk.
Drying Board
An added advantage of the interchangeable mandrel system is the ability to leave the reed on the forming mandrels, take the mandrel out of the handle, and place it in our wooden drying rack base. This allows the reeds to fully dry on the mandrel exactly where you formed them, ensuring perfect tube shape every time.
March 30, 2026
Guide Bassoon