What Tools Should I Start With?

Starting your reed making journey can feel overwhelming at first. There are so many tools, gadgets, and opinions out there that it is easy to wonder:

“Do I really need all of this?”
“Where am I even supposed to begin?”

The good news is that you do not need a giant collection of tools to start making meaningful progress. Great reed making is not about owning everything right away – it is about learning to work carefully, consistently, and confidently with a few essential tools.

Every experienced reed maker started exactly where you are now: learning how reeds respond, discovering what small adjustments can do, and slowly building the skills to shape their own sound. The tools in this guide are the ones that will help you begin that process with clarity and control.

Think of this as the foundation of your workshop – the core tools that will teach you how reeds work and give you the confidence to take charge of your own playing and reed making future.

Let’s look at the tools that make the most sense for your first steps into reed making.

Adjusting Tools

Pliers

First things first, every bassoonist needs a pair of bassoon pliers.
Why?
Every change you make with them can be reversed. You can use the pliers to open and close both the tip and the volume inside the reed by pressing on different sides of the wires. The round cutout will also be useful later on your journey when forming the tube.

Holding Mandrel

A holding mandrel makes is easy to hold onto our small reeds. Designed to hold your reeds and still allow ample space inside the reed 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.

Plaque

A plaque is crucial, as it separates the blades and gives us a solid backing while working on one side of the reed. This keeps us from accidentally scraping the opposite blade, as well as a solid reference surface behind the blade we are currently working on.

Sanding Stick

Sanding is one of the primary ways we adjust our reeds. It is less aggressive than a knife, and we can more quickly and easily learn that even small adjustments make a big difference. A sanding stick with a ribbon of sandpaper means we always have clean sandpaper on hand and can use the pointed end to work in specific areas.

File

Similar to the sanding stick, a half-round diamond file gives us the ability to work either larger areas or specific spots with a flat side, a round side, or the tapered tip. Whether adding channels to our reeds, smoothing out unevenness, or doing a general pass over the reed, a diamond file is a must-have.

Measuring Tools

Reed Journal

A Reed Journal is a crucial tool, as it helps us keep track of changes we make to our reeds. Make a change in how the reeds are built, and keep track of how that affected our reeds. See how your reeds develop over time, which changes were positive, or write down how others make their reeds in order to learn and try other ideas.

Dial Indicator

A Dial Indicator, or micrometer, helps us stay honest. A lot of reed making is done by feel, but how do you develop that feel? By measuring reeds you would like to emulate and comparing with what you are doing. Even experienced reed makers benefit from double-checking with the dial indicator and avoid accidentally scraping in the wrong part of the reed.

Calipers

Calipers are considerably more accurate than rulers, and help us make sure our overall dimensions are correct. Use them to measure your reeds, or someone else's, make sure the wires are in the correct positions, compare shapes, etc. The uses are endless, and they come in handy when adjusting machines later in our reed making journey.

With these tools in hand, you have everything you need to begin learning how reeds respond and how small adjustments shape your sound. As your skills grow, so will your toolkit, your understanding, and your confidence. For more techniques, guides, and reed making resources, explore our books and growing collection of articles here on Reedolino.

2026年07月02日

Guide Bassoon