R. Sleigh Draw Scraper for Brass Reed Tuning
I've tried every way to drop the pitch of harmonica reeds - abrasive wheels and nibs, sanding wands, scratching the reed diagonally with a file, razor blades, and God knows what else, and nothing beats this draw scraper for brass reeds in most situations.
I've also been using this tool lately to tune reeds up as well as down. In other words, you can use this scraper at the tip of a reed as well as at the base of a reed, and do all of your fine tuning with this one tool instead of going back and forth with files.
This Version of the draw scraper is made from 3/32" square steel stock and is about 5 1/2". The square stock has smooth radiused edges and feels comfortable to hold and use.
- it does not need batteries or a place to plug in a power chord
- it removes mill marks on brass reeds and this makes them resist stress fractures
- it responds to a very light touch for fine tuning, but will also remove metal fast with a heavier stroke to make quick and big pitch drops
- you can drop the itch of blow reeds on diatonic harmonicas without taking the harmonica apart.
The draw scraper has a razor sharp edge that peels off a ribbon of brass as you pull the edge toward you. This version of the draw scraper has a 3/32” wide blade that fits easily the holes in the mouthpiece of diatonic harmonicas. You can drop the pitch of blow reeds without taking the reed plates off of the comb. It gives you complete control over removing brass from the end of the reed near the rivet.
It does not fit inside of the slot of reed plates like the version I used to sell, but it is much easier to sharpen than the old 1/16th" version of the draw scraper.
This draw scraper is made of heat treated high carbon steel that is cut and precision ground and then hand sharpened to a razor sharp edge. The super sharp edge peels off a thin brass ribbon easily.
Please don't use this tool on stainless steel reeds - the extra hardness of stainless steel causes the edge of the scraper to break down.
