Oboe & Bassoon Reed Accessories and Tools: Beginner's Guide

If you have been playing oboe and bassoon for a few years and are ready to start adjusting your reeds, make sure you have this list of essential oboe and bassoon reed accessories and adjusting tools. If you are just getting started and aren't quite ready to adjust your own reeds, check out this guide on the essential items you need in your first year of playing.

Table of Contents

Essential Oboe and Bassoon Reed Accessories Adjusting Tool List Overview

• Reed Knife

• Plaque

• Cutting Block

• Sharpening Stone

• Mandrel

• Razor Blades and/or Tip Cutter

• Rag or piece of old shirt (for scraping/stone)

• Tuner (for checking pitch)

• Reed Making Book (optional, but helpful!)

Oboe and Bassoon Knife

• Rigotti Reed Knife Beveled Edge (Rh or Lh) or Double Hollow Ground Knife

Plaque (consider buying a couple in case you lose one)

• Oboe: Flat Blue Steel Oboe Plaque (with rounded tips)

• Bassoon: Plastic or Wood Contoured Bassoon Plaque

Cutting Block

• Wood Reed Cutting Block 1 ¼” diameter

Oboe and Bassoon Reed Knife Sharpening Stones and Tools

• India Pocket Stone (for on-the-go use)

• Norton 1-by-2-by-8-Inch Fine/Coarse India Combination stone

• Honing Oil/Lighter Fluid (to clean the stone only)

Mandrel

• Oboe: Oboe Mandrel

• Bassoon: Rigotti Short Bassoon Mandrel or Fox Short Bassoon Mandrel

Razor Blades (oboe)/Tip Cutter (bassoon)*

• Razor Blades, 100 Pack

• Bassoonists often prefer a Tip Cutter

*you can use the end of your knife to cut the tip of a reed, however this will wear your knife out sooner, risk causing chips in your knife, and won’t result in the necessary precision

Sandpaper (bassoon only)

• 400-Grit Wet/Dry Sandpaper and 1500 Grit Wet/Dry Sandpaper

Needle Nose Pliers (bassoon and English horn only)

• Long Nose Pliers with Wire Cutter

Other Reed Making Tools (necessary when you start tying your own reeds)

• Oboe: FF Nylon Thread, 47 mm Brass Staples, Gouged/Shaped/Folded Practice Cane, Beeswax, Ruler

• Bassoon: Forming Mandrel (long mandrel), Cotton Twine, FF Nylon Thread, Drying Rack, Exacto Knife, Easel, Gouged/Shaped/Profiled Practice Cane, Duco Cement, 22 Gauge Wire

Oboe and Bassoon Reed Making Books

• Oboe reed making books on Amazon

• Bassoon Reed Making by Mark Popkin and Loren Glickman

Oboe and Bassoon Tool Kit Suggestions

• If you are looking for a great oboe reed making kit on Amazon, buy the Reed Pros Oboe Reed Making Kit Standard-PLUS. Be sure to also purchase a sharpening stone!

• For a reed adjusting kit, check out the oboe tool kit at Hodge or the Rigotti Bassoon Tool Wallet Kit on Amazon.