I serously hate these things at the moment, so i bought a scraping knife, plaque and book to try and teach myself how to scrap them as I always get reeds that are either flat or sharp. I can never seem to find one that is in tune!
So does anyone know any good sites or anything to help me! I've had a go and I seem to just make a right mess of the reed and it turns out to have an uneven surface and everything! I'm starting to think that I can't use the knife right!

I know this is probably not what you want to hear but I think the best thing is to find someone to show you. If you're having lessons, can't your teacher help you?

It's really hard to learn from a book; it's fairly hard to learn from a person, but at least you can try and copy your teacher's technique, and they can watch you to tell you where you're going wrong.

And only practice on some rubbish reeds that you'd otherwise throw away, until you've got the knack!

Having said that, scraping a reed is not going to change the pitch of it much. It could be tied on too short or too long (although it shouldn't be if you've bought it from a reputable maker), it could be too open or too closed, or it could be something wrong with your technique...

I'm hating reeds at the moment too not so much for tuning but for tone I just can't seem to find one that "just works"...I know it's probably just me, but it's soooo frustrating!!
I too have thought about learning to make my own reeds, but, a) time and b) horror stories of it being rather hit and miss have put me off a bit

How old are you, ChevvyChev, and what level of playing are you at? I'd say if you were 15+, and grade 8+ standard, you should definitely think about making your own reeds - I started a few months ago and it's definitely worth it. If not, then just keep trying lots of reedmakers until you find one you can live with!

I'm 19 (twenteen in 2 weeks ) and about grade 7ish...I'd love to be able to do it, but I don't have a clue where to start...maybe it should be one of my goals to start making them before I go off to uni....incidentally is it cheaper/more expensive to make your own?
Sorry, I've hijacked the thread a bit!

I'd say you should have a go. Ask your oboe teacher to show you the basics. (And if they don't make their own reeds, do a Google search for any reedmakers who might live in your area, or another oboe teacher who might step in - you only really need one or two lessons.)

At the beginning it's more expensive, as you have to buy all the gear, but eventually you'll have paid those off and will be making a reed for about a quid or two! You don't need to start from absolute scratch, ie. with a big chunk of cane, as then you'll need horrendously expensive gouging and shaping tools; but buying gouged and shaped cane from Howarths is good enough.

Thanks, I might have a look into it...good idea for birthday present...some reed making stuff *pictures parents face ----> *

Is it really fiddly and time consuming or do you find once you've done a few it gets easier/quicker with practice?

Fiddly: yes, you feel like you need 4 extra hands when tying on. Time consuming: it should be, at the beginning, if you're being careful, otherwise you're probably rushing things and doing them wrong! It does get easier, but expect to make 10 duff reeds at least before they start getting better. If you scrape yours already to improve them, that'll help. Having said that, I've got the hang of it quicker than I expected - I expected 100 duff reeds first!