[Harp-L] Richard Sleigh's reed scraper; Review by Neil Graham

["Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Reeders,
                        Australian harp technician Neil Graham asked me to post this, his review of a reed scraping tool made by Richard Sleigh, to harp-l.
For anyone not familiar with Neil's name, you might like to visit his website: http://neilgraham.com.au/ 
                       Aside from his harp work, Neil's background as a "boilermaker, welder & fitter, specialising in machine building & general blacksmith" , means he's well qualified to review a metal-working tool.
                       Here's what he has to say:


"Richard Sleigh has produced a draw scraper and is offering them for sale. Here is the ultimate reed scraper for harmonica players who seek to tune their own instruments, or for someone like myself who makes a living as a full time technician/customiser.
Like everything Richard does this tool has class. It comes supplied with a pin vice which serves as a handle. When the scraper tool shank is fitted to the vice the whole thing has a nice feel and a good balance. It feels good in the hand.
The tip of the tool is of a width that allows easy access to the rivet end of the blow reeds whilst the harmonica is still fully assembled. Thus enabling the retuning of a blow reed or reeds that are sharper in pitch than is desired.
What impresses me a lot is the length of time it takes for the edge to become blunt. My personal Richard Sleigh scraper is having a hard life. I have used it now for many months on an almost daily basis. It has scraped hundreds of reeds and seldom requires sharpening. This saves me time.           
I know that Richard provides a sharpening service for  these scrapers. If I was not a full time                                                                                                                            technician with the stones and some expertise, I would definitely take advantage of this service. Unless one is experienced in the sharpening of precision tools I would not recommend attempting to sharpen these scrapers.
The material for the tool stock is an air hardened tool steel and the tool profiles are cut from plate. The cutting edge is honed to razor sharpness by Richard prior to sale.
Over the years I have tried and tested many different tool steels for suitability as stock for reed scrapers. My own scrapers have all been consigned to the back of the bench and will probably never be used again. They are good scrapers but require a lot more attention to keep them sharp. Richards choice of steel has saved me a lot of time and is by far the best 
that I have come across thus far.
When new, or newly sharpened, the slightest pressure is enough to remove brass from the reed. A slight increase in pressure and more brass is peeled from the reed surface. One can do very fine work with this very fine tool.
For my part, the benefits are huge. Time saved is money saved. This is a  top of the range, professionally designed tool."
Neil Graham          16/10/07