[Harp-L] breaking - in, looking for a metallurgist

[captron100@xxxxxxx]

 Vern wrote: 

There is an effect called "coaxing" that occurs in iron and mild steel but not in non-ferrous alloys.  A long period of 
cycling at low stress followed by long periods of increased stress at successively higher levels can increase fatigue 
life.  However those conditions are not met by harmonica break-in because the reeds are not mild steel, the break-in period 
is short, and there are no successive long periods of gradually increasing stress......snip.....However, if anyone can find any 
reliable information on a similar effect in copper alloys, it would support the contention that harmonica break-in works.  I'm hoping for a response from 
a metallurgist.

I am posting this in one more effort to have a metallurgist reply.  
 Was it said that breaking in a steel reed instrument like the Seydel 1847 might be a working phenomenon? 
  I once had a conversation with a guy who gives well known u tubevideo harp instructions, in response to a comment he made in one of hisinstructionals re breaking in a new harp.  The same guy once said that the only thing to do with a harp that has had a reed go bad, is to stomp them into the ground!  In an effort to enlightenhim I told him that the knowledgeable people on harp L say thatbreaking in a harp is not a really a fact.  He replied that evidentlythese people who say that are not experienced harp players because heknows from his own experience that a his new harps have played betterafter playing 3 straight hours of playing them.  I replied that sincehe played wood combed Marine Bands, the reason for his experience was that thehumidity from his breath swelled the wood slightly and increased airtightness.  Iirc, I don't think he replied and I left it at that. 
Ron