Metal fatigue
Hi, Kinya:
I recently received my repair toolkit from Richard Sleigh (he says hi!) and I wanted to try it out before the workshop in February. I was tuning a SP20 harmonica, about 3 years old and well used. The six blow was very out of tune (about 30 cents sharp). When I popped the reed up to begin working on it, it popped very far up-- maybe at a 30 degree angle from the reedplate-- and it didn't spring back. I was able to put it back in place, but the reed no longer played.
I suspect that this is a case of metal fatigue, as this is one of my first harmonicas from 3 years ago and it's in the key of A, so it got used all the time. Is this consistent with metal fatigue? What can I do to prevent this (or is this just an inevitability from the reeds vibrating so many times)?
Thanks,
Marc
Happy New Year Marc
Q: Is this consistent with metal fatigue?
A: Most definitely!
Q: What can I do to prevent this?
A: This is inevitable for harmonica reeds (spring metal) that bends back/forth, punishing the same spot--thousands of times. Heck--my shoulders are killing me, a day after I spent hours scraping off (with my arms above my head) the glued-on headboard from my cute little '68 Dodge A100 truck ;o)
Factoid: in the early 2000's, in an effort to increase the longevity of the Hohner harmonica reeds, then USA Hohner harmonica genius--Rick Epping, reshaped by hand an entire set of Hohner reeds to match the heritage Knittlinger Scale reed profiles. These "proof of concept" sample reeds were shipped to the engineers at the Hohner factory (Trossingan, Germany). Satisfied with the new reed shapes, along with the addition of more zinc (I believe) into the reed material, by 2007 the Knittlinger Scale reeds were incorporated into the entire Hohner harmonica line.
Long time Hohner harmonica aficionados will probably report that, although the new harmonica reeds last longer they don't sound or "feel" the same as the original reeds, citing a "spongy-ness" to the overall playability of the harmonica.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya