The original CHANG昌 Series knife preferred by professional double reed players across the United States.
CHANG昌 Series knives (pronounced "chong") are named after Chang-Fa Liu, who is a double reed educator, master toolmaker, metallurgist, and father of LC Double Reeds co-founder Xiaodi Liu. The Chinese translation for the word "chang" or "昌" is "prosperous" or "flourishing", both of which are traits that they hope these knives bring to your reed-making.
These knives are perfectly balanced so that the center of gravity is placed at the index finger. This ensures maximum control for the user without having to apply extra pressure from the arm or wrist.
Thoughtfully designed handle size and shape fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, without having to put your hand in an unnatural position.
These knives have been designed with maximum structural stability in mind. Using arch shaped curves inspired by classical architecture when grinding the CHANG昌 Double-Hollow ground knife, this ensures that the cutting edge of the knife, while quite thin, will stand up to even the hardest, densest pieces of cane that you put underneath it.
Have you ever used a knife that was mostly good, but was very difficult to sharpen to the perfect burr? LC Double Reeds has addressed that. The composition of the metals that they use are designed to be easy to sharpen and hold an edge. Their knives are designed to stay thinner for longer, to have a longer life over many sharpenings.
The extremely durable leather sheaths that they provide with their knives are equipped with a loop and button to secure the knife in the sheath, so that no matter how bumpy the ride, the knife will not become unsheathed in your instrument case or tool bag. No more worrying about cutting your hands when reaching into your instrument case!
Some knife companies use the same wood and varnish for all of their knife handles. At LC Double Reeds, all of the wood they use for their knife handles is hand selected, and varnished in such a way to accentuate the wood's natural beauty, making each knife handle unique, while maintaining precise consistency in our handle shapes and blades.
Chang-Fa Liu is an Oboist, Bassoonist, and well known double reed educator in China's Shandong province. Sensing a need for quality reed-making equipment, Mr. Liu educated himself in many facets of tool-making, and has designed and created his own reed equipment for decades. In this new and unique knife design, LC Double Reeds has drawn inspiration from and collaborated directly with Mr. Liu to create a perfectly balanced, structurally stable knife that is easy to sharpen and designed to stand the test of time, while giving maximum control to the user.
Download a pdf User's Guide.
Jury still out on this one. I think the quality of the handle and all the rest of the materials, including the sheath (fabulous) is fantastic. I'm having trouble sharpening it but I'm not used to the blade, so I'm going to say that's my fault. This knife is definitely worth a try.
Very well-built quality handle great support from Hoge and LC double reeds
