Tech/maintenance Abalone key pearls

[Dr G]

Now this fellow seems very intriguing. I may be taking a road trip to Montreal.

https://woodandwinds.com/products/saxophone-palm-key-risers?variant=40832245956652

Snakewood (Brosimum guianense) has a Janka Hardness of 3,800 lbf (16,900 N), making it one of the hardest and densest commercial woods in the world.

Mmmm, once you start that path, there are many interesting decorative woods. Spalted maple, purple heart, flamed koa…. Yumm.

 

[turf3]

The thing about wood for keytouches is that it's porous. At least with my skin, anything porous that I handle a lot, gets pretty gunky and unappealing after a few years. Sax key pearls get that way, too, but a quick swipe with some alcohol on a paper towel cleans them right up.

Like I said, I don't understand why one wouldn't just use plain ol' MOP, available for short money from a variety of sources. Oysters are pretty common. Heck, I remember when I worked down the street from the oyster bar, and the parking lot for three or four buildings was paved with shells. Whenever another pothole would open up, they'd just dump a few more buckets of shells in it.

 

[Tonehole]

• • Julius Keilwerth 100th Anniversary SX90R / Anniversary Editions: Keilwerth has incorporated ebony wood for key touches and the octave thumb button on milestone models (such as their anniversary and 100-year editions) paired with black nickel-plated or custom body finishes.
  • Rampone & Cazzani ("Two Voices" & Solista Series): This Italian artisan maker features olive wood key touches on specific configurations, such as the Two Voices (bronze body with sterling silver bell) and Solista lines.
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    Ishimori Wood Stone New Vintage Saxophone$7,340.64
    • Standout Feature: Despite the "Wood Stone" brand name, this is a premium, Japanese-engineered metal horn highly regarded for custom luxury touches.
    • Design Detail: Features premium ebonite thumb rests and custom side touches meant to invoke a vintage, earthy feel.
    Seems the premium makers are using wood touches to set them apart.

 

[Dr G]

• • Julius Keilwerth 100th Anniversary SX90R / Anniversary Editions: Keilwerth has incorporated ebony wood for key touches and the octave thumb button on milestone models (such as their anniversary and 100-year editions) paired with black nickel-plated or custom body finishes.
  • Rampone & Cazzani ("Two Voices" & Solista Series): This Italian artisan maker features olive wood key touches on specific configurations, such as the Two Voices (bronze body with sterling silver bell) and Solista lines.
  • 
    View attachment 37688
    Ishimori Wood Stone New Vintage Saxophone$7,340.64
    • Standout Feature: Despite the "Wood Stone" brand name, this is a premium, Japanese-engineered metal horn highly regarded for custom luxury touches.
    • Design Detail: Features premium ebonite thumb rests and custom side touches meant to invoke a vintage, earthy feel.
    Seems the premium makers are using wood touches to set them apart.

I agree with Turf3 that the wood touches are going to gunk up with use - especially when the player's hands get sweaty.

As far as the Ishimori features, I see "ebonite" - not ebony. That's just another name for the material used for HR mouthpieces.

FWIW, for those looking for alternative materials, Martin Wenner uses a faux ivory on his flutes that look like the real deal - very dense with subtle striations. It still won't have the tactile surface of nacre - that only comes with natural shell products that contain the magical mixture of hexagonal platelets of crystallized calcium carbonate in a matrix of conchiolin.

And yes, as Turf3 noted, oyster shell is abundant in the industry. I visited an oyster rejuvenation project at Horn Point Lab in August and was very impressed with their progress.

https://hatchery.hpl.umces.edu/

Those tanks in the images on the front page of their website are full of shell used as substrate for future generations of oysters. It's fascinating to learn their method of seeding and propagating young oysters. Take a moment to read about it.

 

[Tonehole]

I like the idea of hard rubber touches as well, I mentioned earlier I once saw a silver Selmer alto with hard rubber touches. It looked very cool and felt good in the hands.
I would assume wiping down the horn and touches once in awhile would deal with any gunk.

As an aside wood handled hand tools have stood up to millenniums of use until synthetics came along. I have my great Grandfathers hand wood planer he brought from England with him, hard used and lovely to grip very comforting to hold. That Oak handled planer saw a lot of sweat in its day I am certain. You would pay a high premium for a wood handled wood hand saw these days. Japanese wood working tools and premium chisels are all wood and last generations. You sweat more it seems to me when using a plastic handled tool like a hack saw.

 

[Tonehole]

Raw or Textured Wood: Many traditional carpenters and woodworkers prefer unfinished or lightly oiled wood handles because they maintain a natural, secure grip even during heavy perspiration
The "No-Finish" Approach: Some woodworkers strip the factory lacquer off new tool handles completely and leave them bare or lightly sanded. Raw wood handles provide the absolute best grip when hands are sweating, as the wood naturally breathes and pulls the moisture away from your palms.

Many canoe racers and long-distance paddlers specifically seek out unvarnished or oiled grips and shafts to improve their hold and prevent skin damage.
While professional marathon racers today mostly use high-tech carbon fiber paddles, those who use high-end wooden paddles heavily rely on unvarnished or oil-only handles.
Racers prioritise unvarnished wooden grips for several critical reasons:
Raw wood is naturally porous. When your hands sweat or river water splashes onto the handle, unvarnished wood absorbs trace amounts of that surface moisture. This keeps the handle from becoming slick. In contrast, water pools on top of a varnished handle, making it slippery and forcing the racer to squeeze tighter—which causes forearm fatigue
Instead of leaving the wood completely bare to element rot, custom paddle makers and racers will finish just the grip and shaft with a light coat of boiled linseed oil or tung oil. This protects the wood from warping while preserving the organic, textured feel of the timber. Over time, the natural oils from the paddler's own hands permanently condition the grip.

I use almond oil on my clarinets and after decades no build up of gunk.

 

[Stephen Howard]

Raw or Textured Wood: Many traditional carpenters and woodworkers prefer unfinished or lightly oiled wood handles because they maintain a natural, secure grip even during heavy perspiration
The "No-Finish" Approach: Some woodworkers strip the factory lacquer off new tool handles completely and leave them bare or lightly sanded. Raw wood handles provide the absolute best grip when hands are sweating, as the wood naturally breathes and pulls the moisture away from your palms.

I've never had any issues with wood 'gunking up'. In fact the cleanest places on a well-used clarinet are where the fingers touch the wood. Around those areas is a different matter, but that's true of touchpieces on saxes.
The grip on my recurve bow is wooden (made it out of African walnut). After three years of heavy use it positively gleams.
Ditto many of the handles on my tools - including the tailstock locking lever on my lathe. If ever there was an application where you need a good grip in the presence of oils and grease, this is it.

Likewise custom thumb rests. I nearly always make these out of wood - typically a tropical hardwood, but I've done a few in oak.

If the wood is for utility purposes I never apply a finish. That's reserved for ornaments and furniture - for which I've switched from an oil finish to a hard wax one in recent years (it better preserves the natural colour of the wood).

As for cleaning bare wood, in the trade we can use meths mixed with a non-drying oil (almond or peanut) - but simply rubbing it with 0000 grade steel wool does the job nicely.

 

[turf3]

I have to admit, all my woodworking tools with wood handles are not showing accumulations of gunk. So I don't know. Maybe that claim I made is bunk.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I have my great Grandfathers hand wood planer he brought from England with him, hard used and lovely to grip very comforting to hold.

I remember my grandfathers toolbox with stuff like that. I now wish I got it when I had the chance but it probably all got thrown out when he died.

 

[skeller047]

I bought some key touches once on EBay, to replace the awful cheap plastic things on my awful cheap soprano. They were “stone”, I suspect they were actually dust from grinding decorative stone bound together with epoxy. At the very least there was some kind of binder in them.

In any case, they feel very good, not as good as real MOP, but a serious step above the plastic crap that was in there. And they were not expensive - $10 or $15 for a full set. I think Cannonball saxes use a similar material for their stone touches.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I think Cannonball saxes use a similar material for their stone touches.

I always thought they used real stones.

 

[Dr G]

I always thought they used real stones.

+1 … because REAL stone resonates SO much better.

I know it’s true because I read it on the ‘net.

Cannonball Saxophones - Stone Series, Vintage Reborn, Sceptyr, Alcazar, Gerald Albright Signature Series

cannonballmusic.com

 

[Tonehole]

I just did a quick ask of AI so take it at face value but shockingly here is the response.
"Snakewood wears significantly better than abalone shell. [1]
While both are organic materials and are naturally softer than metal, snakewood is physically tougher, denser, and far more scratch-resistant than raw abalone."

I bought some key touches once on EBay, to replace the awful cheap plastic things on my awful cheap soprano. They were “stone”, I suspect they were actually dust from grinding decorative stone bound together with epoxy. At the very least there was some kind of binder in them.

In any case, they feel very good, not as good as real MOP, but a serious step above the plastic crap that was in there. And they were not expensive - $10 or $15 for a full set. I think Cannonball saxes use a similar material for their stone touches.

Skeller very perceptive! This makes perfect sense they likely just mould them in bulk, they are not cold to the touch as one would expect stone to be. Whatever it is I don't like the feel. 😎

They do the same type of opaque marketing on their engraving as Dr G enlightened me a few years ago.
The Cannonball soprano and alto I just bought have additional factory hand engraving the tenor does not but is a 2026 horn and not even set up yet.
I will discuss engraving with Mike Brokvic at Woods & Winds. At the fire sale price I bought these horns I can afford to bling them up as I intend to use them as show horns.

The soprano even comes with Lagan wrist saver. Owner is a Nashville musician who has moved on to Rampone & Cazzanito as he wanted even more flash. In conversation he said the sop is a beast and he hates to let it go but it was a quick package deal to make a payment.

 

[Pete Thomas]

+1 … because REAL stone resonates SO much better.

I remember playing a baritone with stones at the Cannonball stand at Musikmesse. It sounded good but then a big stone fell off the horn and…it sounded just the same.

 

[Tuppertn]

Ah, bologna key pearls

 

[Tonehole]

They may feel a little squishy! Do that with Life savers and you may get some sales!