Hodge Silk Clarinet Swab - Blue

A great little cloth, I use it for my shakuhachi, the weight at the end is perfect and so is the length of cord for my 1.6 shakuhachi.

Excellent quality. In my opinion, works so much better than most cotton and chamois swabs. I have two that I rotate every week or two for convenience. After playing, I just take off the clarinet mouthpiece and gently wipe off the inside with it. Run the swab through the rest of the instrument carefully once or twice and disassemble. I swab the mouthpiece separate from the rest of the clarinet and I've never had a problem with getting one stuck in my instrument.

Hodge silk swabs are the best. I'm an elementary band teacher and woodwind doubler, and I recommend and use these swabs for all of my woodwind instruments. They pull through the entire instrument easily and don't get stuck. The easier the instruments are to clean, the more likely students will actually clean them after they play.

This silk swab worked wonderfully straight out of the package. I've bought a lot of different swabs since I started the clarinet 25 years ago, and this is by far the best I've ever used. It's way more absorbent than the typical chamois. It's on a longer leader line making it easy to feed through the clarinet and the cloth itself if larger than other swabs but because it's silk it slips right through, taking the moisture with it. AND it doesn't get hung up inside the clarinet like other swabs do. I'd recommend this for anyone playing the clarinet, whether beginner or seasoned player.

I have another swab made of cotton by Buffet. It came with the Buffet E12F clarinet that I purchased. I thought I'd get another swab just so I can have more than one. Firstly I'd say that this silk swab from Hodge is nice and I don't mind using it. It is quite absorbent and seems to do a better job than my cotton swab. But, it could be better. Pros: absorbs moisture better than cotton it seems Cons: * I find the string and the metal weight at the end to be rougher than my buffet cotton one. I always fear that if I'm not not careful, pulling the string over the mouthpiece opening can probably ruin the MP inner edges due to the abrasiveness of the string. It's not terribly bad but it could be made of a softer material like my Buffet one. * While the metal weight at the end of the string seems not to have any sharp ends, I once again prefer how my buffet swab was made when it comes to this part. The buffet one encloses the metal weight within the string (the string is similar to a shoe string so the weight goes inside). This hodge swab on the other hand, has its metal weight exposed so you can probably bang it on to your clarinet and cause micro dents over time. Solution: just be super careful with this swab when using it. It would be awesome if they would redesign this and change the string / weight to be like buffet's. I still use this and prefer it to my buffet one. I might modify it and cover the metal weight with a heat shrink.

I ordered this because I wanted another one to match the other two blue ones I have. I have a different color for each different instrument, so I specifically ordered this because it said "Blue". It arrived today and it is not blue, but dark purple. These are great swabs and do the job for which they were intended. But, I really wanted a blue one. UPDATE: Seller took care of me and made it good. Thanks!!

I've tried cotton broadcloth, cotton felt, and now this silk swab - and I love this Hodge silk swab. The edges are so finely sewn that they never catch, and the metal tip on the string is coated in vinyl to keep it from damaging the bore. At first I thought the silk must be too thin & fine to be absorbent - I was wrong. This is the most absorbent of the swabs I've tried. For the joints, I just wad up multiple layers of the silk to wipe them out. At first I was worried that I would wear the fabric out quickly by doing this, but it has held up well over the past 4-5 months. And did I mention the silk dries super fast?!

Most middle-school kids will get a package of clarinet accessories when they first begin learning the clarinet. Yes, that accessory kit does include a swab, but it's exactly what you should expect in a "value-pack"---cheap, low-quality, barely absorbent. Immediately invest in several of these silk Hodge swabs and get your clarinet student off on the right path to caring for their instrument. The difference in absorbency between this product and cut-rate swabs is immense. The weight and cord are the right length and heft for dropping down the clarinet, and the material doesn't catch or snag as it pulls through. Why get several? Well, swabs by definition are absorbing---UGH---"moisture" from the inside of the clarinet. I prefer to have multiple swabs in rotation so they can be cleaned before they start growing legs and walking around the band hall. These are reasonably priced and your instrument wasn't cheap, why not take care of it?

It's really good. I mostly use it for swabbing the mouthpiece as the mouthpiece is very vulnerable, but this swab is so thin and smooth i think it's just perfect for it.

Perfect!

Great size and slides through my clarinet with ease; dries fast too.

This swab works great. I love it!