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[quote="VintageTechnologies"]Someone has been selling new bamboo needles on eBay for some time. He sells two different grades, and in various quantities. Once I use up my originals, I plan to buy his.

eBay # 252119411995 , 252104579965 , 252130931978[/quoteH

How often do you find that you need to sharpen them?

Clay

FloridaClay wrote:

VintageTechnologies wrote:Someone has been selling new bamboo needles on eBay for some time. He sells two different grades, and in various quantities. Once I use up my originals, I plan to buy his.

eBay # 252119411995 , 252104579965 , 252130931978[/quoteH

How often do you find that you need to sharpen them?

Clay

It depends on the worn condition of the groove and the recorded volume level. A good bamboo needle will play 3-4 sides of pristine discs, in my experience, before re-sharpening. The sound gradually gets muddied if the point gets too worn, but I doubt there's any groove damage as you would have with steel points.
Fiber sharpeners shave off just a bit of point surface with each cut, so one needle can be sharpened several times before it's too short. I make my own needles, and usually trim them after 1 or 2 sides.
Bob

Somebody here on the Forum said that collecting discarded Tiki torches give an excellent source for well cured bamboo for needles. Guess I'll have to be on the lookout.

Clay

Hmmmm....all very interesting. I hadn't heard they cause potential damage or trouble. I have some pristine records where I'd like to have my cake and eat it too...i.e. - listen often without excessive wear (thus my thinking bamboo might be the way to go...) Thanks for the replies, sirs!

VintageTechnologies wrote:Someone has been selling new bamboo needles on eBay for some time. He sells two different grades, and in various quantities. Once I use up my originals, I plan to buy his.

eBay # 252119411995 , 252104579965 , 252130931978

I have some of the newly made susudaki(sp?) bamboo needles from this eBay seller, the needles work just fine. I trim them after 1 or 2 sides just because I like a nice clean tip. I also have NOS bamboo needles that work just fine, and I trim them after 1 or 2 sides too. My records aren't exactly E+. I store the needles in small plastic containers with a desiccant pack in each. I think I have about 200 needles. I've been planning to buy some of the new US grown needles just for grins. My needle cutter is a Wade #2. On some of my better condition records, I think I get a couple more sides before trimming a new point.

I haven't noticed any friction/heat issues and no flames as of yet.

However, this might be what a steel needle does to a record... Iron Record

Retrograde wrote:

VintageTechnologies wrote:Someone has been selling new bamboo needles on eBay for some time. He sells two different grades, and in various quantities. Once I use up my originals, I plan to buy his.

eBay # 252119411995 , 252104579965 , 252130931978

I have some of the newly made susudaki(sp?) bamboo needles from this eBay seller, the needles work just fine. I trim them after 1 or 2 sides just because I like a nice clean tip. I also have NOS bamboo needles that work just fine, and I trim them after 1 or 2 sides too. My records aren't exactly E+. I store the needles in small plastic containers with a desiccant pack in each. I think I have about 200 needles. I've been planning to buy some of the new US grown needles just for grins. My needle cutter is a Wade #2.

I haven't noticed any friction/heat issues and no flames as of yet.

However, this might be what a steel needle does to a record... Iron Record

Just don't drop it on your foot

Henry wrote:Just don't drop it on your foot

A guy named "Steve" did that video, I think he went by stevedez on one of the past versions of the forum.

I got some classical records that had been damaged by some sort of natural needle. I washed the records when I got them and let them sit overnight. The first time I ran a steel needle through the grooves, it was like a rain gutter full of leaves. It took three plays to get all the schmutz out. Big gobs of nasty pulp. Finally, when it was clean, I discovered that the grooves were all pitted. The detritus in the grooves had harbored mold, and the mold had eaten into the shellac and pitted it. A real mess.

Bamboo and thorn needles will damage most discs made after the 30s. The compound used in the discs made for electric turntables was different than their predecessors and with some exceptions are more susceptible to groove damage caused by the overheating of the fibers. It's a matter of trial-and-error, but in general you can safely play Victor scrolls with thorn/bamboo, but not the later wartime Victors. Laminated Columbias resist well to fiber, however the problem there is the opposite: the needle will almost always wear out before the 3 minutes, unless the disc is in pristine condition. Some cheap brands from the 20s will also be damaged by fibers, like Gray Gull.

The damage caused by the thorn/bamboo is quite evident from the first play: chunks of the surface gray out immediately, and upon second play you can hear a louder background noise.

I keep using thorn needles, mostly the ones I buy from old stocks (and advertised as made from some Birmanian thorn now extinct), because I like the sound and they are particularly matched to the EMG and Expert (the orthophonic Credenza also plays well with them). I gave up on bamboos, having tried old stock and the Japanese that this guy sells on Ebay with the same bad results, being that rarely they resist through a whole side without distorting at some point before the end.

I think in general, steel needles are easier on any 78 as long as the tonearm is aligned and functioning smoothly. I can understand using organic needles if you like the sound and soft tone steel needles are too loud though. A rolled up sock in the horn works good for that too.