The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I play my machines pretty much every day and buy about 500 needles in a year. I've often wondered, why don't they make needles with a point on both ends so each needle can safely be used to play two songs? Anybody else every wonder the same thing? Did such needles every exist? Probably a stupid question but, I'm of the curious type.

Stephen

I was watching some youtube videos yesterday about making cactus and bamboo needles and wondering exactly the same thing.

They do make needle sharpeners with a sandpaper disc, however I have never tried one. Do they work? It's very similar to a mechanical drawing pencil sharpener, which is probably obsolete, but we used them in mechanical drawing class 50 years ago...

Stephen_Heatherly wrote:I play my machines pretty much every day and buy about 500 needles in a year. I've often wondered, why don't they make needles with a point on both ends so each needle can safely be used to play two songs? Anybody else every wonder the same thing? Did such needles every exist? Probably a stupid question but, I'm of the curious type.

Stephen

The Edison Bell Sympathetic Chromic needle was a small double pointed needle. It was inserted into a special holder or grip which was itself inserted into the needle socket of the soundbox. The volume of the gramophone could then be controlled by varying the length of needle exposed.