How do I work on saxophone reeds?

The Art of Saxophone Playing, by Larry Teal is a MUST have for any saxophone player. It has a section on reed theory and how to work on them. I have also seen some great articles in Saxophone Journal, but they basically repeat Larry Teal's advice. It takes practice working on reeds, there is a real feel to it and often you can tell just but looking and touching if the reed is any good or not. The reed should be equally thick on both sides. With the reed flat and facing up, Draw an line from the top left edge to the bottom right edge of the shaved part of the reed. Draw another line from top right edge to the bottom left edge of the shaved part of the reed. You should have an X - centered in the middle of the shaved part of the reed. STAY AWAY FROM THE CENTER OF THE X. Work by sanding, rubbing, or using a reed knife on the four outer points of the x until they are balanced with each other. Its hard to explain this without showing! Of course the mouthpiece must be balanced as well (equal on both sides opening, rail width). Often an unbalanced reed will play great on an unbalanced mouthpiece because the imbalances complement each other. You can feel the tip, flex it (don't break!) often you can feel one side stiffer than the other. Work the tip at the upper and outer corners, stay away from the middle or heart. Experiment, get a box of cheap reeds, very stiff (like 4's or something) and practice. If the reed seems balanced, just work the area right behind the tip, leave the sides and corners alone. Try this - in a mirror take mouthpiece with reed on it and suck through the opposite end so that you get an obnoxious noise. Watch the way the tip vibrates in the mirror. You can lightly sand the flat side with #400, extra fine or whatever is equivalent Usually I only use a piece of paper and make sure its on a flat surface and rub the flat side of the reed against that. I wouldn't work on the flat side too much, only to flatten and compress the fibers and smooth out any slight irregularities. I use a flat piece of glass (cosmetic mirror), a really sharp reed knife and nail files.

There are all types of ways people cure or treat their reeds. I can't even begin to go into them. I've found it is useful to rotate reeds. They tend to wear out quickly when they are new, and if you rotate through a set of reeds instead of playing the same one all the time you will get more wear and tear for your money. I LIKE the way new reeds play - so rotating gives me more 'new reed' time... Some people only like them after they have 'broken in'. One school of thought is that as you rotate them, they somehow last longer - they become more resistant to deteriorating, whereas you can play one new reed to death very quickly... Many students will break the reed in the process of putting it on the mouthpiece... The ligature (the metal part that holds the reed on the mouthpiece) goes on FIRST, THEN slip the reed into the ligature. I've seen too many students crush the tip of the reed in the process of slipping the ligature on. 'Reed Guard' type devices that hold extra reeds and keep them flat are very helpful.