Reed separation

[wvmntnhick]

I'm just curious as to how many of you guys use toothpicks or something else to separate your reeds on your diaphragm calls? How many of you do nothing? I find I'll only get one season out of a diaphragm before it gives up the ghost. Guess I'm not using best practices when taking care of them between hunts. How would one go about increasing the time they get with a mouth call? I've stored them in the refrigerator with a small shot of mouthwash to help kill the germs and various other things over the years. Can't seem to get more than a season out of a mouth call. Just wondering what y'all do with yours. I'd like to get some good premium mouth calls but not blowing the money if it's going to be a one and done.

[idratherb]

I use piece of a plastic fork, just take a scissor  and cut about a 1/2 piece.

[Jbird22]

I rinse between reeds with cold water, shake of excess water, and put it in the freezer til I'm ready to use it again. This will freeze the water between the reeds ensuring they will easily separate once thawed. I do soak them in a 1:1 solution of water and alcohol-free mouthwash for about 10 mins prob 2-3 times per season. I've done this for a few years now and it's given me the best result anything I've tried.

[TauntoHawk]

I store in a water + alcohol free mouthwash solution in the refrigerator in the off season so they stay "wet". Before season I will rinse them off and then take out the few I'm going to carry each day in a tin with a sponge soaked in mouth wash in the field. After the hunt another rinse and back into the solution they go. Never dry out, stick, and last seasons. I also don't get the sore thoughts like I used to either they are always clean and disinfected. I have hooks calls that are 5+ seasons and play the same.

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[Greg Massey]

I always used small paper clips to keep the reeds separated. In the off season i just wash then and separate the reeds with paper clips and store then in a jar in the frig.

[ncturkey]

One thing that I have found that is not good for mouth calls is not washing out the saliva out from between reeds. That makes them very hard to separate later. I always wash out my calls after each day of calling with them. I use Crest Pro Health and water to wash them in. Rinse them really good to get all the saliva out. I then dry them with a paper towel. I then place two flat toothpicks between each reed. I placed them between two dry paper towels. Once dry I remove the tooth picks. If the reeds stay unstuck I store them in a cool dry place until the next use. This has method as made my mouth calls last longer.

[M Sharpe]

A buddy of mine, that is a contest caller, says he only separates the top reed on his calls. The others are allowed to stick to give the call more backbone! Rinse in mouthwash!

[Lonehowl]

For me, I seperate all the reeds with toothpicks, and maybe rinse with warm water to get saliva out. I have used mouthwash, but only non-alcoholic stuff, which seems to be better.
Mark

[decoykrvr]

I carry extra water in my vehicle to wash and clean my calls asap.  I take the flat style toothpicks sand them down to eliminate rough edges, and actually sand a bevel on the wide portion which is inserted between the latex layers, cutting the wood about 5/8" long.  I dry the calls and keep them in a cool dark place, usually my refrigerator downstairs. I carry a cooler in the car and never let my mouth calls get hot, taking them out of my vest, putting them in water to dissolve saliva, and usually reinserting my toothpicks in the field, then into the cooler.  I actually got @ 11 seasons, and talked to and killed several birds a season with a diaphragm following the protocols above.  But remember, all diaphragm calls are not well made and won't hold up even when properly cared for.  Several years ago, I was given a handful of the "new" Michael Waddell calls to evaluate and they went to hell in a couple of weeks.

[SemoRiverRat]

Plastic pieces like mentioned above are much better than toothpicks, the acidity of the wood can weaken the latex and make them tear.  I personally use the little swords that come in cocktails from the bar, they sell them at Wal Mart.

[REBELYELL]

I rinse mine and then freeze them. I use GUM soft picks to keep the reeds separated. You can buy them at Walmart, Walgreens, etc in the dental products section. Just clip off the brush and keep the flat tabs. They are very similar to the Primos reed separators, at a fraction of the cost.

[triune]

I'll have to admit I don't take very good care of my mouth calls, I just stretch a new one and go on.  However, I will use a 50/50 solution of mouth wash and water at the end of the day for rinsing and about a 10 minute soaking.  If I am hunting the next day, I just let them dry and don't separate the reeds.  A few quick calls on the way to the hunt and they are ready to go.
Take a plastic milk jug and cut small v's, with a tab, and you will have all the reed separators you will ever need.