just put em in your mouth for a few seconds, that'll straighten them right back out

just put em in your mouth for a few seconds, that'll straighten them right back out

If you are talking about warping where the reed meets the mouthpiece table I have a couple comments. About all I've found that helps is do sand the bottom flat. For me this works best when the reed is dry. It also seems to be a temporary fix. Reeds that have started to warp seem more prone to the problem even after they have been flattened. Reed holders by themselves haven't made much difference for me. I've had better luck with various methods of keeping the reeds from drying out completely. Lastly some reeds that seem warped are really just half dry and will behave if completely saturated. Soak it overnight and see if it still fails to seal.

I've developed my own method over the years. I keep my reeds in individual reed holders (Like the one Vandoren reeds come in), then I put them in a humidor (yes, like for cigars). This keeps them a little bit moist between gigs/ rehearsals and don't completely dry out. Then, while i'm setting up my horns (BTAS), mics, & all that, I take a cup and put one part Listerine to 4 parts distilled water and put my reeds i'm using that night in the cup to pre-soak. This flattens them out nicely. This works better than saliva and even kills any germs on the reed. At the end of the gig, I give the reeds a nice wipe down, then a quick dip in the diluted Listerine solution, put them back into the reed holder, then to their spot in the humidor. I also use a cigar box (Romeo & Juliet's come with the little humidifier in the wooden box). Several tobacco/cigar shops would be ok selling just the box or even giving it away. Also, some cigar boxes come with the dividers for individual cigars...this works nice as I use this to keep my reeds separated (BTAS). Anyways, you won't find this in any of those method books and you band director would never send a kid to a cigar shop, but i've been playing over 14 years now and came up with my own way. I've also heard of guys using sponges in those reed guard cases to keep them moist. Whatever work for you is fine. But to answer your question, the warping of the reed is from the compression that occurs as the reed dries. As it moistens, it should return to the flat state. I've never sanded a reed in my life. -d

I've recently switched to a Selmer reed case. The reeds are pressed lightly against the glass surface on the inside which helps to keep them from warping as they dry. For general longevity, I've found success in wetting, briefly playing, and allowing reeds to dry out in the case a few times before actively playing them. this keeps them from warping so much in the future. Sometimes, I'll also let the reed dry while on my mouthpiece. That way it does its warping to the shape of the mouthpiece.