embouchure edge question

Irish Flute
1

I’ve got 2 fifes which I enjoy playing equally. One of the Fifes has a very sharp edge right where the lip presses up against the opening. The other fife has I guess you would say a softer edge, and is much more comfortable when my lip is pressed up against it. Seems to be maybe beveled.
I’d like to soften the one with the sharp edge… how should I go about doing this? :confused:
And would very careful correction of this cause any compromise in the sound of the Instrument?

Side bar observation and question… both Fifes have pretty much the same finger hole sizes as well as embouchure size and shape, bore size seems to be the same as well. Both Fifes have the same volume with me playing. The wood thickness on one is greater. My observation is the one with the thicker wood requires you to blow slightly harder.
My second question then does thicker wood around the bore on a fife or Flute general equate with an Instrument that you will need to blow a little harder to get the same volume as a thinner walled Instrument?

2

Softening the player-side, top edge of the embouchure hole shouldn’t make any difference (other than comfort), unless at some point in the future a left handed player wants to play the instrument, in which case the fife would be turned around and the edge you softened would now be the blowing edge. You could do it slowly and carefully with some 0000 gauge steel wool.

As for wall thickness, it affects the “effective” tone hole size. If two flutes have the same tone hole size and one has thicker walls, it has a smaller effective tone hole size than the other. You can think of a tone hole as being a small tube. The thicker the wall the longer the tube and the more loss of energy due to friction. Sometimes this parameter is referred to as chimney height.

Jon

3

I find I have more control with a small diamond impregnated half-round jeweler’s file. They are quite inexpensive in a set at e.g. Harbor Freight.

Bob