I’ve been playing saxophones with straight tone holes all my life—well, at least since I was in grade 6. Since I got my JK Toneking back from David after its remarkable rebuild, I’ve been using it as my main tenor.
Over the past week or so this completely restored sax has started to suffer from sticking pads. Why? That’s the question I kept asking myself. David used top-of-the-line Pisoni pads on the Toneking. Sure rolled tone holes have a much larger surface area, and thus are more prone to sticking, but come on, the pads are new.
I don’t eat while playing. I brush my teeth before I play, and drink nothing but water during practices and performances. So why would the pads on a newly repadded horn stick?
Then I remembered reading the answer to this question in Stephen Howard’s book: the Haynes Saxophone Manual: The step-by-step guide to set-up, care and maintenance.
Stephen wrote:
In the case of new pads the stickiness will be due to the various oils and waxes used in the manufacture of the leather as well as any additives, such as waterproofing.
He goes on to say:
New pads can remain sticky for quite some time.
Great, just what I didn’t want to hear. 
For years I have been using Charlie A’s Gig Dust and Crud Patches. However, Stephen also makes a good point about products like this:
There is [a] school of thought that recommends applying various powders to the pad as a means of curing any stickiness. These work for a while because they mask the problem, but you’ll need to reapply them on a regular basis once you start using them. However, I don’t recommend this technique at all—it’s rather like dropping jam on your kitchen floor and cleaning it up by throwing a load of flour over it; adding more mess simply adds to the problem. It also gets all over the body and action. The same can be said of the various potions (often known as ‘pad dope’) used to coat the pad surface.
Pad papers are variation on the theme. Some are slightly abrasive and act like the dollar bill trick while others are impregnated with powders.
Mmm… 
Well, I decided that since my JK was a clean slate, so to speak, I would heed Stephen’s advice and not go my traditional route of using the Gig Dust and Crud Patches. I opted instead for Stephen’s suggestion of cleaning the pads with lighter fluid.
So there I was last night, the reformed smoker, going into a smoke shop to buy lighter fluid. After paying for my $2.50 purchase, I quickly left the shop, before I gave in to temptation and bought a pack of cigarettes. 
Since tonight will be the JK’s début performance, I will spend some time today cleaning the pads. I’ll let you know how the cleaning works.
I respect Stephen Howard, and trust his knowledge when it comes to this stuff. I have no doubt that this will work extremely well.
BTW, if you haven’t yet bought his Saxophone Manual, what are you waiting for? It’s a great book, and one that I highly recommend. It contains lots of great information and tips to help keep your saxophone, old or new, singing very nicely.
Oh, and a final note about the Toneking. I haven’t done the post-restoration pictures yet.
I recently ordered replacement angel wings and clothes guards for both the tenor and the alto. These parts are currently being manufactured in Germany, and will be shipped to me next week. Once they arrive I’ll put them on, and then take photos to show how the horn looks post restoration—sans weird customizations by the previous owner.
