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I make bassoon and oboe reeds (bassoon from blanks and oboe from cut cane and 'staples' - aka the cork and tube part). I also make reed cases from brass candy tins and Styrofoam or felt. I use brass because it doesn't rust with moisture like the Altoids tins do. Also, they have a looser seal that allows moisture to escape.

I learned oboe reed making from my mother and bassoon reed making from the contrabassoonist of the National Symphony Orchestra (US). I've had to make my bassoon reeds because I like super-resistant ones that just can't be bought. Even blanks are hard to find with enough cane left to get a good reed for me.

I generally recommend that anyone who buys bassoon reeds should at least learn how to change the wires properly and replace them with quality wire (because the silver colored stuff is crap). There is technique to that too though, so if anyone is interested, I'll post a how-to. Learning to tweak one's reeds is really important for anyone serious about music. Even single reeds can be tweaked to make them harder once they've been used too long by trimming the tip a little at a time (while keeping the appropriate curve) until it is strong enough to play again.

Another tip I have is that when reeds start to taste really bad or get moldy, they can be soaked in lemon juice - bassoon reeds go overnight because they're so thick but I don't know how long for other reeds. The acid kills the mold and bacteria without destroying the cane like mouthwash would.

because they're not the same. there are slight differences that actually do make a difference in sound. you can USE a tenor sax reed on a bass clarinet, and vice versa. when i played bass clarinet, i used a bari sax reed. i've even played alto with a clarinet reed once. there really is a reason that they make different reeds for all those different instruments though. an instrument will sound better if you're using a reed that was actually made for it, even though you CAN play on a different instrument's reed.