That makes two of us. I’m wondering myself now, where I got this from. You know what they say about the memory… but then this was girsa d’yankusa (uh oh).
Anyway, I saw the Rambam so I can clearly concede that I was wrong. Thanks for correcting me. At least a reed is acceptable – so I would have been OK, plus or minus a few raised eyebrows, showing up to do shechita on my korban pesach.