Skip hemp on your practice chanter and blowpipe joints — use waxed dental floss instead. Traditional linen hemp absorbs moisture, swells, shrinks, and eventually rots or mildews. Waxed nylon dental floss is cheap, doesn't absorb water, and holds a joint tight for years. For heavier hemping jobs on full pipes, waxed nylon lacing tape is the thicker, longer-lasting upgrade.
Modern R.G. Hardie and McCallum pipes have closed the gap with prized old sets. Computer-controlled manufacturing now lets top makers hit extremely high, consistent quality at a great price, backed by a warranty — which is why used pipe prices have come down unless a set is truly rare. My top value pick for a first or second set is the R.G. Hardie acetal (Poly) pipes.
Learn 6-10 tunes and solid basic technique before buying a full set. There's no fixed rule, but having a handful of tunes you can play with confidence, plus an understanding of timing and tempo, makes the transition to the full pipes much smoother, since blowing steady and squeezing the bag will already take up a lot of your attention.
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Buying Pipes New or Old? Black/Yellow, Waxed/Unwaxed Hemp, Dental...
43m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
19:09How up old caught with manufacturing modern craftsmanship🔒
22:01pick The value top my Hardie pipes: R.G. acetal🔒
29:02Liddell, McCrae, Duncan and Stuart great tone what makes🔒
32:55violin the blind versus study new: Old🔒
37:20piping away time into back after Getting🔒
40:11season Circle, and Wrap-up, competition wishes well for Inner🔒
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About this class
🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.
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