Pipers have their own preference for the type of hemp they want to use, but waxed hemp is preferred for any joints that might get wet. Unwaxed hemp expands when it gets wet and the joints get too tight. Whether you use black or yellow waxed hemp is a matter of preference.

Pipers have their own preference for the type of hemp they want to use, but waxed hemp is preferred for any joints that might get wet. Unwaxed hemp expands when it gets wet and the joints get too tight. Whether you use black or yellow waxed hemp is a matter of preference.

Pipers have their own preference for the type of hemp they want to use, but waxed hemp is preferred for any joints that might get wet. Unwaxed hemp expands when it gets wet and the joints get too tight. Whether you use black or yellow waxed hemp is a matter of preference.

Show me a chanter with no tape and I’ll show you a chanter that is out of tune. Chanter tape revolutionized bagpipe tuning in the mid-1900s and a roll of this is essential equipment for any piper hoping to play in tune. Putting a piece of tape across the top of a hole will flatten the note.  It is not true that putting the tape across the bottom of the hole sharpens it.

Keep rubber drone stoppers handy for emergencies, for blowing in a reed without drones, or if you’re a beginner trying to get used to blowing just the chanter first. Comes in a set of three stoppers.

Four rubber stock stoppers should be part of every piper’s maintenance kit. If your pipes are inexplicably too hard to blow, remove the drones and chanter, stopper the stocks and blow the bag up to see if it is leaking.  This is essential equipment. Comes in a set of four stoppers.

Many pipers use a thin layer of teflon tape (also called plumber’s tape) over top of the hemp on their three active tuning pins. It makes for a very easy tuning action. Teflon tape will also ‘thread’ itself, so your drone top will move up or down depending on which way you turn it.

The canister shown in the photo is not included.

There are enough desiccant gels in the package to refill a Bannatyne canister and more than fill a Bannatyne Dri-Flo system. Remember: when the gels turn dark it’s time to dry them.

This quite brilliant little product is like a chanter cap with a brain. A small humidity pack sits inside a compartment inside the cap to keep the level of humidity around the reed in the general vicinity of 84%. If the humidity is less than that (as it would be during cold winters or in other dry climates) the pack raises the humidity. If you put your reed away wet after playing, the pack absorbs moisture, stabilizing to that 84% level deemed optimum for maintaining a healthy reed that is ready to play. The digital hygrometer embedded into the end of the cap shows you the humidity level being maintained. If it drops well below 84%, you know it’s time to change your humidity pack. The packs can last anywhere from a few weeks up to a year depending on the relative humidity where you live. Where I am in southern Ontario, the winters are harsh and I get about a month out of a pack. Additional packs are sold here. I love how I can take my own pipes out and have the chanter reed sounding like I’ve already been playing for 15 minutes. I find it particularly helpful with the ridgecut reeds my students play in my high school pipe band. Winters were always frustrating with sharp top hands because the reeds were all dry. These caps have cut my band tuning time by about 75%. Sold here in black, blue or red.

Operating much like the Tone Protector humidified chanter cap, this reed case uses Boveda technology to keep your reeds in storage at a relative humidity level of between 80%-84%. The Boveda packs are easily changed when the humidity level on the built-in hygrometer drops. Additional packs are available here.  This new technology has brought an innovative element to reed storage, both within the chanter and without.

The humidity packs in the Tone Protector should be changed when the digital hygrometer in the pack consistently reads below 84%. Packs can last anywhere from a few months to a year. These packages of 10 packs will last for a while!

Rob Kinnaird of Saskatoon invented the first humidified chanter cap nearly 20 years ago and continues to lead the market with this and similar products. This most recent iteration of the Piper’s Pal sports a dial that allows you to monitor the level of humidity in the cap, thus avoiding an environment that is either too dry or too moist. A rubber-tipped rod inserted into the bottom of the chanter maintains the enclosed environment. Instructions are included. The humidifying agent should be changed about once a year. Recharge kits are available on this page.

Recharge kit for the Piper’s Pal Humidified Chanter Cap. These should be changed about once a year.

Often known as a “reed protector” but commonly called “chanter caps,” these simple plastic devices fit onto the end of your pipe chanter once it is removed from the bagpipe. The small, white screw is used to tighten it onto the hemp. You’ll often see these with a hole drilled into the top, but I think that defeats the purpose, which is primarily to preserve some of the moisture the reed has taken it. Most pipers remove their chanter from their pipes when they put them away. If you don’t, the reed will soak up any moisture that has accumulated inside the chanter stock. Also, if you have a moisture control system with a chanter tube, removing the chanter prevents your having to bend it into an angle that will damage the tube.

CAD $16.50

This nifty little humidifier keeps my pipe case at around 60% humidity during dry Canadian winters. It also comes with a hygrometer to provide you with the relative humidity and temperature in your pipe case.  Refill the humidifier with water as it dries and visibly shrinks. The humidifier and the hygrometer can both be affixed to the sides or top of your case as you choose. The gels inside the humidifier seem to last about a year, and then you need the recharge kit (below).

After about a year your Pipe Case Humidifier (above) will need to have the gels replaced or the water dries out of it very quickly, even seeping through the material. This little kit contains the replacement gels, tools and instructions.

Hardie Airtight seasoning has been an icon of pipe maintenance since the 1960s, and even before that, when it was developed by the James Robertson pipemaking company in the 1930s. Bob Hardie bought the product when the Robertson shop closed in 1964. Not to be used in synthetic bags, it is perfect for all natural bags. Keep it in the fridge between uses.

Drone cracking is caused when moisture left in the bores causes the inside of the drone to expand while the drier outside does not. The differential cracks the wood starting on the outside. If the bores of your pipes are getting wet — whether you use a moisture control system or not — you should have a set of cotton drone brushes to dry them out. These five cotton brushes are sized so that every bore size is taken care of.

This is the cloth I’ve been using on silver for years. The white side of the cloth is treated to polish silver. You can tell it’s working because as you polish, the tarnish gradually blackens the cloth. The gray side can be used to buff up the silver to remove smudges.