Here is another set of old ebony pipes that comes to the site with some repaired flaws but a brilliant, steady tone. Made by David Thow of Dundee, the pipes are ebony with silver and ivory mounts. The silver is not hallmarked, but the last owner said he purchased the pipes as having been made in 1909, and the aged look of the ivory and the use of ebony would support that.

John Thow and his son David were remarkable pipemakers in the 50 years on either side of 1900. Their pipes are often mistaken for Gavin MacDougall for various reasons, including the superb tone and the wide cord guides; however, the stylings around the cord guides and on the ivory work on the end caps are distinct Thow traits. Robert Gillanders worked for both MacDougall and Thow (as well as for Center) in the years after 1900, so there are common elements in some of these makers’ pipes. For some reason — perhaps the consistent lack of makers’ stamps — Thow gets short shrift and his pipes are given other well known names, like MacDougall. In short, the three ebony Thow sets on this site at present are gems being sadly ignored for want of a bigger name.

One tenor top on this set was a hack replacement, but both original mounts were in the box, so a replica tenor top has been made in ebony, matching the second original top and using the original mounts. One tenor bottom and the bass stock had hairline cracks, so these were invisible whipped since they are ebony (ebony doesn’t glue as reliably as blackwood). The chanter stock is a replacement, and the blowpipe stock was also whipped. The ivory is lovely. The silver is not of the highest grade and the ferrules are open rather than closed, but the overall effect is quite nice.

The drones play beautifully — steady, robust, and with a wide tuning range that keeps pipes steady.