Hey guys,
So its summer now (kind of), and I have time to start making reeds again. Where do you guys buy your cane from? I live in Ontario Canada, so closest to there would be preferable. I used to get mine from David Daye, and plan to again if I can’t find another source (its just that he’s so far from me and across a border as well).
Thanks,
-Dylan
Although he is also across the border from you, Joseph Sampson is reputed to provide some very nice California cane. Here is a thread on it: https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/the-reed-i-made-from-joseph-sampsons-cane/63163/1
I got mine from Medir in Spain, so getting cane from the US hardly seems a big stretch. Buy once in bulk to get better prices, and you’ll probably never need to buy again.
djm
This cane is top quality stuff highly recomended.
Medir provide some great cane also, this may be better for the beginner as the Californian can at times be a bit unforgiving on the novice reedmakers.
In any case both Joseph Sampson and Carles Medir are great people and will have you sorted in no time.
When ordering cane from Medir, ask for their ‘softer’ cane. I have used this cane and have found it very nice.
SampsonSampsonSampsonSampsonSampsonSampson
I am not sure what is meant by California cane being “unforgiving at times”. I find it easier to make reeds from softer California cane than the harder Spanish cane. The only complaint I have had, is that California cane seems to split more easily during the tying on process. This can be dealt with by soaking the tails in water or alcohol before tying on and allowing a couple of days to dry out (less time if you use alcohol). Soft cane will begin to crow with very little scrape where the harder cane only will crow when a great deal closer to a finished scrape.
less time if you use alcohol
I know, I have very little patience after a couple of beers 
Ted, If you soak the tails in water, does it not wick up the xylem (or whatever) and get to the inner surface of the slip and raise the grain?
Yes, the water does “wick-up” the Reed tail. When the 70% rubbing alcohol is used,
the wicking is moderated by it’s fast evaporation.
The microscopic raised grain can be sanded off, or even better, scraped off with a French Curve
or Universal Scraper.
I’d worry more about the Cane slips splitting at “Tying-On” (after all the work on it)
over any “raised grain” factor.
Sean Folsom
…what Sean said…
…when i dip the tails (in water). i used to use alcohol, but it evaporated too fast. i never gave any thought to grain rising etc. !?! i give it 2 secs max, then shake the tied halves hard…via flicking my wrist a few times…and then go straight to tie-on.
only infrequently do i have cracks. if so, it’s usually due to a) not going thin enough/'reading" the cane properly when flexing it. or, b) going to fast w.the tie on process.
i tie on in 3-4 steps. once light, once a little tighter, etc. w/the last being the tightest.
yes…
…what ted said…
Yeah I jumped in on this direct question to Uncle Ted. I just can’t repress myself, Sorry !!!
AS TO THIS NEXT INSTALLMENT…
Well…Pipe Major James MacColl let his Reed halves stay in a little cup of Rubbing
Alcohol until they sank to the bottom, and then fished them out and TIED those TENDER BLADES
on to the Staple. After 10-20 minutes the Blades were dried out and he did some light sanding
to finish the Reed off.
Then there’s STEAMING the Reed halves over a Tea Kettle, there’s “Polishing”
(read my previous posts from years ago)… but…here’s the truth:
I use EVERY KIND of TECHNIQUE I can think of depending on the type of Reed I’m making,
and Golly Gee…sometimes the Reed Sides split ANYWAY !
Maybe 5% of the time, if I was to assign a percentage to it.
That’s What I SAY !..Hey Hey Hey !!!..see the Girl dressed in RED…
saw her out one night with TED…
…add this one to you’re pot:
lightly boiling cedar halves, then tying them…
recommendation to all: don’t do it
In my experience making reeds (with my own Cal cane), I’ve had the cane split (where it is tied onto the staple) and the reed still performed fabulously. For instance, I made a chanter reed 8 months that was up until that time my best reed ever. Responsive, strong back D, and super easy to play in both octaves. I was beside myself it was great. Well, wouldn’t you know it at a session in Santa Barbara, while putting the chanter top back on after adjusting the bridal a bit, I stuck the brass chanter top right through the lips of the reed totally destroying it. 
After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I started back a few days later to making another reed. When I unwrapped the reed, to my surprise I discovered that the cane had split in numerous places where it had been bound up onto the staple. However, the reed had played great and had been unaffected because the binding had held.
My long point is that even if the cane does crack a bit when tying it up, it probably won’t affect the reeds playing unless the crack goes all the way up to where the scrape is.
Like Ted and the O’Kaine man, I now also use water to dip the tails just as a precautionary measure and have found that it has reduced cracking considerably.
All the best,
I would be happy to send you some New Zealand cane.
Just for the post office charges. I assume under $10.
So if you want to play around with it…
be my guest.
I have tried it and it is a bit hard.
cheers
Joe
Hello You Ki-Wi Pipers !
I was a guest of the “City of Gisborne” Pipe Band for a concert there in 1996,
and as I drove into town from the South, there was a big Stand of Cane waving at me,
as I went past it. “Yoo-Hoo, come and cut me to pieces” it seemed to say…
I did a Reed Demo for the Band a day after the show, and I talked about DIY Reed making
and I mentioned the Stand of Cane to the group, and they said that they had been told by some expert that their “Native” Cane was no good. I replied that it’s all in the location of the Cane and the selection of the pieces to cut down. I’m glad to see that there are some N.Z. Pipers using this local resource. You could very well give those Aussie Cane Merchants a good run with a Cane Station/Plantation of your own !!!
Sean “the Cane Splitter” Folsom
P.S. Please Say Hello for me, to Bob Bickerton in Nelson, and David Kidd in ???
as I heard he has moved back to N.Z. after a long time here in California, and Indiana.
S.F.
Dear Sean,
that is very interesting and also true I think. There is a pipemaker here on the South Island and he is using local cane. He also told me that often it is a bit hard. But I suppose there is plenty in some locations that is softer, I could well imagine that the ground makes a lot of difference…
I made a reed from some local cane that plays, but I must admit I am a novice and it did not sound too good.
I do not know Bob. Is he playing Uilleann pipes? I am here in Nelson, but I do not know every piper yet. We just had the national tionol here in the Nelson area and I was glad to meet so many excellent pipers. We had a great time.
cheers
Joe