I have an extremely dry reed and I was wondering if I could just run in under a faucet gently to moisten it?
Would it hurt the reed or rust the staple?
Good one Dude! How’s your weather?
Yeah running it under the faucet would be a great idea. Or you could copy what the old travelling pipers used to do and dunk it in a pint of Guinness and have a good old chew on it using your molars.
For added “softening”, you should use it to dig a few furrows of turf, and then dance a few sets on it before dowsing it with petrol and throwing a match at it.
Ah, feck it, the drink has the better of me . . . I couldn’t help meself . . .
occasionally i get a reed arguing with me because of the weather, and i find that blowing a lower octave scale not to exceed three seconds with my mouth to the air inlet of the chanter usually introduces just enough moisture to get the reed to settle out.
Probably a better idea to run it under the faucet because the mousture in your breath has enzymes meant to break down organic materials last time I checked cane is organic it won’t do much but constintly doing this could make your reed go bad. That is why reeds in mouth blown pipes have to be replaced more often.
you saliva has enzymes. any moisture formed thru this method is 99% condensation (see chiffandfipple study of moisture in tinwhistles)
constantly wetting and drying untreated wood causes it to break down much the same way that constantly freezing and thawing something would, hence wear on GHB reeds.
saliva moistened reeds like oboe, sax, clarinet, bassoon etc are another story, as they have direct contact with saliva
Old GHB trick, don’t know if working with UP reeds(never used it), but dip it in whisky..
(drink whisky and change the reed to other one , continue as all the whisky is gone after that no worries about dry reeds for awhile ..)
but seriously, it really renew abit old GHB reeds.
…I used to use this method of GHB reed revitalization. Not so sure how good it would be for UP reeds.
I vaguely remember reading a story somewhere about how Séamus Ennis’ chanter reed was almost black from treating it with kerosene. Not only did this help preserve the reed from the rigours of excessive humidity, but when he was out collecting tunes in remote rural areas in the days before electricity was available, he could use the reed to light his way out to the little house with the half-moon on the door …
djm
treating your chanter reed with Irish whiskey
materials
1 candle
3 matchsticks
1 bottle Irish Whiskey (Locke’s, Cooley, Jamison, etc)
Sample the whiskey to check quality.
Light the candle, check the whiskey again, to be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.
Warm the empty glass over the candle and extinguish
At this point it’s best to make sure the whiskey is still OK, try another cup…just in case.
Relight the fire thingy and warm your ass again.
Extinguish tablecloth…
Keylight the randle. If the shick is wort, just pry it up with a drewscriver.
Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
Next, remove the reed from your chanter, or something.
Check the whiskey.
Drip the weed in the riskey.
Pour another glass to get the reed out of the bottle and try not to fall over.
Don’t forget to cut out the pandle.
Finally, throw the reed through the window, finish the whiskey and take up the trumpet so you don’t have to worry about those damn reeds anymore.
PPPTTT!
Bollix! There’s no way this is true!
Everyone knows it’s a crescent moon on those doors.
Brian, I’m not sure you appreciate how dark it gets at night in rural areas. When ya gotta go, ya gotta go … 
djm
We had a bell on ours out at my uncle’s farm.
1 ring = Hurry up.
2 rings = Gettin’ desperate.
3 rings = Too late!
Ok, common guys settle down. This 'ere fellow needs a hand with his reed.
Have you had problems with your reed before? If so when? I’ve noticed (with my limited experience) that reeds sharpen or flatten depending on the tempurature. This is especially the case in Queensland. Is it very dry where you live? Most bagpipes (including GHB) need moisture to operate and stay in tune.
If you live in a particularly dry climate I’d recommend getting a humidifier from you local music store and place it inside your case. This normally solves the problem. These cost about AU$15.00 from the local Yamahaa music store.
If you can’t aford one I’d recommend just leaving the reed for a while. Let the tempurature setlle down too. Oh, one more thing DO NOT play your pipes in air-conditioning. As most air-conditionings dehomidify the air to cool the place down. The Uilleann Pipes need at least 50% humidity to operate.
I use to play my pipes in the airconditioning and had reed problems gallor. In annoyance I rang Ian Mackenzie (my pipe maker) and asked him what was wrong. I told him that I played the pipes in air-conditioning. Althought I didn’t get a telling off I got a polite list of 10 reasons why not to play them in an airconditioned room. I took a hint and haven’t had problems since.
Cheers L42B 
“Pipers pal” could be also solution for dry reeds.It’s developed esp. for GHB reeds , but perhaps works also with UP reeds.
Wet /dry reeds balanced in tube, where is moisture(you add water in chrystals(swamp) bottom of it )- and “dryer”(active coal) section= Somekind of optimal humidity for cane.
Piper pal are available for several sizes ,every parts has threads, so you can use it even long drone reeds too.
I have to boil two big pots of water to get hard D in this 5 degree weather.. I forgot to buy a new humidifier before Winter came and I am too broke now to get one.
I keep a large cigar humidifier stone in a compartment of my gig bag, but at the recent gigs, I could only get one tune out before the ambient air was too dry.
I gotta make another one pre-soaked in neetsfoot oil like my first real successful reed that lasted me 7 years. I sure do miss that reed…
Finlander,
Another solution to your problem, although it won’t help you as much this winter, is to not do a great deal (or any) special humidifying this winter. Yes, your reed will still be off this year, but next winter it will require a lot less tinkering I’m thinking. As a wiseman once said, or was it me 
, your reed will need to learn to live where it lives.
If you must intervene, very slight bridle adjustments may help. I find that my reeds (that have very paralel sides to them) just need the slightest slide of the bridle toward the lips to keep them going in the winter.
My climate is very much like yours. As is the terrain, the vegetation, and the winter outdoor bathing habits (saunas). Many Finns emigrated to these parts about 100 years ago. You’d think they would have moved to someplace warmer/moister. If for no other reason than to make things easier on their uilleann pipe chanter reeds…
Yoikily,
t
Once the humidity dropped, my reed got a major static leak. I know that beginners are cautioned not to mess with the reed, but I moved the bridle just enough to close the sides (downward, in my case; different design from Tommykleen’s, apparently). That did the trick. I expect that come spring and summer I’ll have to move the bridle upward again. It didn’t take much to correct the problem.
Believe it or not this can be a problem can occur with GHB whilst playing in direct sunshine, in summer, here in the UK.
The top hand starts to go very sharp and the reed weakens significantly.
My answer (though I’m not advocating this method for UP) is to pore 1/4 pint of water into the bag through one of the drone stocks, and the problem is rectified almost immediately for an hour or so.
John S