SHAMELESS COMMERCIAL POST. I have decided to open a piper’s supply shop. I will begin with offering my California cane for dry-reed pipes. This cane comes from sources which produce the range of soft cane prefered by many UP makers and players. I do not have commercial quantities, as this cane is quite rare here. This cane is not to be confused with the commercial Calif. cane offered for wet reed makers. It is selected for our instruments. I sell by quantities of tubes, rather than by weight. Therefore, 10 tubes of 1" cost the same as 10 tubes of 3/4" cane. The postage may be less for smaller diameters, due to less weight. My price is:
$2.00 US per tube plus post.
This is softer cane than many of you may be used to, and some will have problems applying their techniques to making reeds from it. I will limit quantities to anyone who cannot show me a successful track record in reed-making. This cane is not for learning the art, but for accomplished makers. I am only offering cane for double-reeds at the moment. Waxes, hemp, timber, ivory and bone etc. to follow later.
Ted Anderson
P.O. Box 168
Tomales, CA 94971
US of A
$2/tube plus post? Medir is less expensive and they’re in Spain (not to mention top quality suppliers). Not to discourage anyone from using California Cane, but a price and quality comparison might be nice.
If you look back over some of the posts of the last few days, there has been a lengthy discussion about the quality , hardness and consistancy of the cane from Europe in past years. Ted is offering a verry different product compared to much of what is found to be available out there it would seem. And still - $2.00 / tube from which one could conceivably craft four great reeds is still much cheaper than the $50-$90 average cost of buying one from a maker.
Most of the pipe makers I occasionally buy cane from charge $2 per cane. If one wants to save a few bob, buy in bulk and take your chances on quality. Ted is offering a differen animal here that is tried and true to his discriminating specifications.
The truth of the matter is that Mr. Anderson is giving it away at this price. If you were to get 4 slips out of a tube, and I suppose it may be possible to get 5 on occasion, then you’d have 50 cents invested in the cane for your reed.
Amazing, isn’t it? If 50-75 cents worth of material is not put together in precisely the right way then pipes worth thousands of dollars don’t work at all.
Don’t buy the pipes if you can’t afford the cane or if you can’t afford to reward a stellar reeedmaker handsomely for a good reed.
No fussing about the costs of cane or reeds is permitted!!!
Fair enough.. Luckily I bought in bulk from Medir before the apparent issues in quality “cropped” up. So no need to worry about me buying up this rare, superb, unquestionable supply.
Well, laa-dee-freakin’-dah. And how do you propose we do that? Maybe I should just stop by the local zen temple and drop off a few reeds for the master to approve, huh?. :roll:
I’d hate to see this cane wasted by someone still trying to learn the art of reed making, or someone who doesn’t understand the difference in how it is suppose to be constructed, or how it’s suppose to respond, or can’t play well enough to appreciate the difference. The idea is to experiment with other regular good cane while learning. I see nothing unreasonable about that. You look at the list of reed makers that use Ted’s cane, some exclusively. Can there be any question? This isn’t for someone who simply claims he can make reeds better than so and so. Ted’s going the extra mile to open up a source like this, and I respect the qualification.
Each year, I cut up the cane that has been cured over 2 1/2 years. This year it is in short supply. A novice asked for 50 tubes of 1" dia. +/- 1/16". That would be almost all of this years stock. I propose to make available for individuals, four tubes, to your spec’s, for $10 postpaid. Up to ten tubes is a large order, and is available for pro makers. Next year I will have a larger crop.
I will soon accept orders for custom rolled staples at $15, with an exchange guarantee.
Sorry if anyone finds this offensive, but this ain’t Burger King.
So just tell him that you’ll only sell him 4 tubes at a time. I just don’t understand how anyone (who isn’t a professional pipemaker) is supposed to prove their worthiness.
I’m sure that alot of the pipemaker’s waiting lists are tied up with people who will buy a set, try to play it, fail, and then stick it in a closet - possibly forever,
Should pipemakers make potential buyers prove their mettle? How would they stay in business?
Hey, it’s your cane, do as you want. Seems elitist to me.
I dont see much problem with making sure that the bulk of a limited supply of highly-desirable cane will be used to make working reeds rather than end up at the bottom of the trash bin. There’re other sources of cane if someone wants to learn to make reeds.
When I actually learn what size tube produces the best reeds for my own set, maybe I’ll buy a few tubes from Ted, and put them away for a good handful of years until I actually know what I’m doing.
In a previous thread it was mentioned making reeds from this cane is different than the harder cane. Is it possible to describe the difference in technique/approach? Ie, what is the common mistake made by someone who has no experience with cane as soft as this?
Sadly Jeff, this is happening in more areas of pipemaking than just the cane for a good reed. there are a few makers (some of whom even post to this board) who harbor this same attitude about their pipes.
It’s ironic to me in that there is no way for a newer piper to really develop their skill without dealing with a lot of crap too. I have often wondered about the famous “21 years to learn to play well” quote. Does anyone imagine that it could have taken so long because of poor cane, difficulty in securing experienced construction and yes even a string of really terrible sets in the process?
I think Ted is a very up and up guy from all accounts I’ve heard, and his business practices are his own. Elitest? Perhaps, though I can also see his side of the fence. Does the fact that every reed I’ve ever made has worked fairly well, and some supprisingly so count towards my favor? Probably not - cause I haven’t reeded any famous piper’s sets as yet. Will there still be cane for me to make my own reeds from? I sure hope so…it doesn’t seem like it’s going to die off anytime soon at any rate.
So for now, all I can do is try to my best with what I have. Perhaps Ted will understand that we’re not intending to make lots of $2 a piece trash can fillers and will agree to sell to more than his post seems to let on. I dunno.
At any rate, the instant this all stops being fun, I think it’s time to full the trash with the whole bloody set and move on to needlepoint or something!
So for now, all I can do is try to my best with what I have.
What is wrong with the cane you have now? I can understand people’s initial reaction to the limitations set on large orders, but I dont quite understand where the offer to make small quantities of cane available (where it appears it wasnt even available before) has suddenly made all other suppliers not-good-enough.
will agree to sell to more than his post seems to let on.
He’s offered to sell 4 tubes to anyone. How many decent reeds can you turn out with that? Is it too much to ask to use your current source of good cane for whatever those 4 tubes cannot satisfy?
It’s ironic to me in that there is no way for a newer piper to
really develop their skill without dealing with a lot of crap too.
It’s my impression the resources available to the newer piper today is better today than when I became interested in the things nearly 15 years ago.
Name it “Reeds 'R Us” 
