I get a sore spot at the base of my left index finger where it presses the flute against my lip, after I’ve been playing for 90+ minutes. This happens no matter what the flute is made of. This seemed like a problem that I would just have to deal with (I’m looking for solutions to this, too, if you have any). What I’m concerned about when planning to have a flute made, is that people can develop an irritation to the wood that their flute is made of (most commonly, cocus, but I’ve read that any of the dalbergias blackwood, rosewood, etc can do it too). Wouldn’t my sore spot be especially suseptible to this problem? And if so, what would be some good woods for a flute, that would be unlikely to cause contact-irritation?
Boxwood springs to mind.
Are you pressing the flute too hard with that left finger? Maybe that’s the issue, rather than the wood? Just a possibility.
Jeanie
Your injured finger will be markedly more likely to react to the chemicals in the wood if the skin is not intact (skin is our friend 
).
I would look into some coaching about your grip. There’s something seriously wrong there unless your hands are malformed or something.
A piece of sports / medical tape on you finger will prevent contact, as would a piece of tape on the flute. Electrical tape looks stylish on a blackwood flute.
Doc
Tweeto,
I had the same problem for a while, where the base of my left index finger would get really sore and sensitive after playing for a couple hours. In my experience, it was a matter of learning to relax my grip and just getting my body used to playing for that long. My advice would be to keep playing and let your hand will develop what’s effectively a callous in that spot.
At the same time, give your hand time to heal. When it starts to hurt, you can move your thumb underneath the flute to take pressure off your left index finger (or just take a break from playing - which is sometimes easier said that done). In addition, one of the things that I did was to buy some moleskin and place it on the flute where your left hand is hitting the flute. It provides a little cushion and you can take the moleskin off after a couple weeks and just rub the flute clean with some almond oil.
That said, if you are ordering a new flute I wouldn’t worry about the wood, since you’re really unlikely to develop a sensitivity with this. Instead of focusing on the wood, I would think about buying a flute with a bore that fits the size of your hands. If you can, try a bunch of flutes and figure out what feels good in your hands. You might find that a flute that has a smaller diameter below the barrel may be more comfortable for you.
Hope that helps,
Brendan
An unlined/partly lined headjoint also reduces the weight of the flute, and perhaps more significantly, it shifts the balance further to the right, taking pressure off your left hand.
I had this problem with the same finger after making the switch from my first flute (M&E) to an Olwell flute. It’s not the wood, its the diameter of the flute on the M&E was nice and fat so my fingers would curl around it there. Even a slight bit thinner can make a difference. There’s some kind of nerve on that spot by the bottom of the finger and you will be constantly putting pressure on it. I shifted the way I hold it to be just a bit higher up the finger so the flute wouldn’t rest on that spot.
I read about this also being solved with some clear tubing. What it does is make the diameter of the flute wider at that point which changes the pressure point. I bought some clear tubing in the hardware store and made some finger rests to slip over the wood, which helped while I was changing the way to hold the flute. Here is a picture of it
and the article about it is here http://www.larrykrantz.com/alexaart.htm - the section you want is near the bottom of the page where it says “Glues (for applying gadgets…”
hope that helps some, it did help me.
Just for clarification…
The owie on your finger is almost certainly if pressure/grip origin not allergy origin. If it were allergy origin, you’d have it sooner on the more-sensitive tissue of the lip and chin than on a finger.
That said, any open sore potentially exposes your immune system to wood components. Once exposed, your immune system may have an allergic reaction to those components in the future. In effect you’re innoculating yourself to the wood. So next time your body sees it it attacks…hence the inflammation, itching, blisters etc…
Take home message…if you have a break in your skin make sure you have something between you and your flute if you’re playing anything but Delrin or boxwood.
Doc
Second the plastic bopep strategy, mentioned above.
Also the plastic tube is a cushion, it distributes weight
better. If people have trouble with cramped fingers
it helps.
Moleskin is helpful too, though it gives you
less estention. Unfortunately it looks awful
and it can be slippery. Superglue on the moleskin
(not under it, of course!) roughens it considerably.
The result is so rough it may take some getting
used to, but it makes for a firm, hence often more relaxed,
grip.
I think you are right, insightful, in your evaluation. Actually, I get something of a dent at the base of my left finger, but it doesn’t seem to cause any trouble.
As Doc Jones mentioned, an allergy reaction would be more likely to appear in the more sensitive chin/lip area.
Yes it is a pressure thing. I have enormous callous at the base of my left index finger. After trying various attachments (and BoPeps need to be modified to fit on an “Irish” flute) and grip changes I finally gave up. Over time the callous formed and the problem was no more.
Clark