Hi kids,
So, a few months ago, I posted something in the UP forum asking people to PM me with info on GHB bags. I got a few replies back, for which I'm grateful, but I thought I'd bring the topic back and open things up here now that we have a non-UP forum to exploit.
I've played GHBs for about 12 years. For the past couple of years, they've taken a major back seat to the uilleann pipes and were only seldom played. Over the past few weeks, I've been experiencing a reawakened love affair with my highland pipes and am more determined than ever to get myself and the pipes back into good shape. I had been using a Begg sheepskin bag that has served me well for...well, I think it's going on a bit over eight years now. It's still airtight (or was, when last I checked), but I don't think it would take kindly to another seasoning and for hygenic reasons alone, I think it's probably well overdue for a replacement.
I love the "watermelon under the arm" feel that a good sheepskin bag has, but I wouldn't mind switching to something else that requires little or no seasoning. L & M elk hide bags seem to be the cheapest option; I know plenty of people that use them and swear by them. I started out with an L & M pipe bag and, I dunno, maybe I just got unlucky--the thing leaked like a sieve and it was difficult to keep it airtight for more than a few months at a time. Could've been the stocks or something, I don't know, but all the same, I feel a slight apprehensiveness about giving them another go. A friend has the Ross canister system contraption and says he likes it, but it seems like a few too many contraptions to deal with. Then there are these Gannaway, etc. zipper bags. Seem interesting, but I don't know much about how reliable they are.
What say all of yiz?
The Great Big GHB Bag Thread
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The Sporting Pitchfork
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PiperPaul
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Hi, I have bought a Bannatyne zipper bag last year replacing my old L&M bag.
I think it's fantastic: no seasoning and very little maintenance thanks to the internal water retention sleeve. Each time I play them, after a session, I detach the blowstick and put upside down the pipe in order to eliminate the moisture.
The stocks airtight are assured by a rubber collar (it is very hard to put the stock inside that collar!). I'm very happy with this new 'gadget'.
Cheers.
Paolo
I think it's fantastic: no seasoning and very little maintenance thanks to the internal water retention sleeve. Each time I play them, after a session, I detach the blowstick and put upside down the pipe in order to eliminate the moisture.
The stocks airtight are assured by a rubber collar (it is very hard to put the stock inside that collar!). I'm very happy with this new 'gadget'.
Cheers.
Paolo
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Baglady
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You know I just HAVE to post on this one. 
We have 8 sets of pipes of varying types and every one of them has an L&M bag. You can get an occational 'bad' bag that needs seasoning more often then it should, I played on of these for 5 years, but most bags will last for decades if treated properly.
There was a time there when they had a problem with the treatment of the leather they use, their supplier closed down or something, but I think they have that fixed now.
We have 8 sets of pipes of varying types and every one of them has an L&M bag. You can get an occational 'bad' bag that needs seasoning more often then it should, I played on of these for 5 years, but most bags will last for decades if treated properly.
There was a time there when they had a problem with the treatment of the leather they use, their supplier closed down or something, but I think they have that fixed now.
Baglady
Put the music under thier feet and lift them to the dance.
Oh, and,
"If you want to play chords, use standard tuning. It is better." --Martin Carthy
Put the music under thier feet and lift them to the dance.
Oh, and,
"If you want to play chords, use standard tuning. It is better." --Martin Carthy
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mike spencer
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The Sporting Pitchfork
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Thanks to all those who have replied or PM'd.
Yeah, I know my experience with the L & M bag was atypical...It was a long time ago and I sometimes wonder if maybe it was just a bit leaky around one of the stocks or something when I tied it in...At any rate, most of the pipers I know use L & Ms and more than a few have used them for 8-10 years.
At this point, I think it's a 3-way contest between a normal L & M, an L & M "Scotian", or another sheepskin bag...I was intrigued by some of the synthetic/leather zipper bags, but the fact that the holes for the stocks are already put in seems like it would allow for much less personal preference in getting the bag set up how you want it.
I would never use a Canmore bag. Unless I was hyperventilating and there were no paper sacks handy...I once played in a pipe band with a guy who used a Canmore bag...He swore by 'em and kept trying to get the rest of us to switch. About 10 minutes after he had been trying to convince me, his bag burst right around the middle tenor collar.
Yeah, I know my experience with the L & M bag was atypical...It was a long time ago and I sometimes wonder if maybe it was just a bit leaky around one of the stocks or something when I tied it in...At any rate, most of the pipers I know use L & Ms and more than a few have used them for 8-10 years.
At this point, I think it's a 3-way contest between a normal L & M, an L & M "Scotian", or another sheepskin bag...I was intrigued by some of the synthetic/leather zipper bags, but the fact that the holes for the stocks are already put in seems like it would allow for much less personal preference in getting the bag set up how you want it.
Of course. However, I do once remember talking with Jimmy McColl and he told me that he reckoned honey was the best seasoning to use for L & M bags (he used a sheepskin bag himself, I think; one of the reasons I got one in the first place). Go figure...only use AIRTIGHT seasoning.
I would never use a Canmore bag. Unless I was hyperventilating and there were no paper sacks handy...I once played in a pipe band with a guy who used a Canmore bag...He swore by 'em and kept trying to get the rest of us to switch. About 10 minutes after he had been trying to convince me, his bag burst right around the middle tenor collar.
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mike spencer
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Borderpiper
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Joseph E. Smith
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mike spencer wrote:i have used 2 egg whites .poured them into the bag massaged them in a bit blew the bag up and there were no leaks.i dont know if anything grew in the bag as i didnt look.you could pour a glass of whiskey in afterwards as as a disinfectant but thats a bit of a waste.
I am not certain if anything grew (though I have a hunch it did), but the fear of salmonella (sp?) would make my colon sweat. Baglady's recipe is a very good one.
L&M bags shouldn't need seasoning, but if one does, the wood soap and Crisco (vegetable shortening) combo is the ticket.
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mike spencer
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but my wife thinks this is why i buy the whisky.Joseph E. Smith wrote:mike spencer wrote:i have used 2 egg whites .poured them into the bag massaged them in a bit blew the bag up and there were no leaks.i dont know if anything grew in the bag as i didnt look.you could pour a glass of whiskey in afterwards as as a disinfectant but thats a bit of a waste.
I am not certain if anything grew (though I have a hunch it did), but the fear of salmonella (sp?) would make my colon sweat. Baglady's recipe is a very good one.
L&M bags shouldn't need seasoning, but if one does, the wood soap and Crisco (vegetable shortening) combo is the ticket.
mike spencer
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Baglady
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Joseph E. Smith wrote:mike spencer wrote:i have used 2 egg whites .poured them into the bag massaged them in a bit blew the bag up and there were no leaks.i dont know if anything grew in the bag as i didnt look.you could pour a glass of whiskey in afterwards as as a disinfectant but thats a bit of a waste.
I am not certain if anything grew (though I have a hunch it did), but the fear of salmonella (sp?) would make my colon sweat. Baglady's recipe is a very good one.
L&M bags shouldn't need seasoning, but if one does, the wood soap and Crisco (vegetable shortening) combo is the ticket.
I should properly credit 'The Recipe' to Royce.
Baglady
Put the music under thier feet and lift them to the dance.
Oh, and,
"If you want to play chords, use standard tuning. It is better." --Martin Carthy
Put the music under thier feet and lift them to the dance.
Oh, and,
"If you want to play chords, use standard tuning. It is better." --Martin Carthy
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AaronMalcomb
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I just found this thread.
I'd recommend the Gannaway (the plain bag, no zippers etc.). The Gannaway has really easy maintenance. Just tip a couple teaspoons of seasoning in to the bag once in a great while, no heating up. The leather is a bit heftier than a L&M and the shape is very comfortable. I'd rank it second to a sheepskin.
I'd recommend the Gannaway (the plain bag, no zippers etc.). The Gannaway has really easy maintenance. Just tip a couple teaspoons of seasoning in to the bag once in a great while, no heating up. The leather is a bit heftier than a L&M and the shape is very comfortable. I'd rank it second to a sheepskin.
Pipe bags
I tied in an L&M bag about 30 years ago and have never seasoned it. I played my pipes a lot for the first 15 years I used this bag, and since then only sporadically. To get it going and air-tight again after it has dried out I cork the stocks and dump about a half glass of warmish water in the bag,, then put in the blow pipe and inflate the bag and slosh the water around a bit. If any air leakage occurs iit is usually easy to see where it is. Put a little water on any spot you suspect a leak may be occuring. If that is the case the water will immediately show air bubbles on the inflated bag. If so, Leave the bag inflated for a while and the bubbles will probably cease as the leather absorbs moisture and swells.
I have tied in many L&M bags in for students and for members of the band in which I served as pipe major, and only once did I encounter a problem with porous hide. The owner was a teen-aged student and band member who was playing a set of ivory-mounted Lawries I had previously owned.
He was attending a week-long school pf piping which was under the direction of Jim Hardie himself! The temporary solution was that Jim lent my student his personal set of Hardie pipes (unengraved silver nad ivory mounts.) So even in failure, the faulty L&M bag leather turned into
a plus!
I once had a sheepskin bag, but ditched it for a L&M because it dried out too fast for my taste (and I was playing every day.) Sheepskin may be ok in a damp climate like Scotland's or Ireland's , but not for most parts of North America I believe. (and I have lived in Northern California and NW. Oregon, and piped in such diverse places as Victoria B.C., Reno NV, Estes Park CO and Washington D.C., as well.
As far as seasoning is concerned, Airtight is the only one I would use.
Mal B.
I have tied in many L&M bags in for students and for members of the band in which I served as pipe major, and only once did I encounter a problem with porous hide. The owner was a teen-aged student and band member who was playing a set of ivory-mounted Lawries I had previously owned.
He was attending a week-long school pf piping which was under the direction of Jim Hardie himself! The temporary solution was that Jim lent my student his personal set of Hardie pipes (unengraved silver nad ivory mounts.) So even in failure, the faulty L&M bag leather turned into
a plus!
I once had a sheepskin bag, but ditched it for a L&M because it dried out too fast for my taste (and I was playing every day.) Sheepskin may be ok in a damp climate like Scotland's or Ireland's , but not for most parts of North America I believe. (and I have lived in Northern California and NW. Oregon, and piped in such diverse places as Victoria B.C., Reno NV, Estes Park CO and Washington D.C., as well.
As far as seasoning is concerned, Airtight is the only one I would use.
Mal B.
Pipe bags
I tied in an L&M bag about 30 years ago and have never seasoned it. I played my pipes a lot for the first 15 years I used this bag, and since then only sporadically. To get it going and air-tight again after it has dried out I cork the stocks and dump about a half glass of warmish water in the bag,, then put in the blow pipe and inflate the bag and slosh the water around a bit. If any air leakage occurs iit is usually easy to see where it is. Put a little water on any spot you suspect a leak may be occuring. If that is the case the water will immediately show air bubbles on the inflated bag. If so, Leave the bag inflated for a while and the bubbles will probably cease as the leather absorbs moisture and swells.
I have tied in many L&M bags in for students and for members of the band in which I served as pipe major, and only once did I encounter a problem with porous hide. The owner was a teen-aged student and band member who was playing a set of ivory-mounted Lawries I had previously owned.
He was attending a week-long school pf piping which was under the direction of Jim Hardie himself! The temporary solution was that Jim lent my student his personal set of Hardie pipes (unengraved silver nad ivory mounts.) So even in failure, the faulty L&M bag leather turned into
a plus!
I once had a sheepskin bag, but ditched it for a L&M because it dried out too fast for my taste (and I was playing every day.) Sheepskin may be ok in a damp climate like Scotland's or Ireland's , but not for most parts of North America I believe. (and I have lived in Northern California and NW. Oregon, and piped in such diverse places as Victoria B.C., Reno NV, Estes Park CO and Washington D.C., as well.
As far as seasoning is concerned, Airtight is the only one I would use.
Mal B.
I have tied in many L&M bags in for students and for members of the band in which I served as pipe major, and only once did I encounter a problem with porous hide. The owner was a teen-aged student and band member who was playing a set of ivory-mounted Lawries I had previously owned.
He was attending a week-long school pf piping which was under the direction of Jim Hardie himself! The temporary solution was that Jim lent my student his personal set of Hardie pipes (unengraved silver nad ivory mounts.) So even in failure, the faulty L&M bag leather turned into
a plus!
I once had a sheepskin bag, but ditched it for a L&M because it dried out too fast for my taste (and I was playing every day.) Sheepskin may be ok in a damp climate like Scotland's or Ireland's , but not for most parts of North America I believe. (and I have lived in Northern California and NW. Oregon, and piped in such diverse places as Victoria B.C., Reno NV, Estes Park CO and Washington D.C., as well.
As far as seasoning is concerned, Airtight is the only one I would use.
Mal B.
Pipe bags
I tied in an L&M bag about 30 years ago and have never seasoned it. I played my pipes a lot for the first 15 years I used this bag, and since then only sporadically. To get it going and air-tight again after it has dried out I cork the stocks and dump about a half glass of warmish water in the bag,, then put in the blow pipe and inflate the bag and slosh the water around a bit. If any air leakage occurs iit is usually easy to see where it is. Put a little water on any spot you suspect a leak may be occuring. If that is the case the water will immediately show air bubbles on the inflated bag. If so, Leave the bag inflated for a while and the bubbles will probably cease as the leather absorbs moisture and swells.
I have tied in many L&M bags in for students and for members of the band in which I served as pipe major, and only once did I encounter a problem with porous hide. The owner was a teen-aged student and band member who was playing a set of ivory-mounted Lawries I had previously owned.
He was attending a week-long school pf piping which was under the direction of Jim Hardie himself! The temporary solution was that Jim lent my student his personal set of Hardie pipes (unengraved silver nad ivory mounts.) So even in failure, the faulty L&M bag leather turned into
a plus!
I once had a sheepskin bag, but ditched it for a L&M because it dried out too fast for my taste (and I was playing every day.) Sheepskin may be ok in a damp climate like Scotland's or Ireland's , but not for most parts of North America I believe. (and I have lived in Northern California and NW. Oregon, and piped in such diverse places as Victoria B.C., Reno NV, Estes Park CO and Washington D.C., as well.
As far as seasoning is concerned, Airtight is the only one I would use.
Mal B.
I have tied in many L&M bags in for students and for members of the band in which I served as pipe major, and only once did I encounter a problem with porous hide. The owner was a teen-aged student and band member who was playing a set of ivory-mounted Lawries I had previously owned.
He was attending a week-long school pf piping which was under the direction of Jim Hardie himself! The temporary solution was that Jim lent my student his personal set of Hardie pipes (unengraved silver nad ivory mounts.) So even in failure, the faulty L&M bag leather turned into
a plus!
I once had a sheepskin bag, but ditched it for a L&M because it dried out too fast for my taste (and I was playing every day.) Sheepskin may be ok in a damp climate like Scotland's or Ireland's , but not for most parts of North America I believe. (and I have lived in Northern California and NW. Oregon, and piped in such diverse places as Victoria B.C., Reno NV, Estes Park CO and Washington D.C., as well.
As far as seasoning is concerned, Airtight is the only one I would use.
Mal B.