Back-to-Basics Handpan-Making - With Colin Foulke

The “Handpan-Building” section of this website where we’ve listed some of our favourite resources that we’ve stumbled across over the years remains one of the most visited sections of this website. Proving that building one’s own Handpan is still something that many aspire to achieve.

And while many makers these days seemingly utilize ever more technologically advanced tools and machines to industrialize the Handpan-building process. A recent video from noted maker, Colin Foulke, shows him putting most of the gizmos aside - in favour of little more than a tuning ring, and just three hammers...

“Inspired to get back to the roots of this art form I set aside all my tools and machines, selected 3 hammers, and set out to make a handpan 100% by hand.” 



An amazing resource for both new and seasoned makers, the video provides a walk-through of how to build a Handpan with only the most basic of equipment. And as is usually the case with Colin Foulke’s creations, the end results are beautiful. In fact, it’s the very Handpan you can hear playing throughout the video.

And should you be visiting this page prior to Christmas day, 2018 - we'd definitely recommend watching the above video all the way to the end...

Learn more about the work of Colin Foulke over at his website: HERE.  

Woodpan - Half-and-Half Handpan made by Sew

While the Handpan is a thing of beauty in its traditional form, as imagined by the original Hang-makers, PANArt.  It’s human to find fascination in variations, and anomalies.  Something Handpan makers around the world have provided us with in plenty over the years, as they continue to experiment with the singing-steel UFO form. 

Not quite as “woody” as the Hamgam, but still pretty woody, are these somewhat unusual Handpan from Sew.  A new range of Italian-made instruments known as “Woodpan”,  that feature an upper-dome made of steel, and a bottom-shell made of 50-year aged wood.  Coated in a special wax made of Mexican insects, a process reportedly used in the creation of musical instruments by artisans in the Middle Ages…

And as an added bonus, the demonstration video is a short performance from one of our favorite Handpan performers, Sam Maher, which you can take a listen to below... 



"Woodpan was born with this particular purpose: reach a new frequency... Nature’s frequency, our heart’s frequency." From the Sew website. 

And upon listening, they do have a unique quality and timbre to their sound that is interesting to the ear.  And you can watch a short video of the Mexican-beetle glaze being applied to the lower-shell below.



For more information you can visit the Woodpan section of the Sew Handpans website: HERE

Chunky Pure Wool Handpan Polishing Covers for Sale

One of the reasons we promote ETSY here at HPM (in addition to it providing a small revenue stream) is that not only is it one of the fairer market-places in which instrument makers can offer their creations for sale - being handmade-goods centric, it also provides those of a “crafty” nature a platform through which to offer some interesting, unique, and often-beautiful Handpan accessories, such as you might not find elsewhere.  Like the exceptionally-funky pure-wool Handpan polishing covers you can see pictured right. 

Offered for sale by FlowismYoga, these rainbow-hued warm-winter coats for Handpan, are made from super bulky pure hand dyed Merino wool from South America - a type of material that comes from the Merino Sheep and is renowned for its exceptional properties. Among these properties are its fantastic softness, shine and breathability. The fibres of Merino wool are softer, finer and more sensitive than many other fabrics. 

And in addition to instantly transforming your Handpan into the belle-of-the-ball, and the fashion-envy of all others, they also offer a certain degree of protection - particularly from such nasties as dust, and pesky fingerprints - with this chunky-knit sleeve forming a naturally polishing envelope, within which to home your singing-steel UFO. 

For more information and/or to make a purchase, you can find them over at ETSY: HERE.

© HandPans Magazine