Yes! I make my own bagpipes!
This unique Great Highland Bagpipe (GHB) model pays homage to the Viking berserkers. Berserkers were a special group of very skilled and dangerous warriors said to have fought in a trance-like fury. Viking warriors looked to the god Odin to give them aggression and courage in battle, but the berserkers took this to the extreme. They dressed for battle in bear or wolf furs and when they attacked they howled like mad dogs or wolves. Old Norse literature/Skaldic poetry repeatedly referenced berserkers gnawing on their shields like wild animals. It was said that they could rout an outnumbering force, and neither iron nor fire could injure them, and they didn’t know pain.
But… did the Vikings have bagpipes? Not bloody likely — at least not during the Viking Age. But according to recent DNA research, Vikings are still running rampant through Scotland today as, according to the researchers, 29.2 per cent of descendants in Shetland have Norse DNA, 25.2 per cent in Orkney and 17.5 per cent in Caithness. This compares with just with 5.6 per cent of men in Yorkshire carrying Norse DNA.
My Berserker GHB is distinguished by the top section of the base drone that is hand-carved into the image of a Viking berserker warrior biting his shield. Unique, huh? My wood choice for this one-of-a-kind bagpipe is the dense, dark brown Katalox (Swartzia cubensis) AKA Mexican Royal Ebony, sourced from the Americas. Katalox has exceptional strength properties, and is among the very stiffest and strongest woods available worldwide. It polishes to a high sheen and has excellent tonal qualities. This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The drones and blowpipe features are accented with button mounts of top quality imitation ivory and brass ferrules that are acid etched with ancient runes. The drones have stylish thistle-shaped tops.
My Berserker GHB is engineered for rock solid reliability. All reed seats are threaded, so my reeds will never catastrophically fall into the bag just before or during a performance. All joints are wrapped with authentic cannabis hemp for reliable, long-lasting ease and efficiency.
Get ready to hear me howl like a mad wolf with the Berserker GHB!
I plan to sound my barbaric YAWP over the rooftops of the world! (Thanks, Walt Whitman)
