Rare Craft! Bagpipe Making From Whole Tanned Pelts VIDEO

Born on December 10, 1945, master Ion Stanciu grew up in Nistorești, Vrancea, in a house where the smell of wood and tanned leather always lingered in the air. His father was the village’s bagpipe player and maker. Ion didn’t learn the art of bagpipe making from books. He learned by sitting on the wooden step of the workshop at dusk, watching his father’s hands. Or, when he was sent to fetch water, or to tend the animals.

“As a child, my mother used to send me to fetch some water with a pail in one hand, and a flute, or bagpipe, in the other. They were so dear to me”, he says, running his hands over his bagpipes, his voice full of nostalgia.

At seven, he was already a practiced chanter and on the way to becoming a skilled craftsman. Today, at 81 years old, he is the leader of the bagpipe band from Nistorești, formed by his father.

Master Ion lives with his wife, Mădălina Stanciu, on a mountainside slope just outside Nistorești, right at the edge of the forest. From the front door, you can see down into the valley. The forest comes right up to the back of the property. The property on the mountainside in Nistorești is on a regular wildlife path. Bears pass through almost daily, like it’s part of their routine. They come down from the higher forest, cut across the slope behind Ion and Mădălina’s house, and move on toward the valley. They don’t cause trouble. Ion says they walk like they know the route by heart.

Every evening after dinner, Ion takes his practice chanter outside and plays for 20-30 minutes while Mădălina sits on the porch, looking far off toward the slope. She doesn’t play, but she knows every sound a pipe can make. 

Inside his workshop, shelves hold half-finished bags, goat heads, knives, hand drills, and tools that have been in the family for generations.  

He learned bagpipe making from his father, but he didn’t stop there.  He started experimenting with his own style. He became known for making “bagpipes with trophy mounts”. He adds real goat heads to the instrument itself.  His craft is unique because no one makes bagpipes with a trophy (goat’s head) anymore, as he calls them, an invention of his, which made the fame of the Vrancea man go far beyond the country’s borders. 

“I promoted the bagpipes in five countries. In 2000, I went to America, Germany, Czechia, Hungary, Greece, and Moldova. I have 200 diplomas. They are the sun to me”, he points at his precious collection of diplomas proudly presented on a counter in his workshop.

He has represented Romania with honor at several international events, where he amazed everyone with his talent in the art of bagpipe making, and now he wants nothing more than for this tradition to continue.

I make 3 types of bagpipes. The traditional bagpipe with a leather bag, like my father, Stanciu Neculai, used to make the bagpipe covered with a loom fabric, and the bagpipe with a trophy.”

People come to him specifically for them – mostly for festivals, ceremonies, and collectors who want something unique. He won’t make two the same. Each goat head is different, so each pipe has its own silhouette.

He still makes standard pipes, too. But the trophy style is what he calls his own. Today, we are here to see how the methods of this old tradition work. Sunlight comes through the small window and hits the pile of wood and leather in front of him. First, he lays out the cured goatskin bag, still smelling like whey following the tanning process.

“At Easter, when the lambs are sacrificed, their skins are taken. The pelts are tanned in whey at a temperature of 25°C. Tanning takes about fifteen days”, the master explains.

The chanter and drones are carved from ash and elder. Ion does this with a hand knife and a lathe. The bore has to be exact — a millimeter off, and the pitch drifts. Each time, he tests each piece by blowing through it.

“The bagpipe has four parts: a bag, a blowpipe, a chanter, and a drone. The chanter has six holes and a reed piece that sets the tone. It is made of ash, elder, and reed. The drone is made of ash,” he explains, presenting each piece of the bagpipe, before they are tied into the bag.

Then, the cured skin is tied into a bag, the wooden parts are fitted with reed inserts, which produce the tone and pitch, and then the bag is turned inside out.  He wraps each joint with a strong thread and tests the seal by blowing a short burst of air. The sound is rough at first. He adjusts a reed and plays again. That’s how he knows it’s done 

Then comes the most interesting part. He preserves the real goat head from the same animal. The skull is cleaned, dried, and treated so it doesn’t degrade.  He mounts the trophy onto a wooden mount that is tied to the bag’s neck hole. 

The whole process takes about two months per instrument. Ion Stanciu is the only maker in Romania doing it this way. His trophy-mounted pipes are his own signature. The band from Nistorești uses one in every performance.

When it’s finished, the fur sits on the exterior, smooth and unbroken, and you don’t see a single tie or string. It gives the pipe that seamless look. 

Outside, it’s a clear, sunny day. Birds are thrilling in the forest, throwing out long, clear phrases. 

Inside the summer kitchen, his wife is moving between the stove and the table. She’s got a pot of green bean soup going and a bit of lamb pastrami from the cellar. The steam carries the smell out through the open door and drifts down toward the workshop.  

We have lunch together at the small shady table in the yard. The green bean soup is hot, with vegetables and a hint of sourness from the green plums. When the bowls are empty, Ion grabs the scythe and sets out to mow grass for the flock of chicks. The young birds need the fresh cut grass every afternoon, and the meadow behind the house grows fast this time of year. He moves steadily down the slope, the blade making that clean, sweeping sound.

A welcoming spirit runs through the whole house.  

The family treats guests like part of their own. And Mădălina, her hands have worked on thousands of woven fabrics over the years. The tablecloths, the blankets, the tapestry hanging on the wall — most of them came off her loom. Besides bagpipes, master Ion is also a maker of trișcă, ocarina, and fluier. He can play six instruments.

Ion is a true master, who isn’t valued the way he should be…He’s proud, but it’s a lonely pride like being the only speaker of a language. The world celebrates new, fast, cheap. It forgot how to appreciate the slow, rare, and irreplaceable. It forgot how to appreciate a man who can pull music from a block of wood and a pile of pelts. 

That’s Master Ion. That’s every last master of a vanishing craft.

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