Martin Doyle playing the Kanuka flute.

Here I am in County Clare, Ireland, and staying with my friend Martin Doyle for a few days. I have brought Martin three sticks of Kanuka wood that were kindly given to me by Paul Whinray – a recorder maker who lives in West Auckland, New Zealand. The Kanuka wood was cut, bored and turned into round sticks by Paul in the late 1980s so it is well cured.

Martin set me to work on preparing the sticks and with the kind guidance of his son Ógi, and Martin doing all the critical work, we produced a wonderful flute. It has a lovely tone (milder than the hardwoods like African Blackwood and Cocus) that I am sure will develop nicely with playing. The end cap of the flute is made of Cocus wood. Here’s a look at it:

Martin Doyle Irish flute made from New Zealand kanuka wood – click the image to see a larger version.