Materials and steel
What handpans are made from, what nitriding and stainless actually mean, and how the metal changes the sound.
Anatomy and construction
What a handpan is physically made of, what every part is called, and why it is built the way it is.
This section covers the object itself. The first file names the parts and explains what each one does. The second deals with the metal: which steels are used, what nitriding and stainless actually mean, and how the choice changes what you hear.
Two things are worth knowing before you start. First, almost nothing here is standardised. There is no published specification for a handpan, makers differ on dimensions, sheet thickness, port size and heat treatment, and the figures below are ranges observed across the market rather than rules. Second, material names have drifted into marketing. “Nitrided” is a real process and “Ember” is a real material, but both words are now used loosely enough that you should ask a maker what they mean rather than assuming.
If you want to know why any of this produces the sound it does, that is Acoustics and physics. If you want to know how the shaping is done by hand, that is Making and tuning.
Contents#
| ID | Question | Level |
|---|---|---|
| ANA-01 | What are all the parts of a handpan called? | beginner |
| ANA-02 | What is the ding and why is it in the centre? | beginner |
| ANA-03 | What is a tone field and why are the notes in a zigzag? | beginner |
| ANA-04 | What does the gu port actually do? | beginner |
| ANA-05 | What are bottom notes and mutants? | intermediate |
| ANA-06 | Why are the two shells glued rather than welded? | intermediate |
| ANA-07 | What does the rim or seam do acoustically? | advanced |
| ANA-08 | How big and how heavy is a handpan? | beginner |
| ANA-09 | How many notes fit on a shell, and why is there a limit? | intermediate |
| ANA-10 | What steel are handpans made from? | beginner |
| ANA-11 | Nitrided, stainless or raw: what is the difference? | beginner |
| ANA-12 | What does gas nitriding actually do, and why did PANArt use it? | intermediate |
| ANA-13 | What do makers mean by “ember steel”? | intermediate |
| ANA-14 | How does the choice of steel change the sound? | intermediate |
| ANA-15 | Which steels rust, and how badly? | beginner |
| ANA-16 | What about coatings, oils and paint? | intermediate |
| ANA-17 | How thick is the sheet, and why does it matter? | advanced |
| ANA-18 | How can I tell what steel my instrument is made of? | intermediate |
Files#
- Parts of a handpan · ANA-01 to ANA-09
- Materials and steel · ANA-10 to ANA-18
Start here#
New to the instrument, read ANA-01 and ANA-11. Between them they give you the vocabulary and the one material decision that affects every other choice you will make.
About to buy, add ANA-09 and ANA-15. Note count and rust behaviour are the two things buyers most often get wrong.
See also: Acoustics and physics, Making and tuning, Care and maintenance, Buying
Parts of a handpan
The vocabulary of the instrument, what each part does, and the physical dimensions you can expect.