My January is looking up! I received a new Busman from Paul in D.
Last fall I ordered a C and it was in a really incredible Birdseye Maple that had one of the most unusual patterns I have ever seen. It is a fine player, making it easy for a neophyte like me to play well. Voicing is great and even, and I am a great fan of the larger tone holes he uses. Seems to make it so much easier for me to close the tone holes properly, especially when speeding up the play. The holes are always well radiused and smoothed. Even though I have a treasured Kingwood D purchased frum Byll last year, I wanted another maple in D to “pair” up this C.
I admit it, I’m a wood junkie, and proud of it! I love to play the whistle, but get a extra rush from the beauty of the woods. I’m not a fan of plain grain, liking a little to a lot of unusual graining. I want wood to “look” like wood.
The whistle received yesterday is a D fashioned with beautiful Tiger Maple graining. I had passed on this particular maple wood last Fall for the C as it is so hard to photograph to see the grain effect. The only wood I have ever seen with this depth of layers is Hawiian Koa. I had even discussed Koa with Paul, but it is very hard to mill correctly and not generally available in the wood he works. The Tiger Maple I have now trumps anything I’ve seen in Koa or other woods. The layers are - how do I say this - iridescant. The only thing I can compare is to Tiger Eye stones. As you move the wood in the light it exposes more detail, different layers, complex shades. It even has a little of the Birdseye of my C as well, and is a great complimentary look for the “pair”.
I think anyone who has been on this board for long knows that Paul Busman makes very nice, top of the line playing whistles. His whistles have been reviewed by many finer players tham I am, and are always well thought of. He is the only one I know that can produce a whistle in a myriad of woods. He displayed great patience as we discussed what and how over several months. His customer service is without question, he makes it very easy to find “your” favorite. If you like to see the beauty and graining of the wood in your whistles, he is your “go to” man.
Thanks for letting me share my enthusiasm over yet another piece of Busman art.
Here is a photo of the new Tiger Maple taken by Paul prior to shipment. It’s even prettier as it is turned in the light. Really looks like a Tiger tail!
Here is the photo link - I hope this works. It is the one Paul is holding up to the light.
Paul - thanks for letting me post your photo. I am greatly enjoying the whistle! Thank you for all your extra effort to make this for me!
Interesting; looks a bit like boxwood with stripes. Ok, you guys, stop trying to entice me with all this gorgeous wood - I gave it up due to unfavorable elemental conditions here; that’s why I have a terrific Busman green delrin whistle. Let’s see, maybe an African blackwood body, silver ferrules, and a nice green delrin fipple? Hmmmm…Paul, are you listening (reading actually)?
I have a piece uf unidentified wood that is clearly from the mahogany/sapele family given to me by a mandolin maker. It is dirty brown in colour when un finished but polish it and the grain takes on an irridescence that is almost holographic. The nearest comparison I can give is likening it to a humbug. It has the same sort of colour and shimmer that a new humbug has. Unfortunately I don’t have enough for a whistle so I use it for the fipple plugs
Can’t do silver, but is stainless steel close enough?
Speaking of funky fipples, I made a pen on the lathe last night for my wife. She’s an orangeoholic, and I found a really beautiful pen blank in an orange crushed satin color. After I cut off what I needed for the pen I had about 2" left so I turned it down to fipple diameter, popped out the fipple in my own black Delrin and brass whistle and fitted this orange lucite in there. Majorly cool looking!
