I wanted to make a short post about a whistle I received last week. Generally I don’t go on about these things. I have owned quite a few whistles over the years. I started playing the whistle in the late 1960’s and have tried most everything that’s been offered in the years since. I have a fondness for the sound of inexpensive whistles (Feadog Mark I’s especially) but as time went on I found myself sampling the variety offered by makers of handmade whistles. I enjoy the diversity. I appreciate the craft. This also drove me into making my own whistles - an evil obsession in its own right. What can I say? I like whistles.
Earlier this year I had a chance to try a whistle made by Brad Anderson. Brad had offered some whistles for sale on eBay and another Chiffer quickly alerted us all to those.
I contacted Brad and after a couple of friendly messages I suggested he put a whistle on tour. I offered my observations on that whistle here.
So Brad and I kept corresponding about the craft of whistle making. Brad really likes unique timbers. Brad has some really unusual wood available to him in Australia. To me there is no greater surprise than mounting a piece of wood on the lathe and seeing what wonders appear in the grain as the chips fall away. And this is what makes wooden whistles so appealing to me.
Last week I received a new whistle from Brad fashioned from a lovely piece of snakewood. It’s an improvement over the earlier whistle so I wanted to add to my earlier observations a bit. This updated Anderson design improves on the Bendee whistle I tried out earlier in a number of ways. The fit and finish on the whistle is as good as any whistle I have examined. The mouthpiece is polished and as smooth as glass. The labium is cut crisply and at a steeper angle compared to the earlier whistle. The voicing window appears to be a bit smaller on the newer whistle too. Those changes help generate a cleaner tone. The sweet tone quality of the first octave carries up to the top of the second octave and doesn’t loose its focus. I haven’t taken the calipers to this whistle but Brad may have adjusted a tonehole or two on this whistle as well. The intonation is quite good and I haven’t observed any notes that would send me looking for my tuner. This is a nice sounding whistle and it is very well behaved too. The snakewood steals the show though. Snakewood just has the most unusual grain I have seen. My pictures don’t capture the contrast between the light and dark patches well enough. As with the Bendee whistle, Brad provided a handmade case. Included in the package was a nice certificate of authenticity and a sheet of instructions for the care of the whistle. All-in-all Brad provides a fully professional package. Nicely done, Brad.
I didn’t know about the website until I received this whistle and I saw the URL on the certificate. The site is just being developed but Brad’s contact details are listed on the homepage. There are a few more whistles shown there as well.
Your whistles in the post Martin, ya should have it in a bit over a week and i hope you have a ball with it. Thanks for your kind remarks guy’s and yep snakewood is a gorgeous timber. Cheers Brad.
Keep an eye on that Snakewood though-- it’s notorious for cracking. I made a batch of 4 Snakewood whistles a few years ago and all four of them cracked about 6 months later! Luckily the cracks were easily repaired and not very visible in the grain of the wood.
Oh, and I made myself a pen from that wood and it cracked too. Not to discourage you, but this gorgeous wood can be tricky and it’s expensive as all getout.
Yes, I remembered that review too. I had to go back and take a look at that Weasel myself.
One of the neat things about wooden whistles is the variety of color, figure and grain available in different timbers. Snakewood is certainly dramatic. And there are so many other interesting woods. It makes you want to go out, buy a lathe and some turning squares to see what comes out. I seem to recall myself lusting after a certain Busman whistle made from Tasmanian Rose Myrtle not too long ago.
The best thing about all these whistles is that you can put them up to your lips and music comes out and sometimes people start dancing. It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it?
