I’ve been playing (or trying to) for about 10 months and my husband thinks I’ve improved. So this weekend, while he was out of town, he bought me a wooden whistle as a birthday gift. It’s a Sweetheart rosewood D and it’s beautiful. I hope to grow into it. Meanwhile the Feadog D I’ve been learning on is pretty maintenance free and I’m wondering what I should be doing to care for the Sweetheart. I’d appreciate any help. Thanks.
By all means, double check with Ralph Sweet, but I think he’ll tell you something like this…
Break your new whistle in gradually .Start playing for only about 20 min per day as the dry wood accumulates moisture. Gradually, increase the playing time (add 5 min every couple of days).
When you’re done playing, dry the whistle out, especially the head section. I use a rolled up cloth handkerchief. Don’t store a damp whistle in a sealed case.
Every so often, oil the whistle. Let it dry for a day or so without playing before you do this. I use a mix of 5:1 light olive oil and almond oil, with a little vitamin E oil added.
Do NOT expose your whistle to extremes of temperature, especially heat.
All this sounds like a lot more work than it actually is. It’s worth it!
Paul is an expert on this subject so you should listen to him. Yes it does seem like a lot but the worst is when you are playing for like 45 min. straight to break it in.
Thanks for the help! I did visit Mr. Sweet’s site, and did get similar information from there. I intend to follow these recommendations carefully.