I have just acquired an excellent new wooden high d whistle. I am finding it clogging more frequently than my other whistles. I think I am a somewhat moist blower. Being new it has had recent oiling. I have seen advice here for clogging which recommended either a detergent rinse or the use of duponol. I am thinking these solutions might strip the protective oiling and thus damage the whistle. Any advice?
Cheers, John
Whether the fipple block is wood or a non-porous material like Delrin, the block isn’t (and shouldn’t) normally be oiled anyway. Wood blocks are often made of a porous open-grained wood like cedar, intended to absorb moisture as you play.
In either case, there should be no harm applying a Duponol or detergent treatment to the windway, as there should be no protective oiling in the windway to be stripped. But as always, you should consult your whistle maker to be sure.
It depends on the maker. At least one wooden-whistle maker recommends soaking the head in oil (it’s an all-wood head).
As for the OP’s question, some wooden whistles have pretty narrow windways (Swayne, Busman, Weasel, mine. . .), which are more susceptible to clogging. I play wet, too. A couple of possiblities: First, warm up the mouthpiece. Put it under your arm for a few minutes before starting to play. Second, putting some rinse aid in the windway is generally okay – check with the maker if you haven’t already or if the maker hasn’t recommended it.
Aha. In that case, with a oiled hardwood block the OP’s dilemma could be quite real.
…and as it may be obvious to you (but I’m glad someone made it clear to me, as I just did a detergent rinse on a clogging whistle), take off the headpiece (if 2 piece) and pour the diluted solution from the window down toward the fipple. That way you’re not getting any detergent inside the oiled part of the whistle anyway.
Thanks for the replies. The whistle has a delrin block. I tried the warming suggestion and it has made a huge difference. Thanks again.
Cheers, John