Thanks to someone in another thread (I am sorry I forget the name), I contacted Oak and they are going to send me another whistle after I told them I have been having that tingling of the lips after playing. Apparently there was a goof up by the manufacturer. So I asked for specifics, and I asked if the old whistle was harmful or if I should dispose of it and they said only to dispose of it and did not offer specifics.
So now, does anyone know what was wrong with them? I let my 9 year old boy play it a few times.
I remember reading in the Memphis, Tennesse newspaper almost 25 years ago about a problem plaguing local jewelers. Seems as though someone had pilfered the discarded radioactive gold from the local university and sold it to some of the jewelery makers. Supposedly, fingers and ears were rotting off from the radioactivity.
Wonder if there’s such thing as radioactive plastic???
Actually we’ve had threads on this before, and my Oak makes my lips numb/tingly too. Who did you caontact? (email address or phone number would be great)
I had an old recorder from my wife’s family laying around the house. I played it for a while and then eventually decided to get a decent recorder.
There’s a great guy up in the Northeast somewhere who sells all kinds of recorders and is quite the expert. I was talking with him and mentioned the old recorder.
To make a long story short, it was made out of bubinga – apparently a common wood for recorders, but if not treated properly it can be poisonous, although in most cases just causing an allergic reaction, tingly lips, swelling, etc.
Needless to say, I got rid of the old recorder. (And, eventually, the new Yamaha as well!
info@musicsales.com. They were prompt with a reply and they are sending me a new Oak. They are just a little too cryptic about the nature of the tingle.
On 2002-07-10 17:20, avanutria wrote:
Hmm I’ve used bubinga for pen turning. Never heard about that effect, but I’m glad I put a wax coating on the pens!
Lots of species of wood are toxic - especially tropicals. For a list of links to sites containing wood toxicity info. See http://www.davidillig.com/awg/safety.shtml I was almost killed by some Padauk wood that I was working - it wasn’t a lot of fun
[ This Message was edited by: garycrosby on 2002-07-10 18:41 ]
I sent somethign to them several weeks ago and never heard back. Thanks for reminding me, I sent them another message. IIRC, I was the first person to point out the numbness issue on the board.
The second one I get also had the funny flavor and made my lips tingle. So I called the distributor. She said she’d look into it and then she emailed me to say that she tried one and she got the same thing happening for her. So she’s working on the problem with her bosses etc. It’s taking a long time but at least something is happening.
I had the same thing happen, with both an Oak and an Acorn. Because of this thread, I contacted the company and they sent two new whistles, no questions asked. The Oak is still doing it, but the Acorn is good (and it was far worse than the Oak had been). I put all the whistles away, so if my lips fall off, I will still have the evidence.
Same thing here – the replacement they sent was so strong that my wife, five feet away, could smell it when I opened the package. I’m leaving them in my car all summer to “cure” them. The older one is bearable now.
Another option for owners of poisonous Oaks is to replace the head. I have a very old Oak whose mouthpiece was all chewed up by a previous owner. I put on a LBW head that I ordered from the Whistle Shop and it works great, or at least as well as it ever has. It still has that nice Oak tone.
Mike
I was graciously sent a replacement as well but the second one was worse than the first. I was wondering if I could find a couple of fipples to replace the nasty tasting ones - any suggestions?
[edit]: I hadn’t read the above post, that helps.
[ This Message was edited by: Paul Reid on 2002-08-15 18:50 ]
This is strange. I love Oaks, but I never thought about my lips when they got this funny feeling. I just figured it was the type of plastic, because the sensation felt familiar. And now that I’m thinking about it, it seems that I got the same sensation from putting my mouth on those old resin figurines from my childhood. (Don’t ask why I was putting them up to my mouth.) I bet it’s the same material.
I’m editing to ask if they will send me a couple of freebies, too, or do I have to write?
JP
[ This Message was edited by: JohnPalmer on 2002-08-16 00:15 ]
On 2002-08-16 00:12, JohnPalmer wrote:
This is strange. I love Oaks, but I never thought about my lips when they got this funny feeling. I just figured it was the type of plastic, because the sensation felt familiar. And now that I’m thinking about it, it seems that I got the same sensation from putting my mouth on those old resin figurines from my childhood. (Don’t ask why I was putting them up to my mouth.) I bet it’s the same material.
I’m editing to ask if they will send me a couple of freebies, too, or do I have to write?
JP
You have to email them, John, and tell them how bad the ones are that you have, and that you heard they were replacing the defective ones.
