Finger hole corrosion on unpainted Clarke Sweetone

Whistle
1

Hello, I’ve had a Jerry Freeman tweaked Sweetone for a little over a week now. It’s an unpainted one since the Whistle Shop didn’t have any black ones and I didn’t want any of the other colors.

I’m seeing some corrosion around the finger holes, and I assume this is normal for plain tin. How bad can this corrosion get in the long run? Do I need to clean this with something?

Thanks,
Bob

2

Not to worry about.*

Look at it either:

  1. optimistically: your whistling teacher sees you’ve down your homework
  2. reasonably: the corrosion spreads and you end up with an eight-hole recorder at a bargain price.
  3. pessimistically: if your fipple starts to leak, see an MD.
  • seriously, not to worry: it’s called “patina”. Very chic.
3

Thanks, now that I know what it’s called, I can probably find other newbie posts asking about it. I didn’t find much under corrosion.
:slight_smile:
Bob

4

Hi, Bob.

Not to worry.

Regardless of where you purchased it, if any whistle I’ve done gets to where you want to have it done over or replaced, I’ll be happy to take care of it for you.

Best wishes,
Jerry

5

It probably is more a “patina” (discoloration) than “corrosion” (disappearing material).

I keep an unpainted Sweetone D at work - it gets played, on average, 15-20 minutes a day 5 days a week. I’ve had it over a year; the discoloration showed up after the first few days of play, but I have yet to note any damage. Decent little whistle, especially for the price (<$5).

The more I play, and the more chances I have to try handmade whistles, the more I appreciate Sweetones. Even the Sweetone/Meg C’s with their weird long reach for the bottom hole (just make sure to pull tube a bit out to bring the “C#” in tune with the rest). Not the most exciting whistles out there, but available, reliable, and with very few quirks to play around.