Hi all,
If you buy a $10 or under whistle and play it a little every day, should it last
more than a year?
Should a $20-$30 one last 2 years;
should my $95 one last almost 10 years?
I seem to wear mine whistle out so fast;
I was just wondering what others had
noticed, time-wise. (And yes, I remember the posts about famous people playing old beat-up
whistles they have had for years. I am
interested in us regular blowers and our
whistles).
Lolly
How many whistles have you worn out, Lolly? And did you determine that was what was wrong with your Susato?
I’ve just worn out the Clarke originals that get too dried-out for this area.
I still haven’t been unable to un-clog the “B” one, but I still play it using a head from another Sustato, in the meantime.
I’m just curious how others think Whistles
hold-up from use.
Lolly
Copeland whistles are made to last
hundreds of years, Michael C told me once,
and I believe him. So they’re a
good deal when it comes to durability.
Your great-great-great grandchild
will say: ‘This whistle belonged
to my honored ancestor, Lollycross.’
P.S. I once bought a meditation
cushion from a Buddhist supply
store.
‘If you aren’t enlightend
in 100,000 lifetimes, you can return
it for a full refund’ the saleslady
said.
‘How will you know it’s me?’
‘Keep the receipt.’
[ This Message was edited by: jim stone on 2002-08-20 13:22 ]
The only problem I’ve ever had was with a Clarke Original (my first whistle). The fipple block developed a crack. Believe it or not, it made the whistle even breathier sounding.
I’m with Jim – I’m certainly planning on some of my whistles being heirlooms.
Charlie
This is something I never thought of. What wears out? The fipple? I just figured I’d have my O’Briain Improved and my Clare forever (I can take them with me, right?).
Susan
I’ve had a couple Clarke originals wear out on me, both in about a year’s time. The fipples, being an untreated softwood, swell and shrink as you play (due to moisture entering/leavinig the wood). This eventually makes the wood kinda haggard looking, as well as making it fit loosely in the mouthpiece, to the point of falling out.
I’ve had some Sweetones and a soodlum for at least 5 years now, though, with my teeth marks and scuffed paint being the only real marks of wear (I evidently don’t have one of the rusting sweetones I’ve heard about). I also have an old Feadan that I understand is in the neighborhood of 20 years old. It looks brand new.
I imagine a properly cared for whistle could last a lifetime if it wasn’t made of a soft wood or an overly corroding metal.
I just stepped in here to get out of the maelstrom…
The coating on my 2 year old Walton has peeled away around the holes and in back where my thumbs rest. I dissolve metal eyeglass frames, too. Anyway, I can’t help wondering what a whistle sounds like if the holes start getting bigger!
Thank you for the very peaceful post.
Last week I received a brass whistle that I bought off ebay from an antique dealer in London, purportedly a hundred years old. The fipple seems to be some sort of other metal (lead?), but overall, it’s just gorgeous, and obviously older than me. It’ll probably last another few hundred years.
Also, there was an antique Generation for sale on ebay a while back, and it looked great.
I think with proper care, most of these whistles will outlast us.
Blackhawk is right. With care most musical instruments will last indefinitely.
Not that they won’t age. I’ve had my Clarkes for the better part of five years, and both the C and the D are going strong. It took about 2 years for the annoying gold diamonds to wear off, and another two or so for me to sand the black paint off the D and polish it, leaving a very classy looking silver whistle.
The fipple plugs on both my Clarkes came loose after around 4 years or so, but it was quite easy to fix with a center punch, or even a small nail–Just get the plug where you want it, hold it temporarily in place with super glue (actually, I think I used duct tape), then punch a couple indentations into the side metal to permanently hold it in place.
Remember, just because something comes loose, quite looking shiney, or needs fixed doesn’t mean the whistle is worn out. My word, if I thought that way I’d have been taken out behind the barn and put out of my misery years ago, and I’m only thirty-one! 
Tom
[ This Message was edited by: WyoBadger on 2002-08-20 19:18 ]
Given reasonable care, I imagine even a cheap brass or nickel tube would significantly outlive its first owner or two. As for the fipple, I guess it depends on whether or not you bite down when playing. My Overtons will presumably be around long after I’ve long since lost interest in who’s playing them.
The plastic whistles might be another matter, since some plastic gets brittle with age, but who knows? When it comes to wood, there are recorder/whstle type instuments in museums that are hundreds of years old.
In any case, unless you use it as a bludgeon or are a hunter-gatherer who uses it for a digging stick, I imagine it’ll last a good bit longer than you will.
Like the other posters, I’ve only ever had problems with Clarke originals wearing out. My other cheapies play fine until they get lost, and I’ve yet to buy a more expensive whistle. But when I get my Sindt, I expect that to last for the rest of my life!
How about the PLASTIC ones…Sustato and even my fancy Silkstone.
When things get jammed or whatever in the fiddle and we have to soak them and poke
them, etc., isn’t that doing something to
the “glue” that holds the fipple in?
If we soak it too much will it all fall apart?
Lolly
Plastic ones should be kept out of sunlight, in moderate temperatures. The kinds of plastics used on cheaper whistles will wash out the color from sunlight and it does something that cause cracking. (I heard it said that a lot of whistle players play in the dark so this might not be a problem)
I’m not sure how long the delrin will last, probably much longer. Delrin seems to be pretty tough stuff.
Lollycross, don’t DO that! I’ve been sitting here staring at my beloved green Silkstone, wondering what Paul used for glue and resolving to be even MORE careful about wiping it out now and then - AND thanking my Fates that I’m not a ‘drooler’. Just keep it dry when not using it and I imagine it should last ok.
I’d be more worried about the Water Weasel, truth be told. After all, unlike the Silkstone, IT has a wood fipple plug. But I don’t play it all that often, so perhaps I should worry more about the wood drying and shrinking than deteriorating from moisture.
As for my other plastic whistles, until I get around to selling them, I really don’t care.
Isn’t the Copeland’s fipple plug made out of plastic? I wonder how long it would last…
I am thinking of the generic metal tube / plastic fipple type whistles. Most of these look to me like they don’t use particularly robust plastic for the fipple. I’m guessing many use styrene-type plastic. The life expectancy of styrene (and many other plastics) is affected by sunlight, heat and atmospheric gases. Certain of the chemical ingredients degrade over time, others leach out as fumes (that new car smell). As this happens plastic can become brittle or change shape. Better quality plastics (nylon, silicone, urethane, pvc, corian etc) have various of these faults reduced or eliminated. As if this wasn’t bad enough, manufacturers of some consumer products (kitchen appliances and the like) have figured out how to add certain materials to the plastic like corn starch that assure it will degrade over a short time - planned obsolescence!
The bottom line is that if you have a cheap whistle you can’t afford to lose - store it in a cool dark container filled with nitrogen!
- Joel
[ This Message was edited by: joeln on 2002-08-21 09:44 ]