Darned oaks, why do they have to be such a good instrument yet leech probably carcinogenic plastic chemicals into my mouth?
Are you sure it is the plastic?
I have numb lips too but I figured it was because it is -36 degrees tonight here on the Canadian Prairies…
wear chapstick.
I recall a similar (and lenghty) thread on this very topic a while back. Was the upshot that a whistle manufacturer offered to take back allegedly offending whistles? I have one that I played once. Sounded fine, but I felt the irritation as well, so I just put it back in the plastic package, and it now occupies a niche on a bookshelf.
Is anyone aware of a ‘curing’ process that does away with the taste and the percieved irritation?
Tom D.
Tom & Co,
This will probably sound trite, but my curing process was to put a black Feadog MarkIII Fipple on the Oak body.
For some reason the Oak body is slightly thicker than most, so Generation heads didn’t fit, but I liked the quality of the body, and didn’t want to stop using it. The feadog head fitted nicely.
Tom, they’ve sent replacement whistles that have heads that are even worse to many of us.
Martin, the problem with your solution is that the Feadog head is totally different from an Oak head – it takes a lot more air and has a breathier sound.
Tantus, search the archives for possible solutions. I’ve had mine in my car for over a year, including in the summer, and it’s lost pretty much of its nastiness. I believe another poster boiled his in water and rinsed it in alcohol.
FYI, Oak heads are also quite brittle – my daughter (30" tall) dropped one and its beak broke off.
try some lipstick!!any color at all wil do!!
(or use winterprotection lipstick)and try to stick your lips out,curl them,like kissing!!
Having spent a good bit of time researching a similar subject - how to keep the oil in the wood of my beloved Cocus Olwell from getting to my lips and causing them to blister - I can tell you that things like chapstick and lipstick do NOT act as a barrier, this from a doctor, not simply my opinion.
If you MUST have the oak, with the stock mouthpiece, you could try doing what I finally ended up doing with my flute, that is: “Lacquer” the headjoint/mouthpiece by painting a few layers of super thin cyanoacrylate (superglue) on it with a Q-tip. The process is a pain in the A**, but I’m having pretty good results, as have others.
For those who don’t know, Cyanoacrylates were developped, basically, as a way to rapidly close wounds on the battlefield, during vietnam era, I believe.
Loren
“For those who don’t know, Cyanoacrylates were developped, basically, as a way to rapidly close wounds on the battlefield, during vietnam era, I believe.”
I’ve always heard the same… but, it was in a spray bottle and not those tiny bottles that always clog!
Not many people know about ‘painting’ with the stuff, it actually works well and is non-toxic when dry.
On 2003-01-15 09:08, Tony wrote:
“For those who don’t know, Cyanoacrylates were developped, basically, as a way to rapidly close wounds on the battlefield, during vietnam era, I believe.”I’ve always heard the same… but, it was in a spray bottle and not those tiny bottles that always clog!
Not many people know about ‘painting’ with the stuff, it actually works well and is non-toxic when dry.
Yeah man, they had to come up with some use for it after the war, hence the tiny little bottles and the guy in the hardhat dangling in the air with his head glued to an I beam. 
Tony is correct: Although they do give off a nasty little fume for the few seconds they are curing (the thin stuff) CA’s (Cyanoacrylates) are non-toxic, and for the most part hypo-allergenic. You can also cover the final coat of CA with a French Polish made by wetting a paper towel with RAW (not boiled) linseed oil, and then adding a few drops of CA, which acts as an accelerant, giving you a quick drying lacquer finish.
By the way, I didn’t make this stuff up (CA paint job and French Polish), I got specific directions from John Skelton (Well know woodenflute player/recording artist), who got the suggestion and directions from Rod Cameron, a highly respected flute maker/restorer.
Loren
Loren