I just got a glorious Oak for my birthday, but sadly it does the lip-numbing thing.
Reading through past messages people have been favourably dealt with by the manufacturer, but the replacement whistles still did the numbing thing. Have more recent ones been better at all? Anyone one found a solution for their own, like a cleanser or coating?
Thanks,
Stella
wash it with a mild detergent, rinse it out thoroughly, and that should help quite a bit, and then just wait a while, the rest’ll eventually quit doing that as the plastic ages a bit.
I’ve never had an Oak and so have never tried this idea, but if anyone wants to send me a lip-numbing guinea pig let me know! I’d love to see what happens.
You know the rubber coating that is on a lot of hand tools, like pliars? They sell that stuff in little jars. I don’t know what it’s called but I would go to a hardware store and ask for the rubber coating compound for metal handled tools. (females, feel free to do the whole “I’m just a dumb girl” thing. It makes the hardware guy feel useful.)
So anyway, get that stuff, and block off the end of the windway with something so the rubber doesn’t get inside. I don’t know the size of the windway but I’d say a piece of popsicle stick or something. Leave enough sticking out so you can get the stick out later! And of course don’t touch the blade…
Dip the mouthpiece into the goop, following the goop type instructions that presumably would be on the can. When dry, use a pocketknife to slit the rubber near the popsicle stick and pull the stick out. Now you hypothetically have a rubber coated mouthpiece with an unaffected windway and blade. No plastic contact with your mouth means no numbing.
And you’re less likely to drop your whistle on playing a C, too!
[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-12-10 18:56 ]
No, recent samples of Oaks were just as bad. I did the washing treatment that was mentioned and it worked about 95%. But the last 5% still bothers me.
BTW, the Acorns have it too.
The last time I emailed a rep from the company, she said the manufacturer was working on it. I THINK I’m supposed to get one when they fix it.
I will keep you all posted.
I have a solution that works every time. First you boil the fipple for an hour. Then you go over it with sandpaper endlessly, then scrub it with soap and water for two hours, then throw it away and play a Feadog, or a Sweetone, or a Dixon or a Clarke. And that’s pretty much the only thing that I’ve found that works reliably.
Maybe I’ve got weird genetics or something, but I have yet to be numbed by my Oak.
I’ve played it over an hour at a time, and it’s never numbed me once.
Now a Susato low D numbed me plenty one time…after I socked myself in the lip with its fipple, but that’s a different tale for a different day. 
The weird thing is, with the skin problems I have you’d think if anybody would be bothered by it I would be.
The Oak is a very nice little whistle. It would be worth trying one, I think, just to see if maybe you are one of the lucky few that has no problems playing it.
Best wishes,
–James the Un-Numbed
http://www.flutesite.com
I have two, bought within a couple months of each other. One I have no problem with, and the other tastes awful but doesn’t seem to numb anything (though maybe it would if I played it long enough; I like the other one better).
On 2002-12-10 23:16, blackhawk wrote:
I have a solution that works every time. First you boil the fipple for an hour. Then you go over it with sandpaper endlessly, then scrub it with soap and water for two hours, then throw it away and play a Feadog, or a Sweetone, or a Dixon or a Clarke. And that’s pretty much the only thing that I’ve found that works reliably.
ROFL! Now, tell us how you really feel 
Thanks for the replies! I tried washing it, just quickly and it seemed to make a bit of difference, I havent had numb lips since. Lip balm also makes a good difference! I guess it acts as a barrier. I will contact the manufacturer anyway - I dont like feeling nervous that my whistle is slowly poisoning me!
Stella
Hi Stella,
I’ve had a lip-numbing Oak. The company replaced it with one that also numbed, but not as bad. A good soak in soapy water overnight does help a lot.
Coincidentally, I bought an Oak today…no numbing effect. These whistles are pretty good out of the box, but they respond really well to tweaking. I have one that I tweaked and that I particularly like. I’ve played a wide range of high end whistles and it’s as good as the best of them. If you’d like me to do a job on yours, just send it to me. I’ll ship it back at my expense. (Thanks for the quiver, it works great).
Tom.
Hi Tom!
Changed your username, I didnt recognise you!
MY Oak doesnt require tweaking, it is wonderful as it is! I peeled off the nasty grotty sticker but it has left this nasty grotty smudge. I am really hoping it will polish off ok…I dont have anything suitable to attack it with yet.
Glad to hear the ‘quiver’ is going well! And that you are working on filling it - how full is it now? Still love the Dixon, it is great thanks!
Stella
Don’t you have any nail polish remover around the house? That stuff is wonderful on sticker residue.
Well, this real nice fella called Jim was good enough to send me a whole bunch of high end whistles to try. The result was that I have no intention of ever buying one. I prefer my tweaked cheapies. When I tweak an Oak it comes out quiet and very pure and icy. Nice for playing alone, especially tunes that would sound good on a harp. When I tweak a Walton’s Mellow D (which takes more work) it comes out round and loud with a sort of “plunk” to notes…hard to describe. Almost like a pipe organ sound. And these work better for jigs and reels, especially where I need volume. So I’m SLOWLY putting items into the quiver. Thanks again. E-mail me your address again and I’ll send you one to review.
Tom.