I just got a new whistle today and am a bit curious. It is an Asarkar D whistle that I got used from a local music shop for 8 bucks. Pretty good deal I’d say, since it plays well. I know there were a couple of other posts here a while back about Asarkar whistles, but I have one nagging question.
After playing it most of the day I noticed that on the inside of the mouthpiece was a malleable silver metal with a dull sheen. This, of course handily fits the description of lead. But is there any other metal used in whistles that this could be, or am I better off not playing it?
There have been a number of posts about this subject in the past - there is a good chance that it is indeed lead. I don’t know if I’ve ever found anything that I’d consider a 100%-for-sure answer on the subject of lead fipples - the general consensus seems to be that putting a layer of lacquer or clear nail polish over the part that’s touching your mouth should be a good enough safe guard (you’re not actually ingesting the lead by playing it).
I have an old Generation G with a lead fipple plug that I used clear nail polish on.
I have a set of the Asarkars and agree with Thom’s advice. They are nice looking whistles and also play nicely, HOWEVER, before you attempt to play it with other instruments check the tuning. All of mine (though nicely in tune internally) are about 1/4 tone out of tune, making them great solo instruments.