Polish whistle maker

Hi All!
Look this site: http://goldfinch.eu
This guy (Waldemar Szczygiel) makes very nice whistles (they look like Glen’s instrument isn’t they?) They cost only about 50 bucks. He has few in stock.

These look like they are made from CPVC tubing. CPVC is for hot water. This is harder pipe than PVC and it cuts very nice on the lathe. I make Fifes from this material and I like the tan eggshell color too. I bet these sound nice. Softer PVC whistles don’t resonate that well in my opinion.

Hello there!

Thanks, Adam! :wink:

My name’s Jacob Goldfinch (wich translates to Jakub Szczygiel :wink:) and I’m Waldemar’s son! We’re both trying to deliver a cheap and well playing whistle with outstanding performance! And that’s not an easy goal, as You know for sure! :wink: As for now, we’re really proud of the first reviews from some of Polish ITM players! If You’re not afraid of Polish language, I invite You to the most significant Polish Tin whistle/Irish Flute forum and website, where the reviews are stated!

Here You go:
Whistlowisko website:
http://www.whistle.art.pl/

Goldfinch Whistles forum topics: http://www.whistle.art.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=122
http://www.whistle.art.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7&start=45

The Goldfinch Whistles website is currently only in Polish, as we just have started our journey. In a couple of days we’ll make one in English, so please, stay tuned! We hope to bring You some more tin whistle joy in the close future!

(Sorry for language errors etc.! I’m doing my best! :wink:)

  • Jacob

Do either of you have a sample you can post a link to?

Looks a lot like a Water Weasel. This image gives a good look at the ramp and the beak.

I have a list of whistle makers I made for my own use, but if anyone else wants to see it, it’s here: http://whistle.JeffLeff.com/makers.html

The link below seems to state that they are patterned after Glenn’s whistles.

Feadoggie

Here’s a site that translates Polish to English, sort of.

http://www.poltran.com/pl.php4

The best part of one translated posting: “I catcall with admiration”, so it must be a good whistle!

We’re working on it! :slight_smile:

The similarity is undeniable! Glenn Schultz’s idea was to create a great whistle with cheap materials. We’ve used the same cheap and widely available CPVC plumbing pipe. However, what is new (I guess!), the block is made of material called here, in Poland “C-pom” (still looking for it’s English name! “Poliacethal”?). We had the outstanding Water Weasel in our hands and that was surely a whistlemaking lesson, but we decided to take our own path, partially based on the Master’s experience and material. Goldfinch is - in opinion of some - softer than Water Weasel, especially in the second octave.

Of course, words are not enough to define a whistle, especially those from it’s maker :wink:! Goldfinch is still a young project. I’ll support You with any news and webpage “upgrades”! :slight_smile:

(This week the English webpage will be available!)

Polyacetal, or simply acetal, is a polymer similar to delrin which is the trade name of a material invented by DuPont. Delrin or acetal is the block material of choice for whistles these days. I have used delrin/acetal for quite a few years in my own CPVC/PVC whistle and many, many other makers use it as well. In fact it is just a great material for making any part of the whistle or the entire whistle. It machines so nicely, can be buffed to a mirror finish and is resistant to most environmental agents. It’s just not easy to glue.

Feadoggie

Well, thank You kindly for Your knowledge! Looks like we somehow (re)discovered that material on our own, taking the “longer shortcut”. We’ve never really compared our work with other makers, as there are not many of them here, in Poland, so we didn’t realize the fame of polyacetal. So, it came out there’s nothing original at all about it! :slight_smile: However, it works really nice!

Yes, it does! Jacob, there are quite a few whistle (and flute) makers contributing to this forum. At least three of the people that posted in this thread are themselves whistle makers. There’s no need to “re-discover” things on your own. If you have questions about how others make their whistles just ask. You will always get a nice variety of answers here. Welcome to Chiff and Fipple. I hope that you keep us posted on your progress.

Feadoggie

Thanks for the kind reply! We’ll do our best!

Hello, Chiff and Fipple! Be greeted! :slight_smile:

Our English website is online! I encourage You to take a look!

www.goldfinch.eu

More will come! :wink:

Hi Feorn, I see on your English site that you use the term “tin whistle” everywhere. If your whistles are made from CPVC, not tin, then you really can’t call them tin whistles. The term is not generic when you are offering whistles for sale. The simple term “whistle” is enough, and accurate.

Really?!
Should he also avoid “pennywhistle” if it costs more than a penny?

Yes. :slight_smile:

Well, maybe pennywhistle is more generic, and maybe tinwhistle might be too. But offering a “CPVC tin” whistle for sale is confusing at best, and the confusion is unnecessary, no?

The only maker I know offhand that offers tinwhistles is the Clarke Tinwhistle Company (note, one word). And Clarkes are, or course, made from rolled tinplate.

I guess, IMO, offering a product for sale calls ideally for more accurate language than casual usage. In this case, English is a non-native language, so I’m just trying to save them some grief. :slight_smile:

The only maker I know offhand that offers tinwhistles is the Clarke Tinwhistle Company

Shaw.

From the Shaw Whistles website:

SHAW whistles are a sweet toned instrument, individually voiced to give maximum performance. The whistle is a tapered design, handmade in > solid nickel silver sheet > with a carved hardwood block, the lower keys having a metal lined wind way. They are assembled using lead-free solder.

http://www.daveshaw.co.uk/SHAW_Whistles/shaw_whistles.html

'Aight! I will fix that, pro arte et pro publico bono! :wink: Thanks for the tip!

(By the way, that’s a dylema for another huge topic! Can a PVC whistle be a TINwhistle?)

You’re right. I never thought about it…