Following up on my previous post about buying my first low whistle (link), I took some advice here and reviews around the internet and decided on a Kerry Optima with the original black mouthpiece. I’m playing my Generation D every chance I get in anticipation. But that leads me to how I’m going to store the thing and keep it safe from mishaps (which occur regularly with two human and two feline klutzes in the apartment) and how to clean it.
I think cleaning is easy: get the same type polishing cloth I used on my nickel-plated trombone back in the day, and a similar rod that I would use to clean out the slide. Does the tuning slide need any kind of grease?
I haven’t seen anything I really like in terms of cases online. I’d like something with a hard shell, with space to store the cleaning kit, at minimum. I’m thinking maybe I should go to a music shop and ask for flute cases that may fit. What would you recommend?
It’s not so hard to make a case. You can find a suitable small wooden chest or box , and make something nice out of it.
I have a little wooden box that originally held some old chisel type of things with all the blades for it. I took out the thing that holds the compartments for them, and replaced it with a foamish type of material, which I cut to have little compartments just a tad bigger than the components of my whistle, then I put some green felt material and glued it over the top of it (hence making them bigger than the pieces of the whistle when you cut the indentions for your instrument, the felt takes up more space and it ends up about right. Before you glue on the felt you can lay it over it and adjust the size of the spaces as needed ), and it ended up looking like a very nice whistle case, which cost me very little.
Lots of wooden boxes are available at places like fleamarkets, yard sales, ebay, etc. It doesn’t take much time to make a nice case.
Goldies soft cases/pouches are what i use, i have never found the need for a hardshell case for a whistle *nor do i clean mine *
I also have a home made felt/fleece rollup case, and the Löfgrens come in a fleece/felt “condom pouch”
Like Mr. Blackwood, I use a soft case purchased from Colin and Brigitte Goldie. The case has storage for multiple high and low whistles and cleaning gear. The case is well made, protective of my treasured whistles, keeps my instruments well organized, and has both a handle and shoulder strap for ease of transport. It has worked very nicely for me.
Pretty easy to stitch up a whistle sleeve out of fleece or flannel (sorta like those shown here). If you want a hard case, a suitably sized piece of pvc (or similar - check your local big box hardware store) tubing with end caps might run you another $5 or so. Not the most attractive, but it works fine to protect your instrument.
As for cleaning, I just wash my whistles out with running warm water every few months. The external patina gently suggests to others that you actually play the instrument.
I use a drumstick case. Soft but strong and fairly cheap. They have pockets to protect and seperate my whistles. Mine holds about 10 whistles down to a low G easily.
Drumstick cases seem to work well for higher pitched whistle collections (I use one). However, the OP is looking for a case for a single (as far as we know) low D. A couple of other options, should you choose to spend the money are fly-fishing rod cases or cases made for Native American flutes.
Harbor freight sells aluminum cases lined with foam for a cheap price. You can carve the foam up to suit your whistles. For my high whistles I have a roll up case which I keep in the briefcase I no longer needed when I retired.
After a few months of playing, I’ve just been using the plastic case that Phil from Kerry Whistles shipped it to me in. It works… kept the whistle safe, though it’s never been in any sort of danger. After looking through past thread on this, it seems like the best option for me would be to either stop by my local music shop and see if they can sell me a flute case that’ll fit the whistle, or just build one out of PVC pipe.
So my question to you guys who have gone the PVC route: how did you get the foam/felt INSIDE that pipe? I want it to be secure and snug inside there, and not knock around and get hurt. I might be taking it on a airplane ride soon!
The plastic case that the Kerry whistle comes with is a pretty good case to protect the whistle except in the most inhospitable conditions.
To line the PVC pipe you can try a few things. If you use the self adhesive felt (sold for making jewelry boxes at places like Woodcraft), you can loosely wrap it around a large dowel or another smaller tube to get it inside the pipe. Waxed paper between the layers may help keep it from sticking together. Then use the dowel to even it out around the inside of the pipe. Two other methods work fine and are easier to pull off though. Some would place the whistle in a fabric bag (even a tube sock) and put the whole thing into the pipe. Or find a sheet of flexible closed cell foam and wrap that around the whistle before going into the pipe. It should mostly stay put after that.
If you go the PVC pipe route and then travel via air be prepared to talk to the TSA or to even play a tune for them. You will get noticed. Don’t hide it in your shoe or down your pants leg. For some reason they are sensitive to short sections of closed off pipes. And don’t carry your whistles in a pressure cooker! … as intuitive as that might seem.
I use plastic field/pistol cases for rough trips. Paul mentioned the Doskocil brand and they are great. I have a couple of those. I find the Plano Protector series cases are more available where I live at mass market sporting goods outlets(Dick’s, Gander Mountain, Cabella’s, etc.). They come in a variety of sizes to fit most any whistle. I can fit a whole set of whistles in most keys into a case made for four pistols and it cost about $20 when I bought it. Great bang for the buck, so to speak. They are generally very inexpensive, especially compared to flute cases at retail store prices. You’ll still have to talk to the TSA folks.
If you’d like other ideas you can search through the archives. There have been a lot of threads on this topic and some solutions have been quite imaginative. There are a lot of materials that can be re-purposed as whistle cases. Here’s a starter https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/tin-whistle-storage/65452/1
Not clear on why you need to line the pvc pipe. For stuff like that I put my whistle in a fleece bag/sock and just slide that into the pvc tube. Seems much simpler than trying to line the inside of the tube and more protective than a felt line. Just sayin’…
Yea, it totally sounds easier to put the whistle in a felt/cloth bag, then put that bag inside the tube. And the issues at the airport… lol, yea I can only imagine what THEY would think is inside there.
Meh, I might just stick with the plastic case and find a suitable cloth bag with lots of padding to slip that into for transport. Easier, cheaper, and no issues with the gestapo. Er, TSA.
I once (many years ago, pre-9/11) found myself flying out of St. John, New Brunswick with an electronic bagpipe chanter in a pvc tube. I laid it on top of my luggage and explained to the inspector that it was a musical instrument. Still, I was soon surrounded by men in red coats and escorted to a private room. The Mounties stayed close to the walls as they firmly requested that I open the tube and slowly take out the contents. I did and again explained that it was a musical instrument — or at least as musical as a bagpipe can be. They made me connect the ear buds and turn the chanter on but naturally they couldn’t hear anything. I suggested that one of them should put in the ear buds and they all started pointing at each other saying “You listen” “No, you listen” Probably thought it was some sort of Dr. Evil death ray machine. Finally one of them agreed to plug in the ear buds and hear the sounds, didn’t die, and made me play “Amazing Grace” and “Scotland the Brave” for each of them. At last, I could go on my way, barely making my flight. Moral of story—pvc may protect your instrument but you should probably get to the airport early to make sure you get through security.
Good story, Steve! Thank heaven it was the RCMP and not the TSA. That’s kind of why I mentioned it. I’ve seen how they can get. A pistol case is by no means any less of a fire starter in the screening line.
I am not sure how long the sections are on a tunable Optime low D but one of the cheapest and most available cases I have used is a plastic pencil/ruler box. They are made by Sterlite and others. They are long enough to hold a one piece high D and C whistles no problem. Actually they will hold 25 or so in fact. They are made to hold a 12 inch long ruler. They are durable but not lockable. Some foam placed inside as a lining would be almost as good as a flute case. They area always on sale through the summer leading up to Back-to-School time at Staples, Office Depot, Walmart (maybe) and others. They come in various colors if you care.
I’ve been buying them at Staples over the last five years or so when they go on sale - something like $1 a piece on sale. I must have 20-ish by now. And, no, they aren’t all full — yet.
I’ve been made to assemble and play both whistles and flutes by staff at security at airports. The times it’s happened with me has been at the X-ray machines, when they’ve detected the metal of the whistles. So I’ve been made to play for the assembled throng on those occasions. It has generated a certain amount of amusement.
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After looking through past thread on this, it seems like the best option for me would be to either stop by my local music shop and see if they can sell me a flute case that’ll fit the whistle, or just build one out of PVC pipe.
Good story, Steve! Thank heaven it was the RCMP and not the TSA. That’s kind of why I mentioned it. I’ve seen how they can get. A pistol case is by no means any less of a fire starter in the screening line.