I was lucky enough to get one of these last year from the maker, Ken Matsusaka of SZBE Whistles in Japan. While intended as a novelty item or pendant, it is actually a fully functional miniature VERY high F whistle! A few photos will give an idea of the finish, detail, and scale in my average-sized hand:
The finish is antiqued brass with inscribed decorative rings near the head and foot. For another comparison, here it is side by side with a standard high D Feadóg:
And here is some detail of the Delrin head and fipple. The windway is curved, similar in design to the Sindt, and a smaller version of Ken’s standard SZBE high whistles. You can see the ring for attaching a pendant chain:
Of course, the big question is, does it play? My fingers are much too large to cover the holes normally. But by using a 4-finger technique (T1, T2, B1, B2 only) I managed work out a more or less usable fingering:
The whistle is actually well in tune with F and with itself, and it has a pleasant, bright tone for such a small, high voice. And some practice would probably improve my dodgy fingering. Here it is in 4-fingered playing position:
I’m not sure if Ken is still making these, but his care and craftsmanship are remarkable. I also have his new SZBE aluminum high D with the convertible foot joints (long and short). It’s a fine instrument and a favorite of mine.
That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! Ken is one heck of a whistle maker. I have one of his brass High Ds and it’s my favorite D. I don’t think he’s doing much in the whistle dept right now though. I had been talking to him about making a C in brass for me and after asking him to make it I never heard back from him. He’s been pretty focused on making uilleann pipes right now.
On a side note…I went and got a Reyburn Session C from Doc Jones and it rocks!
this reminds me of the super high C whistle I got from the Whistle Shop a few years ago It was so small, one finger covered 2 holes. I learned to play Down by the Sally Gardens on it.
Second octave on that B part of the Kesh Jig just too much for the ol’ ear ay? Don’t blame you. Maybe it was just my speakers, and I know you said it had a pleasant tone, but that recording sure got to my ears with the super high pitches. That’s neat though, I want one!
I just asked Ken if the mini is still available. He says that he made a few of these on a trial basis as a proof of concept, and could make more now. But since the work involved is basically the same as for a full-size whistle, the price would also be comparable or higher. You can contact Ken and check out his other fine whistles and uilleann pipes at http://szbe.net
Yep, that’s the technique involved. It’s pretty dicey …
I actually just found out about SZBE whistles today and then saw your post. Great job managing to play with only four fingers and still have the Kesh Jig (mostly) recognizable!
I’m going to toot my whistle and mention my tiny-D that has been around now for at least four years.
Fingers too bigl? A suggestion, get rid of the tuning slide and put a piece of brass tubing one size larger than the body tube. The slide starts at the top hole and goes up to the edge of the window. Now slide the tube up and down and you can operate it like a slide whistle except that the tonehole underneath select calibrated notes. This also works great for handicaped whistlers (aka fingers missing, hand missing, etc)
It was so small, one finger covered 2 holes. I learned to play Down by the Sally Gardens on it. 
Don’t blame you. Maybe it was just my speakers, and I know you said it had a pleasant tone, but that recording sure got to my ears with the super high pitches. That’s neat though, I want one!
