Hello, everyone, sarcastic or not, and whether or not you like what you’ve seen of my work. Opinions are like… uh… well… hrm! We all know what opinions are like.
You can, indeed, make a whistle just like mine from either the .035 wall chrome moly, or from Type L copper. Both of 'em are, as someone surmised, heavy, but the chromoly low D flute makes a pretty intimidating weapon, as well as making music, so you’re getting double duty! I began with thinwall, but went with the heavier materials because I like the way they sound. What a concept!
The whistles are, indeed, simple. The materials don’t cost very much. The design is vaguely similar to, well, lots of other whistles, including some shown in articles I found on the Web. What did some ‘o’ yer think – I live in a vacuum and thunk it all up about fipples and blades all by myself?! Shoot, though, you gotta admit, some of my tools (railroad spike, 4-lb brass sledge hammer) are kinda unique!
As a whistle-maker, I am a rapidly-advancing semi-amateur. “rapidly” because I began as a silversmith, worked as a machinist, and pick up mechanical skills required to do good work rather quickly. And rest assured, if a whistle I make looks or sounds crap, it doesn’t get out the door. I tune and test before decorating, and there have already been some B-flat and G’s turned into C’s, with their lousy heads chopped and dumped into the meltdown-tank! My rather simple premise of doing business is, if I wouldn’t buy it, then I won’t sell it. The last thing I want is a rep as a cheat, a liar, or a purveyor of crappy junk.
As to decor, the only absolute is the somewhat silly-looking snake on the back, and it’s my mark, and it’s a private joke, and I’m putting it on every one. So there. Nyah, nyah. If ya don’t like it, file the durn thing off!
So, again, thanks for the (in certain cases, somewhat dubious) welcome! Heck, I’m enjoying this place already! Hey, Paddy! Another Guiness!
Cheers,
Bill Whedon
Serpent Music
