Hi All,
What is the most beautiful or exotic whistle you have ever seen?
I’m talking here about the “look” or materials used, not the sound 
Exotic might also include instruments made from historic timbers or materials (e.g. made from Atilla the hun’s thighbone etc).
Pictures would help.
I have a gorgeous ‘suling’. (6 holes, fingers like a pennywhistle, with a simple square opening on the underside–you hold it to your lips like a whistle and blow a stream of air along the underside to flow across the opening.)
It’s of teak, carved like a asian dragon. There are scales in relief along the sides, wide smooth belly scales like those of a snake on the underside. The back where the fingerholes are undulates and the large head has all kinds of detail…several projecting teeth, little bump of a chin under the lower jaw, bulging eyes, carved pleating vaguely reminicent of a mustache and lambchop sideburns around the lips and behind the cheeks.
I’m enough of a novice not to try to describe the playability (could just be me ya’know!)
Busman in bocote
Thin Weasels – in mopane, Honduran rosewood, and tulipwood
Harper non-tunable D with engraving
Alba D flageolet
Grinter
There’s also something to be said for the old Water Weasels with the plumbing code still on them. I’ve only got one of those.
For me, there is nothing I’ve experienced that can match the beauty and elegence of the Lon Dubh.
Doesn’t hurt that it plays as good as it looks.
Mike
greenwood in purpleheart . . . absolutely beautiful . . .
precious, my precious
Definitely my old Kerry low D - the usual big black plastic mouthpiece, but with an anodized body of black, red and blue in patterns that appear somehow African in design. I’ve never seen another one like it. It also plays well. Hey Phil, don’t go telling me now that you made hundreds of these. 
I got it at Andy’s Front Hall (now gone sadly) near Albany in Busman country as they were packing it up for a show; it never made it to the show. And, yes, I paid for it.
Next is the tuneable Alba A (set) that I just sold ( 
) - gleaming silver color, file work around the tuning slide, and a beautiful marbled Albanite plug.
Finally, my Busman green delrin D. All fine players too.
Philo
PS - Tom needs to chime in here - he’s got perhaps the most unique whistle I’ve ever seen that also plays well.
OK, I’ll up you one. Blackwood Rose with gold ferrules
My most lovely instrument is my NAF, where the bell end is shaped as a horse head. Of my whistles…toss up between my Busman pink ivorywood and my Sweetheart Dymondwood.
I have a burning desire to take one of my cheapies and use glue and glitter, rhinestones and metallic paint to see how Las Vegas I can make it.
Just to coorect an earlier error, Andy’s Front Hall is open for business, locally and with reduced online catalog. www.andysfronthall.com.
The error may have been caused by the closing of the Eldron Fennig Museum of American Euphremia, which saddly collapsed several winters ago.
I spoke to Andy Spence a little while ago and she made no mention of closing the front hall and the web site is active.
Andy is spending a lot of time being retired and “only” running the Old Songs Folk Festival every June in Altamont, New York. If you can make it drop by.
That would be good news indeed; thought the shop was closed - as I recall it’s in Voorheesville and located on a turnoff somewhere near or midst a golf course. Is that shop still open with inventory of whistles, other instruments and music?
Philo
Greenwood in blackwood with brass ferrules,
followed very closely by,
Abell in blackwood with silver ferrules
===
SlowAir, that Lon Dubh is gorgeous. I think the Lon Dubh wins. The mouthpiece is unique compared to most, filling the “exotic” category, and the rest of it is a work of art, which fills the “beautiful” category. Of course I think the Bleazey’s that IDAwHO has are amazingly beautiful as well. I think the key with wood is choosing the best color metal for ferrules to go with the wood grain and color, and of course, the finish of the metal after turning, is important too.
When it comes to both beautiful and exotic, I am reminded of the look of the green MK Whistles.
And from what I hear on Phil Hardy’s site, they have a somewhat exotic sound too.
Think I will add one of these to my want list, right after a new Hoover and a KerryPro and . . .
All of my whistles are beautiful.
Except maybe the Walton’s whistles. I’ve never liked the look of the mouthpieces on those.
Most simply beautiful (though not exotic) I have actually seen is my Sop D Thin Weasel in Blackwood. And it keeps getting darker and more beautiful.
Though I could be biased since it’s mine and all…
Well, it would have to be wood, naturally 
I’ve had over 200 beautiful pieces of wood come and go over the last 3 years or so, and each had it’s own particular charms. I remember one piece of Mopane, which is usually a fairly uniform looking medium brown wood. It wasn’t until I applied a finish to the turned tube that I discovered some really fascinating iridescent grain lurking below the surface. I had a brief experience with Pink Ivory which was gorgeous and very exotic but caused me no end of heartache with cracking. It just may have been the batch I had, and I’m tempted to give it another try.
Tulipwood has always excited me. I once played a fabulous Von Huene recorder in Tulip with ivory fittings (pre-ban), and when I bought my first Thin Weasel many years ago, one of the things that led me to call Glenn was to ask him if he could make me one in Tulipwood.
I think the most exotic stuff to pass through the shop has been Snakewood. Simply amazing stuff. Also finicky-- all 4 whistles I made from it developed cracks a couple of months later! Fortunately, repairs were easy and the repaired cracks actually look like part of the grain and are undetectable unless you know where to look with a magnifier. Actually, not all of that Snakewood passed THROUGH my shop-- I kept one of those beauties.
Note that I’m not touting my own whistles specifically, just some of the beautiful materials I’ve been lucky enough to work with.
My mopane Weasel is beautifully figured (high-E, on the right). It doesn’t come through too well in the pic, but you can see some contrast:
Well for me it has to be wood. Nothing I know of masters the feel, the look, and the sound even for such a poor player like me.
My wood whistles happen to be all Busman. I prefer figure, grain and that “look” to a plain wood. Paul offers a tremendous palette of wood.
My first was from Byll (Bill - from Gladly Playe Wyth Stryngs) - a unusually beautiful Busman Kingwood in D. It has sort of flame area near the front tone holes. I normally don’t see much use to darker woods that don’t have a “personality”. This one is a certainly an exception. It plays smoothly and made my whistle practicing the past year a lot easier and more productive it plays so well.
My second was a C Busman in a dramatic Birdseye maple - handpicked from his stock. I loved this look so much, I asked Paul to make me a maple in D. I certainly needed two D’s for no other reason than the appreciation of the beauty of this wood.
The final decision was made to “transition” slightly to a Tiger maple in D - dramatic tiger stripes with slight accents of birdseye. I discussed this one recently on the Chiff board and there is a picture showing it. Wonderful look, just a real beauty like the Birdseye.
Each of these whistles has a little different voicing - but I think probably as close as human hands can produce. The tone holes feel just so natural like Paul had my fingers in mind when radiusing them .The transition from D to C feels very natural to me on these Busmans. The Kingwood edges out the other two a little in voicing - I think Byll’s “spirit” stilll lives with it.
My only problem now is trying to decide what new combination of wood and key to ask Paul to make me. If only he could make a Bb or A! What a beautiful set I would have.
I guess I’m hooked.
Exotic + beautiful.. mhm.. how about a Thin Weasel in Snakewood? Always loved that wood, although it’s a bit toxic even..
And, most beautiful of my own whistles.. well, my Shaw. Sad, but true 
Not sad.
I’ve a Freeman Tweaked Shaw (my 2nd whistle) that I wouldn’t hesitate to call beautiful. A ding on the bottom seam, a worn Freeman mouse, some scratches - but beautiful nonetheless.
There was a time on Chiff when Elfsongs would have dominated this kind of topic. Shows how fashion comes and goes:
