I have about 20 whistles but would like one made of wood.. What is the most affordable QUALITY wooden whistle? 
Sweetheart, if you are alright with Laminate. Of course, they make blackwood and rosewood also.
Obrien’s maple is just over a hundred dollars and plays very well.
Sweetheart seconded.
Lancewood Syn is an extremely nice whistle to both play and look at.
My Weston Whistle made of Sapele in D is the sweetest sounding whistle: full and round.
Both $125 US or less.
I second SYN lancewood, Sweetheart dymondwood and Weston hmmmm.
The SYN has the most angelic tone, the Sweetheart has the most professional performance and the Westwood has the most character!
Wood is way different to metal or plastic - no matter how exact the manufacture, wood will have its way. Plastic is predictable, metal is malleable, but every piece of wood is as individual as the tree it once occupied!
A well crafted wooden whistle will take its place in your heart like a close friend or a favourite pet. If the maker is sensitive then the character of the wood will be strong. Talk to the maker!
If you are buying wood as an aspiration or an experiment then be prepared to accept where you get taken, else stick to plastic.
If you have something in mind - do your research and identify the wood that fits your purpose, intent or feeling. Select the wood and obtain a piece seasoned and ready to work. Then send it to the maker that resonates with what you want. Even then be prepared to be moved.
Wood has been our friend for as long as we had oposable thumbs. Do not treat it as a stranger!
I will soon have the ancient mariner- entrusted to me to allow. I will not part with this instrument to just anyone. If no one can convince me that they are ready to own it - it will stay in its case. No amount of money or worldly blandishment will change that.
Wood is very special stuff.
(this is not a commercial post)
Thanks, guys. I appreciate the input. If I didn’t consider costs, would the list change?
Absolutely. It would include Busman whistles and any Thin Weasel
you could find on eBay.
Second for Busman! And, there are a few nefarious whistlesmiths out there that are way-hard to winlke-out (living or other)! It kind of depends on your philosophy. After financial concerns dissapear beneath the clouds - even some you once saw as “affordable” drift-up against a higher light! There are many dimensions (dement-ions?) in music! “Railway spike” springs to mind for some reason.
It all maps differently when you get free of the purely physical. ?? (can’t believe I actually wrote that - perhaps it’s a quote 
) and I went on to say that you accidently bump into the whistlemaker somewhere where you were’nt looking …? hmmmm.
You can’t go wrong with Busman, Grinter or Thin Weasel. Which you prefer is a matter of taste and the individual characteristics of the whistle you happen to be holding. A good Abell is right up there too, although they are a bit less consistent I think. That’s in my experience.
BTW:
There’s a Bloodwood Thin Weasel in C for sale if you like that key.
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=38720
I’d jump at it if I didn’t already have a Water Weasel, a Reyburn, and a Freemen Tweaked Gen in C.
i would add greenwood to that list. i’ve owned three of them . . . they are marvelous. busman and weasels are excellent as well. i’ve owned at one time all three . . . i kept the greenwood.
Your experience is not the same as mine. I have had both the Greenwood and Weasel and would have kept the weasel if I did not like my Bleazey, Weston and Syn better. Now I have a Rose in Pink Ivory and wow! With these four I can cover nearly any base needed.
If cost is no option, I think Wombat’s list is good; I’d add Bleazey, Swayne, and Abell. Which one you prefer depends on what kind of sound and playing characteristics you want. I have a personal favorite, which can most certainly be gleaned from my posting history, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best, nor is there a best. Can you tell us some characteristics you like?
Sweetheart is a sure bet. It’s my first experience with an “expensive” whistle, so I may not be the best judge, but I’m a happy camper with mine! (See yesterday’s post).
Now I’m thinking ‘C’, and am torn between the Sweetheart and something like a Black Diamond or Granite Falls — I know, they’re totally different, and I need to decide what I’m really after. 
Well, sometimes the shopping is half the fun!