Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hello all - I recently picked up a wooden whistle. Any tips on how to oil -- especially the inside. Thanks and best, Joe

I use two separate bore brushes used for rifles- the cotton ones, not the wire ones (obviously). I put a very small amount of oil (I use a fretboard conditioner for guitars) on one brush and then use the second to wipe out any excess. You don’t want to use much at all- too much oil can have negative impacts especially near fittings (same as a guitar with frets). And you don’t need to do it that often- of course that depends on your environment (dry vs humid, summer vs winter).

If I’ve given bad advice- please advise!

It depends on the wooden whistle. If you know who the maker is, find the maker's instructions. I've owned most of them, so if you can't find out and you're comfortable sharing whose it is, let us know.

I recommend a small piece of silk or lint-free cloth run through a recorder swab or a sawn/split end of a chopstick with almond oil treated with a little vitamin E to keep it from oxidizing. If it's blackwood or other high-oil wood, don't overdo it. If it's boxwood, purpleheart, or something like that, every 1-6 months depending on how old/dry it is.

Some wooden whistles have been treated so that they don't need oiling, and the oil just gunks them up. As I said, it depends on the whistle.

Don't use huge amounts of oil. You only need a thin film.Do your oiling when the whistle is completely dry, not right after playing. Don't oil the windway, and don't oil the blade very much at all. After oiling, be sure to wipe ALL oil off of the mating surfaces of tuning slides. The oil can attract and accumulate dust which can gunk up or even freeze up tuning slides.
You really don't have to oil wooden whistles very often at all. As you might imagine I,as a maker, have quite a few and I oil them VERY rarely.

CHris Abell's whistle care (2nd section of page):

https://www.abellflute.com/careandmaintenance