Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

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chrisp
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Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by chrisp »

Hi all,

I promised i'd send some picture of these beautiful whistles.
A while ago i sent some masur bjørk ( curly birch ) to Mitch Smith. This wood is grown in Scandinavia, it has a genetic flaw which makes the grain grow irregular. It has been prized for it's strength and beauty, and is quite difficult to come across.
Working in this wood was experimental for Mitch, and as he said himself " they took an embarrassingly long time to make".
As you can see the workmanship is fantastic, the pictures don't do them justice. Maybe Mitch could add some more about their making??
Beautiful whistles that are a dream to play, I'll write more later.
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Protean
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by Protean »

My God, those are beautiful. They look so organic (yes, I know, wood is organic... not exactly what I mean). Almost like an antler's texture, maybe. I don't know what it is about them, I just get an animalistic vibe from them...

Any sound clips of them? :)
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by s1m0n »

That's interesting. Is it a wiped stain that brings the figure out so much? North American Birch is usually a lot blonder than this, with a finer grain and less contrast. I don't think I've seen Birch with that much brown.
And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')

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Makar
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by Makar »

I love the look of curly birch - I have a nice Enzo trapper knife with scandinavian curly birch scales. The figuring is really detailed.

What lovely things to have - enjoy!

Stephen
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by brewerpaul »

Holy moley, that's gorgeous stuff. Anyone know where I can get some 1x1x12" pieces? :D
Got wood?
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Let me custom make one for you!
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AbraXas
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by AbraXas »

That is probably the most beautiful whistles I have ever seen. In the key of D and C, right?
How much did he charge you in total for crafting in custom wood? Regular price?
I want to see those whistles in action at the Dublin-pub downtown :)
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chrisp
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by chrisp »

brewerpaul wrote:Holy moley, that's gorgeous stuff. Anyone know where I can get some 1x1x12" pieces? :D
Hi Paul,
I could send you some if you like, send me a pm?? You would have to get some guidence from Mitch, how it was to work with. I think this wood was a bit of a challenge, but boy were they worth it! It is quite rare, as you can't see which tree has the genetic flaw. The tree looks the same as a normal birch while growing. In scandinavia it is used a lot for decorative knife handles, and being very strong has been used in tool making.
The D and C whistle Mitch made for me are supurb! the C has a tone all on it's own, they are beautiful instuments to play and to look at.
Mitch's eye for detail and ear for tonal quality is top notch. Hats off to Mitch :thumbsup:
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by jemtheflute »

Truly, utterly, stunningly gorgeous - both the raw material and the workmanship! I second the call for sound clips!
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by Feadoggie »

chrisp, those are beautiful whistles!
brewerpaul wrote:Holy moley, that's gorgeous stuff. Anyone know where I can get some 1x1x12" pieces?
Paul, Gilmer has offered this wood in the past. You are probably familiar with them.
Look here: http://www.gilmerwood.com/turn_squares_ ... unique.htm
Another potential source is http://www.masurbirch.com/
You may have to mill your own blanks from board stock though.

Feadoggie
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by Thomaston »

Mitch, I can't speak to the playability of your whistles since I haven't played one, but they sure win the prize for prettiest whistle in my book. I love the work you do on the metal parts.
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by PJ »

Very nice. How does it look after a few years? Does it darken?
PJ
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by talasiga »

Protean wrote:...... Almost like an antler's texture, maybe. I don't know what it is about them, I just get an animalistic vibe from them...
Yes, there are some genes in you or some pschic encoding or some essence in your blood that reminds you of an ancestral time when whistles were fashioned from horns and things.

I have those genes/encoding/essences too which my vegetarian habits cannot obliterate.
:)
qui jure suo utitur neminem laedit
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chrisp
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by chrisp »

PJ wrote:Very nice. How does it look after a few years? Does it darken?
Mitch informed me that the whistles will darken in time. If you look at the pictures, the D whistle is darker than the C. The D was made some time before the C so you can see the difference in colour. I think they improve with age :)
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by Tommy »

Very nice wood and whistles. :thumbsup:
''Whistles of Wood'', cpvc and brass. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69086
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Re: Oz whistle in Masur bjørk ( curly birch )

Post by jim stone »

Lovely. The wood is so full of motion that, to my taste anyhow, the engraved
rings are a bit busy.
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