I need some advice. I intend to purchase a new high D whistle and would like to opt for wood. Lots of fine ones out there calling to me … Busman, Bleazey etc. However, I have a problem - the Bleazey website talks about initially oiling the instrument and occasional oiling thereafter. He recommends the use of almond oil and therein lies my problems. I am not good on any kind of nut, but if you want to kill me - give me an almond!
Is there a non-nut option that is high quality and will keep my instrument pristine. I would rather go for a high quality aluminium whistle rather than lower my standards and botch a wooden one, so I don’t want to go into the half-measures rooms on this one. Logic tells me there must be somthing out there - so come on all you woodies - spill the beans.
Also, is there such a thing as a low maintenance wooden whistle? By that I mean a type of wood that doesn’t require an expertise in timber and the oiling process.
Finally, I am fully aware of the Busman reputation, but has anyone any experience of Bleazey?
You can definitely use non-nut oils. My own mix (actually Glenn Schultz’s formula) is 5:1 light olive oil and almond oil with a couple of drops of Vitamin E oil added to prevent the oil from going rancid. However, you could leave out the almond oil. In the recorder world, many people use commercial woodwind bore oil which is basically mineral oil. I’ve also used linseed oil with good results, although this does have a smell that some people don’t like (dissipates in a few days).
I have played wooden flutes and whistles by Ralph Sweet for over 20 years now with very good results. I believe he uses tung oil. I have oiled all my instruments with nothing but commercial bore oil (a light mineral oil) with no problems for myself or the instruments. But that means very little to you.
More than any advice here, it is critically important that your physician be involved with you in this. I was nearly laughed off this board a year or so ago with this discussion. In truth, the world of wooden instruments may be problimatical for anyone with severe allergies. Even instuments built without nut oils are frequently re-oiled by the player using things that would be disasterous for somone with allergies. There can even be certain woods to avoid, regardless of oils used. Understand from the builder/seller exactly what you are getting and discuss it in depth with your doctor. If in doubt, play metal whistles.
Do your allergies affect you when simply touching the nut oil or do you have to ingest it? If the latter, you shouldn’t have a problem with any of the oils as (I think) all of the wooden whistle makers have non-wood fipples (the only part that touches your mouth). I use “Bore Doctor” on all my wooden instruments with good results, BTW…
With my fipple design and that of other makers who use a similar design, there IS a thin rim of wood that touches your lower lip. So far, 350 whistles into this, this has not proven to be an issue with anyone that I’m aware of. I’ve come up with an idea of how to eliminate even that little bit of wood/lip contact but have yet to need to try it.
A thing to remember about oils though is that they migrate. Even if you don’t put any oil on the plastic or metal parts, it will eventually get there. And even if you don’t have a contact allergy, you can easily touch your own mouth with oily fingers. A lot of people simpy don’t understand the gravity of some allergies. They can be fatal, and the amount of allergen needed can be minute in the extreme.
Paul Busman, and others, create whistles out of Dymondwood. It is a synthetic material that looks and feels like wood, but has no exceptional maintenance requirements. Dymondwood whistles can be obtained in natural colors, or those that nature never intended. I own two of Paul’s Dymondwood instruments (D and C). My D whistle is green. I tried to convince some kids that the whistle was made out of dragon bone. The C whistle is green, with blue highlights, along the grain. I tried to convince the same kids that it was made of dragon bone from an upper-crust dragon…
I really like the Dymondwood whistles. I was never able to get past my fear that my wooden whistle would crack, if I missed caring for it, after a practice session or concert… I am told Dymondwood is more brittle than wood, but the lack of need for special care means I can treat my Dymondwood whistles like my brass, aluminum, and PVC instruments. For me, that is very important.
Thanks for making that clear, Tim. Nuts give me anaphylaxis, and my hospital bills can bear witness to how invisibly small quantities of nut residue can trigger life-threatening reactions. I’ve had reactions triggered by sharing a taste of food with someone who had eaten a nut earlier in the day, and by eating soup which had been stirred with a wooden spoon which had been oiled with nut oil by its carver. Tracing these things to their origin can be pretty byzantine and paranoid.
I was quite sad when I discovered it was so common for people to oil their whistles with almond oil – basically it means no buying of used wooden whistles for me, since I could never know what previous owners oiled the whistle with. Sigh.
I understand, SG. My first reaction happened when I was a youngster at a party and kissed a pretty girl who had eaten a peanutbutter cookie.
I have to admit to being very disappointed at the response here a year ago when I only suggested that sellers of wooden instruments disclose the type of oil they used. I thought it was very heartless to mock those with this serious condition, and I felt the response was far beneath the dignity of this community.
I suppose that unless one has awaken in the Intensive Care Unit with that plastic tube down their throat and the I.V. needles in both arms it’s hard to imagine that something like this could really be a problem for millions of people world-wide.
How specific is a ‘nut’ allergy, I know some are very allergic to peanuts, or almonds - are they allergic to both, and to other nuts as well (walnut oil is sometimes used for salad bowls)? I’m believe it depends on the person - some having a very specific allergy, others more general.
And what about Tung oil - this oil comes from the nut of a chinese tree, considered food safe it is a polymerizing oil much like linseed oil but does not darken. Almond does not harden like tung oil or linseed oil.
I know if I had an allergy to say almonds I would not buy a second hand wooden whistle (or wooden mixing spoons etc) and would be very careful/specific if buying an instrument from maker. Considering how sensitive allergies can be I don’t think it is just the mouthpiece that matters, some almond oil on the body could easily be transfered to mouth by fingers.
The wood whistles I have made have been treated with tung oil, the Shultz whistle I own I have no idea of its history, having purchased it second hand. Some day I’ll get around to sealing a whistle with shellac and see how that works.
Bill, that’s just why I get concerned about oiling. I’m not sensitive to tung oil, so the Sweet instruments are fine for me. But that means absolutely nothing to another sensitive person. Squid Girl, Welshman, and many others could easily have very different results.
The odds are good that the Schultz was treated with a mixture containing Almond oil. If you haven’t had any problems by now, I wouldn’t worry about it.
Thanks for the info on the Shultz whistle, I’m not worried for myself - in fact I love almonds and regularly consume them. I was more pointing out that if you know you are sensitive then unless you know the history of a wooden whistle it would be best to avoid it. And I was also curious as to how specific or general nut allergies tend to be - I believe allergies tend to be specific - but we may stray into the zone of medical advice if we are not careful which is to be avoided on the forum.
I would say that you probably should avoid wooden whistles completely if you are severely allergic to nuts. The same protein that most people are allergic to in nuts also occurs in Birch- and Apple wood and I would suspect in several other kinds of trees that belong to the same group. It is also a lot easier to develop an allergy to other plants belonging to the same group if you already have an allergy to one of them. As several already have pointed out many whistle makers use Almond oil so to be absolutely sure that your whistle don’t give you an anaphylactic shock when you try to play it you need to order it directly from a maker with specific instructions to avoid Almond oil. You should probably do some research on what group of plants the specific tree the wood comes from too. If you are allergic to Almonds you need to stay away from wood from all related trees too…
Cheers,
Anders
Not very happy with all Birches that are in bloom now. I’d say we cut them down and make whistles of them…
I think Bill is right that we don’t want this to become a medical advice thread, as those are against site policy. We’re really talking about awareness. Allergy sufferers new to the world of wooden flutes and whistles need to be aware that nut oils are often used with the instruments and that some woods are equally troublesome, and sellers need to be aware that some potential customers may have a problem. That’s really about all I think we can faithfully say. Just be aware and sensitive to the fact that these issues exist in the world.
Raw (not boiled linseed oil has been the choice of makers in historical times. Boiled linseed oil will form a ghastly thick, sticky film on the surfaces, so don’t try it. Raw linseed oil is a bit thick, but will work well. I use it to immerse all my instruments (I’m a maker) for a few days, when completed, and use an oil bath with the linseed oil cut about 50-50 with turps. This makes the oil penetrate the wood much easier.
About historical times, they went on to other techniques when the really oily exotics started being imported into Europe, like the rosewoods and such.
