Need help identifying some Low Whistles....

[Scott McCallister]

Hey again, folks.

I know, You're probably thinking who's this guy crawling out of the woodwork? I've never seen a post from him but he's made hundreds?

It was long ago and now I return for some help in Identifying some low whistles that were recently gifted to me from a friend who has very small hands and is thinning the herd. I haven't these brands and can't even guess about the age.

The first is a Low D whistle that reminds me a lot of a Howard whistle... plastic head on an aluminum body. Lots of chiff, not too loud. BUT The beak is pretty wide and it seems to have a single makers mark on the upper end, the letter "K" The bottom of the whistle is stamped D

https://ibb.co/5kNs3xP

Next is a Low C whistle that appears to be devoid of any marks except for the key stamp at the bottom. "C" I thought this may be an early Kerry, but no maker's marks. It's godawful heavy and has a solid aluminum block. Finger stretch is what you'd expect from a C and it's pretty flutey in tone and volume.

https://ibb.co/QYYw3ty

Both Together

https://ibb.co/bJTTPBm


Sorry for the links... Don't know why my images won't show. Is there a file size limit maybe?

[kkrell]

Nope, nothing wrong with the image size. You just need to get the .jpg at your links.

Code: Select all

[img]https://i.ibb.co/QdLLfNQ/20221219-213039.jpg[/img]

Could the black head be an early Kerry, and is there perhaps an inscription inside the end bore of the other (Goldie?)

[Scott McCallister]

You know, maybe... The Black head could be an early Kerry with that K and all. I didn't think he worked with plastic heads until much more recently.

The C whistle, as I previously stated, is devoid of maker's marks, so I can't confirm this is a Goldie or Overton, or what have you. Part of the reason I came here.

Here are the other two photos for detial.

[kkrell]

Did you look inside the bell end of the possible Goldie? If it is one, he inscribes it in there.

[trill]

The all-metal one looks very similar to an Overton I had for a while.

In particular: the shape of the beak, the window proportions, and the steep blade edge.

[Scott McCallister]

Thank you all for having a look and offering your insight with these.

At this point I'm kinda thinking these are both early Kerry whistles from the era just after Bernard stopped making whistles and Colin and Phil were duking it out for whistle maker world domination. The tell on the all metal C whistle is toward the holes just below the ramp. There is a slight dishing out of the material there. The Overtons and the Goldies always seemed to be flat right there. Also if these are from the same era (likely since the person who gave them to me got them both from the same person who had them for a long time) then the similarities between the downward profiles of the beaks (like the angle in the two whistle pic) show related manufacturing and the K on the blackhead whistle sure lends itself from being from Phil's shop.

I may send him a message with the photos to see if he recognizes the builds as his own. Not that big of a deal, but I thought some of the folks here may have encountered or even owned whistles like this.

And for the third time... The C whistle is *devoid* of any makers marks. Inside, outside, upsidedown the only thing on it is the letter C, as in "capiche"!

[kkrell]

Capiche. As most flute & whistle instrument labeling ("Maker's mark") is stamped or etched on the outside, it's not uncommon for marks inside or under any keys or bumpers to be missed. Nothing in your earlier posts suggested you had been so completely thorough. I was just trying to help, as it does seem Overton style, yet the Overtons I've seen were always properly stamped, and Goldie is the only one I know who signs his inside the bell area.

[Sirchronique]

If memory serves correctly, I believe the one with a black plastic head is indeed one of the earlier models from Kerrywhistles. I’m not too sure about the all-alloy one, however.

[Narzog]

The black head one is an early Kerry, I've seen them on ebay/here before.

The other one I'm not 100% sure. A thunderbird has a longer pointier beak. My first guess is that its a early kerry for the sole reason that his whistles are popular, making it more likely to be his than some other random maker.