How long for smell to go away on a Freeman Tweaked whistle?

[AngelicBeaver]

I have a variety of Freeman whistles (High D through Low G) and they play nicely, but I am not playing them currently because the chemical fumes coming off them make me worried about giving myself cancer. Any idea how long they need to sit before the smell goes away?

[Peewit]

What smell? I have a Bluebird which has never had this problem.

[benhall.1]

I must admit, I've had a couple of Freemans and never had any issue with smell. Strange ...

[bogman]

Are you definitely using your mouth to blow it with?

[bogman]

......sorry :-/

[Jerry Freeman]

Some people are more sensitive to smells than others. The putty under the windway is certified safe for food preparation areas, but contains linseed oil, which does have a characteristic smell, which once in awhile someone comments about (less than five times in the eight years I've used it, but it does come up from time to time). In any case, I can substitute a silicone material that's used for malleable earplugs, which is more odorless and has worked for another individual with a high sensitivity to odors. "Chemical fumes" and "cancer" are a bit strong words to use here. If you would like me to change the material used to fill under the windway, I'll be happy to do that.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[Raggle Taggle]

Are you definitely using your mouth to blow it with?

My apology to the original poster, but this is the funniest thing I have read on the internet all week!

[AngelicBeaver]

Ah, so I should be using my mouth to blow, not my nose. I'll try that.

But seriously, the smell is a very strong chemical smell. I had assumed it was from whatever glue was used. It's like a strong plastic fume smell. I can taste it when I breath in, particularly on the G. My Bb is the oldest of the ones I own and the smell is much less pronounced but still there.

I don't know what linseed oil smells like. Maybe that's what I'm smelling. I'm just hoping it will eventually dissipate. I must be especially sensitive (yay). Not a huge deal.

[AngelicBeaver]

I have just spent some time re-smelling my whistles, while thinking "linseed oil". It helps. When thinking "superglue", it's a scary smell. When thinking, "linseed oil", it makes it a little more pleasant.

Jokes may now continue.

[David G Barnes]

it may help to also know its all natural.

Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a colorless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum, Linaceae).

I know people who take it for the Omega 3 in it.

Great stuff and lots of Native American Flute makers use it.

[Mr Ed]

Bunch o' darn fipple sniffers 'round here.

[ecohawk]

I resemble that

[Sirchronique]

Which specific whistle are you smelling this on?

I noticed it on the blackbirds especially, but also on the bluebird. I don't have any of the others.

I especially notice this because I'm one of those people who sucks in through thier whistle mouthpieces to clear it occasionally, which really brings in the scent! It never really bothered me though, but I do think would certainly be hard for anyone to miss, unless I have a really good sense of smell. Perhaps it varies from whistle to whistle.

I don't know how long I've had the blackbirds, but I know it's been well over a year, probably by some months. The smell is still there, but not so noticable. Maybe I've gotten used to it. I've been playing the freemans a lot since I'd boughten them, no harm done as of yet. I've actually grown to rather like the smell, through association with a fine whistle!

While it's not a bother to me at all, I am really quite surprised that so few people have noticed it.

Jerry, did you ever change the amount or type/brand of putty that you were using at any point? I was wondering if perhaps this might account for why some people might have smelt it while others hadn't.

Not really worried about cancer from linseed oil though :p. Quite the opposite. Jerry's whistles were an aid to me in giving up cigarettes!

[Jerry Freeman]

For the record, I'm rather sensitive to chemicals myself, don't tolerate SuperGlue type adhesives, solvents, etc. I've systematically chosen materials I can work with all day long without reacting to them.

People tend to assume if something smells strongly to them, it must smell just as strong to someone else. This isn't the case. For various reasons, people may become sensitized to odors and develop a "canary in the coal mine" awareness of odors others don't notice at all. This can vary over a period of time. And of course, some are just naturally more sensitive to begin with.

I have considerable experience with this phenomenon myself. After many years of exposure to industrial chemicals, I had become so sensitized, I had to sleep outdoors for three months, as the outgassing of ordinary building materials was too much for my system to handle. Even 20 years later, I still have to be careful what materials I work with.

Best wishes,
Jerry

[Tunborough]

I took a good sniff through the fipple of the Freeman whistles we've got in residence, and what I got was linseed oil. (Think old-fashioned oil paint, or window putty.) You're not likely to get cancer from it, or even a decent buzz.

Then again, I wouldn't recommend getting your Omega-3s from it. Some linseed oil is heat-treated to make it "dry" faster, while food-grade flax oil is not. As David G. notes, it is the same stuff, but there may be differences in processing.

These whistles have been around for a year or two, and still have some odour, so you may find the smell sticks around for a long time.