Should you restore your antique whistles ?? YECH !!!! Well maybe, but when ??

When you have nothing to lose !!!! If damaged and you can retrieve it then go for it !!!!

Then again maybe it is tooooooo important to lose, even broken, then what ?? Nothing, just gotta bite the bullet and live with it, unless you find another !!

but what about juct cleaning ?? What can you use ??

well patina is another subject but in the mean time, try a brass brush….weirdly simple…..

patina…. ….hmmmm….tough subject…….

recently we talked about using magnification to see inside whistles to see their 'innards'

But you can't see without light right ??

But the hole is so small and when I look into it my head blocks the light !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't help it if you have a big head, but there is a way around it…

Get a small light 🙂

Yup, a pen light would be great. One you can actually point inside the window and that's what windows are for anyway right ?? To let the light in ??

Here is what I did ( a real trade secret never before let out….well maybe, but still kinda cool )

Found a dentist fiber optic cable light–you know what I am talking about ??

It was in an old dentist chair and I had to free it but it worked. — get this …250 watts of light !!!! ZOWEE!!!!

Pokes right into the window ( night or day I might add ) cause it is pointy like a pencil.

And then every little secret inside that whistle is reveeeeeeealed.

In fact it has a dimmer !!!! Way cool.

Now what would work for you ???

The point is that extra light pointed right can really help your study subject.

The further point is, well it needs to be pointed or at least pointy-ish

think shrink….

refines, upgrades, improves circulation, educates, connects…

Wow !! Who knew ???

There are so many advantages to forcing yourself to think shrink.

Like excersize it keeps your collection healthy and active.

Keep thngs simple — what did Steve Jobs ( of Apple computers ) say about this ??

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple…."

How does one 'go to market' to dump extra whistles ??

Well, antique stores buy them, there are antique fairs too, to sell to the vendors. Even set up a booth yourself.

How about on line auctions like Etsy and eBay and …

Trading works great too, like baseball cards.

You might be surprised how much any one of your whistles is wanted by another collector !!!

Even give some away to friends.

Think shrink.

On the other hand what does it mean that the collector is controlling the collection ??

Like a garden there has to be size constraints for most of us.

So, what comes with a garden ?? Weeds !!!

Yes, gotta weed out whistles regularly. Get rid of the culls. Perhaps move on to what have become more interesting subjects of studies

( don't forget to take lot's of pictures though so you at least have them if you find out late you should have kept some !!! )

Even the type of display or storage may help to keep your collection under control. Then again you can always upgrade your displays !!!

So it grows…but that is a choice, not submission.

Sell off. The more you sell off the more control you have. Even if you sell at a loss !!! Makes room and keeps the collection down.

Upgrades are great too, but then again gotta get rid of the extras.

So, like a garden you may have to go to market…

How many whistles do you have in your collection ??

Now there is a question that could come off wrong.

Why ??

On the one hand it might seem that the amount reflects something to do with just hoarding.

Is it ??  Just hoarding ???

Let's give it some thought….

We're not talking muscle cars here. Not prestige ( well, I guess they could be ).

Like coin collecting, there is a lot to learn about and a great collection of whistles grows — spreading and contracting like a living organism.

So, perhaps CONTROL is more accurately the subject and is involved in what to strive for ??

Is your whistle collection under control or is it controlling you ??

Hmmmmm…..perhaps a few days thnking this one out….

interesting subject as to what constitutes a vintage whistle. When you look up vintage most everything is about WINES !!

Is there any comparison of wine to whistles ?? I mean besides the fact that they both start with a "W" ??

Well, we can point to certain years of production and that is similar.

And one can have great tasting wine and have great taste in whistles.

Then, both wines and whistles can be heavy or light.

Could we compare the patina ( color ) and still be similar ??

And don't the rarest cost a lot of money ??

Sometimes you come across a certain year that is unknown and rather inexpensive and of course the same can be said for whistles.

Some countries produce outstanding wine. In fact many times those countries produce the best whistles too !!!

Each has its own sound too ( as when you pop the top of a wine bottle) and almost unbelievably coincidental is that they both have corks !!!!

Stampsversus labels, pontils on both, different makers, both have mouths….just goes on and on     🙂

So when we say "vintage" whistles will you ever look at them the same ???

WHISTLES 101 CLASS IS IN SESSION…

What is the opposite of finding a whistle that is very high quality, vintage and sought after ??

That would be a whistle that is low quality, newer and not cared about.

You could say that about this whistle—

cost was about ten dollars TOTAL. What is going on here ???? Looks pretty  cheap doesn't it ?? In fact rather common. — compare it to another even MORE common whistle that is for sale for 14 dollars

pretty similar really…but the closer you look the more cast marks you see on the cheapy   🙂

whats the point you ask ?? That slumming can be just as interesting as finding the 'best stuff' . This simple, newer, cheap whistle looks to be made in 5 CAST parts, reminding us of Black and Co. 5 piece whistles from the 1890s, only more interesting since there would seem to be no reason for all the labor now. Of course Black and company used better parts in their 5 piece escargots.They were more shapely. But this does have some endearing qualities  —- like nickle plated brass. Really a great little whistle after all. It is called the Regent.

Granted it isn't a show stopper. Probably fades into the shadows next to a really great Dixon or Stevens. Yet collecting has got to more than having the best. It's all about balance too….looking for vistas to explore. finding the unusual, even if it is newer. Starting to sound like a lecturer, blah, blah, blah…sorry.

class dismissed……..well for today…..

How many whistles do you have ?? That's a question many collectors ask – why do you think ??

Could indicate how long they have been collecting I suppose.

Then again it might reflect how much they must know by now.

Or even what kind of display they may be shooting for.

Maybe even what is motivating or holding them back ??

But really, how many whistles does one need to be a student of whistles ??

All I can say is from what we have found, not as many as one would thinlk. After ten years of collecting, selling off and studying whistles we took inventory and we are just over 1000 whistles. Yet we have been able to write over 50 articles now. A far cry from the 5000 whistles that it took to write three books.

Certainly no where near 10,000 whistles. So what does it take ?? That's up to you, but at least here is a bench mark. One apparently can really get into this hobby with just a few hundred. In fact, being very serious — it still took years to get to 500 and then crawling up over the 1000 mark. We would have loved to stay at about 750 but very hard to bring in the variety for the articles and then have a reference collection for referral for more articles and to answer questions we receive.

So what can we conclude ?? Perhaps as little as one hundred to two hundred whistles would be all it took to learn and enjoy this hobby. Now that's a rather inexpensive hobby, cause whistles don't have to be expensive. Sure some are, but take the 84 bucks GSW that just sold for over 500 dollars on eBay. It is early, but not critical for study. One can learn most of it by finding a 131 Barr street address on almsot the same whistle for 50 dollars.  Just a different stamp is all.

All in all a pretty inexpensive hobby…….