researching antique whistles

November 23, 2014 by

What’s a typical day in researching rare, old, antique whistles you ask ??

Well, today was only a half day, but here goes…

1) Close reexamination of steel knop escargots
cross examination of steel knop sirens

2) match up chain for complete nickel silver attachment and cross check
3) Close examination of large knop maker of copper escargots circa 1910
cross check against matching sirens
4) Deep study and note page of Israeli military/police handmade whistles circa 1930-50
5) Quick check of on line auctions for whistles around the world
Post blog, write blog for tomorrow. Check on line collections from other collectors…..

Good thing it was merely a half day….

Filed Under: Research

military whistle on eBay

November 22, 2014 by

Saw a wonderful PHAROAH shaped 2 piece military whistle go by on eBay the other day. Kinda rare, but they do come up regularly. Seen ’em for yeeeeeears. In fact there has been one on eBay for half a year now for over a 1000 dollars USD !!! Of course way too high priced to sell, so there it sits. Seems the seller of this other one thought his would sell for that.

This one went for  under 200 dollars straight up on auction !!! Great price, wish we could have gotten to it !!! However we didn’t. Just tooooo busy. The good news ?? There will be another and another and another… it was made over and over.

So cheer up when you see whistles you want that are too high priced or you can’t get to one when you want.

Now if one comes along that is very unique or maybe totally unique that is a different story 🙂 Then you gotta decide what to do so you DON’T miss it right ?? However that is fairly rare huh ??

Coulda used that PHAROAH for an article, just gotta be patient. It would be nice to have perhaps 6 — 2 piece military whistles to present in an article and we only have 4 right now. They are usually overpriced.

Maybe 2 ‘others’ ( just slaves to PHAROAH ? ) will come along and won’t even need that PHAROAH  guy after all !!!!

Filed Under: eBay News & Updates

whistle SPOTLIGHTS – micro studies

November 21, 2014 by

thought it would be fun to add yet another SPOTLIGHT category !!

How about this — studies in just a small area of collecting ?? — SPOTLIGHT – micro studies

What might this be ?? Well, not a single whistle, that is new to the collecting world — that would be waaaaay toooo small a subject, almost nano size. Just the nature of it you know.

Aaaaaaaand it couldn’t be a REGULAR size SPOTLIGHT now could it ?? Already got those huh ?? Der…. Soooooo it must lie somewhere in between.

What would be its purpose ??
How might a study like this work ??
What benefit would it be to the collector ??
How would it be classified and searchable ??

These and other questions will be ‘revealed in their own good time’ ….. shhhhhhhhh — that’s right another surprise !!!

Workin on some as we speak….well as you read anyhow….

Gotta keep you sharp….

Filed Under: Spotlight Research

collecting police whistles around the world-postage

November 20, 2014 by

buying whistles on eBay seems like it is choking itself out of existence. WHY you ask ??

EXTORTIONARY POSTAGE COSTS…

It is the eBay effort to guarantee that the item gets to the buyer with no way of saying it didn’t. With a money back offer that sounds legitimate doesn’t it ??Sounds fine on the surface huh ?? Yet who pays for the ‘signed for delivery’ ?? The buyer alone !!! So a simple item like a whistle that costs someone perhaps 10 dollars USA has to now pay as much as ( the sellers in the UK charge from 8GBP up to 16GBP !!! )  an inflated price.

In effect the buyer now has to pay three times the items original cost. Or in other words what was won for 10 dollars now costs 30 dollars !!

Who loses ??

First — the seller, because the buyer doesn’t go for extortionary rates )

Second —  the buyer because it isn’t worth it anymore.

Third — eBay because it loses the sale, or it goes for WAY less money.

Fourth — All of us because it is killing whistle movement. In fact why sell whistles if they don’t sell for enough to make it worth it ??

On the surface it seems like a great deal to eBay as it owns Paypal and if they ‘pass on’ the cost of postage they make more money on total transaction fees. AND they make more on the exchange rate that is now ridiculously higher !!! Besides that they now do not have to refund due to lost items claims ( granted there may be some false claims made for items not received, but there are other ways to deal with that – like giving ones an option to NOT claim if they go with regular postage. )

It is sad that it has degenerated to this. The world market is opening up and shutting down as fast as greed can compromise it….

Just some thoughts on postage. Perhaps other markets are looking better ???

 

 

Filed Under: Buying & Selling

whistle restoration

November 19, 2014 by

sorry for the misleading title — I’m  still enamored with OLD steel split rings. Yeah I know, you are sick of hearing about them — but just one mooooore thiiiiiiing pleeeeeease and I will drop them. ( Yeah, maybe )

BRASS brushes — way cool !! Yup, they can be used pretty safely !! Who knew ?? – perhaps the brass brush sales teams, but I didn’t. Softer kinder to metals 🙂 — except rust !!!!

So it turns out after soaking in white vinegar the rust comes off ( there is pitting though if too deep ) Then the split rings can be brushed clean. The only thing really lacking is that you don’t get that polished charcoal sheen that only friction over years can bring.

Hmmmm… maybe a polisher ??

I know….more about split rings….

Filed Under: Collecting

silver whistles

November 17, 2014 by

Many ask why we don’t collect or do more with silver whistles,

Simple answer, they coast too much !!!! AND it is so easy to steer away from whistle designs and uses that are far more interesting for us at TWG.

Not to take away from all those craftsman dating with their hallmarks back for hundreds of years. But many times the whistles are too delicate. They are more like art or jewelry or …

Are brass, nickel silver, steel, superior metals. Yes and no. They take a beating, they are certainly not as delicate. Perhaps there is more variability and that is where the key lies.

Just compare a very early large brass  round whistle. Ever wonder why you don’t see them in silver ?? or GOLD for that matter ?? The metal overshadows the item.

OR what about extractor whistles ?? RARE to see one made of silver huh ?? Why ?? The teeth would break off in use. Then there are scout whistle never made in silver–too costly and delicate.

Oh, no button whistles either ( or very rarely )

Need to go on ?? What’s the point ?? The most fun, down to earth whistles are in the lower end of valuable metals — due to tougher metals used and it’s more about the whistle use, history, design…

Think of all the whistles that would NOT have been made if silver was the preference or gold for that matter.

Then again, boson whistles are all silver the further you go back…..ratz….if only this blog was written in the 1600s, think of all the variety we would see !!!

Filed Under: Collecting

whistle research

November 16, 2014 by

—–who would think that there could be so much to split rings — you know, those OLD steel, slim, very tensile  — split rings ??

Yah, been studying them further and further and further due to making sure that every whistle in the reference collection has a proper ring. That means of course matching up nickel silver when appropriate, brass when so and most ofte is matching up steel to the right kinds of whistles.

Interestingly , pewter usually has an old split ring ( but sometimes it is solid, yet still steel –and rusted )

MANY other whistles used simple steel split rings. I LOVE it when an old ring is worn smooth and is a dark charcoal grey, almost brown !! Then there are ornamental split rings –Did you know that ?? Me either !!! Do now though 🙂

Some are wavy like all around the split ring, some are filigree.

SO, I hunt for those too, so I can outfit my best old whistles with the best old split rings. Kinda rare to find though.

Such subtleties…who knew ??

Filed Under: Research

whistle jewelry

November 16, 2014 by

gotta admit, having a necklace with a genuine vintage dated whistle, outfitted with a genuine vintage whistle chain and then having built into it  an original vintage whistle button hook for a clasp and ending with a vintage whistle ring….( a terribly  run on sentence ) is outrageously cool.

I mean you see this stuff on Etsy that might be found at Goodwill in pieces and thrown together. NOT handpicked, NOT perfectly matched for matching of metals, NOT dated for authenticity in every way.

And one pauses to think, why am I buying this cheapy wannabe jewelry and paying for it and getting only a fraction of what I REALLY want !!! The REAL DEAL !!!

Take for example a STEEL/BRASS combined Police and Fire whistle from the UK made by Alfred DeCourcy circa 1915. Perfectly exposed with no oxidized paint remaining,  to see the beautiful contrast between the steel and brass parts. Then combine this with steel A.V. chain from the United States off of a 1910 escargot made for the military/police. Also the split ring is a vintage steel matching ring from another escargot from the states accompanied by a steel button hook. It took two whistles to get the two lengths of chain. So all in all it took FOUR whistles to piece together a totally unique whistle chain combination !!!

Each complimentary piece was cleaned and prepped to wear. — Outstanding jewelry that NOBODY else in the world but TWGIMG_0636 can put together and date it all. !!!!!!!

Because these take so many vintage parts and matching them takes even longer, they will always be limited. You should see the Bent and Parker !!! Whoah !!!

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

antique whistle rings

November 13, 2014 by

I don’t know about you, but whistles without rings are a plague to me. I understand that those split rings break eventually ( high tensile strength ), but where to get a replacement ??  Perhaps it is just rusted TOO much and cries out for replacement ?? The newer ones just don’t look right on an old whistle. First of all they are bulky, then shiny.

Plus, those old steel split rings are terrifically slim and the part that touches at the end of each side is really tapered. You just don’t see that work anymore do you ???!!! Not to mention ( well I never understood this phrase because I do mention ) the DARK gray patina is a beautiful charcoal color look to it on the old ones prior to say 1920.

Then there are those nickel silver rings with no splits at all that sometimes are damaged or missing and now what to do ?? Especially difficult to replace if the ends were soldered together and then ground down smooth, so you can’t see the seam where they connect…you know, one solid looking ring. Even if they had a split and met for a single ring, they are hard to impossible to find. In fact try making one of nickel silver stock !!

Oh, of course brass ‘jump’ rings also present a problem. AND they had at one time terrific patina equally difficult to replace. Can’t replace a brass ring with a new very shiny, electroplated or even solid brass ring.

There is the constant problem of what SIZE ring to boot. The type of ring to match to the whistle?? >>>> was it steel or brass or nickel silver ??

Who knew there would be sooooo many decisions about whistle rings ???

—– what to do ?? just what to do ??????

good question….

Filed Under: Uncategorized

metropolitan police whistles

November 13, 2014 by

are there other whistles out there besides metropolitan police whistles ?? It might be asked if there are other whistles besides metropolitans even …

Metropolitan:

1) FIRE BRIGADE
2) MENTAL HOSPITAL
3) ASYLUM
4) HOSPITAL
5) GSW (general service whistles )
6) GPO ( general post office )
7) PRISON
8) AD INFINITUM !!!!

So what’s left ??? Well, about 99 and 44/100 percent of the whistle world !!!!

Branch out, don’t get in a rut, there are ‘other’ whistles      🙂

Filed Under: Uncategorized
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