my -father's -cousin's -uncle –knew this guy who was a policeman and he used this whislte for years. Wow, really ??

A genuine police whistle ?? OMG !! …. What's wrong with this picture ?? ( what if it was a bosun, that would be a hoot, or should I say toot ?? Or a dog whistle, or slide whistle….. ad infinitum….. ?? )

Technically nothing. It could be totally true !!! Well, all the connections anyway. BUT What makes a police whistle such ??

A stamp, don't ya think ?? Something to show it was issued to a particular police force.  Stamped in production —– from the whistle company. ( I suppose it could even have been engraved afterwards of production. )

However, to get right down to it, there needs to be some form of pedigree. So…..

City, County, Burgh, Borough, Shire, Name of force, Name of City, the exception being a Police/Fire generic stamp —  in all its variations —  at least says POLICE on it !!! . ALL OF WHICH POINT TO THE POLICE FORCE THAT ISSUED IT. Now things have been elevated when it comes to collecting don't you think ?? No longer saving a whistle due to sentimentality alone, but because it was issued —–perhaps even numbered for them.

Is this toooooo anal ?? Toooooooo picky ??       …….hmmmmm…….

No different with fire or fire brigade whistles — right ??

Mental hospital whistles.

Scout whistles.

Military whistles 

*************All of these need identification ON THEIR OWN MERIT !!!!!! ***********************************

Why all the hubbub, bub ?? Collectability of course. Categories. There are parameters now. An outline to work within.

Probably good at this point to give some thought to an iconic name now ??  — The Metropolitan Police whistle….

nah….tomorrow……

How far do I go with cleaning ?? Asked by a collector I thought to give it a little extra thought….

I never would fail to clean a whistle. Why you ask ?? Good question 🙂

We should always clean everything we own is the no brainer here. However what is clean ??

Well, first has to do with germs don't ya think ?? All one needs is a little bleach in some water. If your clothes turn white you probably went too FAR !!!! And if it burns well, you know 🙂 However ya really need to address those germs. YOU might want to blow that whistle or your kid or ?? I know ya don't want to give it any thought, but the more it has been blown the more SPIT went through it huh ?? I know — YECH !!! Saliva…….

So you might want to even soak it over night….

Next what about corrosion ?? Light rust, dirt etc. A toothbrush and clean water works well and does NOT STRIP !!! Patina is everything to some collectors. We need to all respect that to a point I suppose. Especially in the brass realm. Maybe take a small dental tool or whatever and clean out the fur balls that have accumulated ?? Test it then ?? Of course…der !!… If it doesn't work is it really a whistle ?? Gotta make a sound, so you might have to tweak it a bit. Careful to use flat tools though !!! Tools with teeth leave teeth-marks different than the teeth marks on the whistle that are "supposed" to be there !

Next, do I strip it ?? Well is it so corroded that you can't see it ?? Perhaps. If so, then it is a personal decision, but one that needs to be made. Try this … WAIT !!! I know, you just got it in and want to really fix 'er up. BUT if you wait, then the decision is sooooo much easier to make. After a while it may grow on you OR you may just hate the looks. NOW you will KNOW what to do.

What if it is nickle silver ??? hmmmmm have to address ( or undress ) that later dudes….

back from the weekend and been thinkin….what's all the fuss about rare whistles ?? In fact what is rare ?? I guess beyond the obvious is that there is a synthetic rare and a de facto rare.

Let's break it down. First synthetic might be created. How might that occur with a whistle ?? First one that comes to mind is the WINCHESTER 1806 escargot !!! Yup, stamp that on a whistle and there is a clamoring for it because of all the Winchester collectors. Demands 300 dollars or more. And voila — rare is created. On the other hand the model 1807 Winchester GSW, which is truly rare, costs even more as we saw earlier this year on eBay. ( a really low quality tube whistle by the way )

Interestingly enough, the 1806 is very well made by an unknown manufacturer ( possibly German and yes you heard it here first ). It followed earlier designs with different stamps and when it came out in production, it was already improved upon. Earlier and rarer stamped examples of rougher construction with Wilson, or Referee ( upside down circa 1916-20 ) and other stamps were made. But now the conundrum occurs. WHICH is the whistle collector going to search for ?? The one in demand — or the one actually rarer ?? OUCH !!! What to do ??

Really a wrestling match isn't it ?? Do I collect the Winchester escargot, and especially the OTHER model, 1805, because of the different number and pay TOP dollars for it ?? It amounts to $300.00 for the 1806, $400.00 for the 1805, $500.00 for the 1807.

OR do I buy THE EXACT SAME ESCARGOT WHISTLE WITH THE STAMP REFEREE on top –  the right side up stamped version circa 1922.for under 5 bucks !! THE 1807 IS A CLONE OFTHREE OTHERS KNOWN — EXACTLY THE SAME WHISTLE BUT EASY TO FIND STAMPS !!!!! Another 5 bucks. Oh my, I have just spent 10 dollars 🙂

What are we examining here?? Do we collect for the design, sound, use….or because we are chasing what we are told is collectable ????????

Remember the story of the kings clothes ??

Boy, can those bosun whistles get spendy or what ?? Ya just don't see very many bargains on those do ya ??

So, a decision is calling out to me. Do I cross that bridge and get into them ?? True, they are whistles and we do look for whistles and…well, yeah every reason to do so.

However, there is that price tag. For the 'less to do'  ones like me and you,  it means a commitment of money to get to the good ones.

This seems to be the case with CROSSOVERS  doesn't it ??

Corkscrews

Compasses

Knives

Extractors

Cylcing

Police

Fire

Yeah, I think we all get the point. In the whistle realm there are all those CROSSOVER attachments, but of course, as they were made for their use !!! So, how serious is the whistle world ?? Not very much apparantly as we typically pay low 🙂

Perhaps one day we too will make the opposition shudder…