Slip bark whistles - its getting on that time of year again

Ryan Mooney

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Yearly reminder..

Its about that time of year again, time to start looking for limbs on any thick barked deciduous trees to make some more slip bark whistles out of. They're great projects for giving to the neighbours kids (if the neighbours are a block or three away) or the grandkids/nephews/nieces right before you send them home.

A simple and fast project but a lot of fun nevertheless. This was one of my first introductions to "carving" (or whittling more accurately I suppose) when someone stopped by the Ranch when I was a kid and made me one. I still enjoy them because they take less than 5 minutes to make and are enjoyed by all the youngsters at heart.

http://boyslife.org/hobbies-projects/projects/41827/make-a-whistle/

edit:
Loml just noted: Its about that time of year again, time to start looking for limbs on trees to beat your boyfriend with after he gives whistles to children who live nearby.
:rofl:

So I suggest you all be careful out there, not everyone is a fan.
 
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I'd never heard of slip bark whistles. Looks like a much easier project than making a drum, which is also another great gift to give a kid to make their parents hate you. :D
 
Errrr Ryan, I noticed that site says boys life......I know we probably the last of a generation of kids that fixed their own punctures, made their own kites, played with tops, and marbles and i like the idea that you think i am still a boy. :) It would be nice just for a change to see the kids as in boys and girls make their own whistles :rofl:

Should be fun i am going to see if i can find a willow tree around here and get hold of a branch or two if possible. They not that common around me so i dunno.

Guess birch might work as well.

Oh and dont forget built their own soap box and not from bought lumber either. :p oh with recycled nails , gosh who would have known we would have been so environmentally in tune all those years back. :rofl: Now you want us to hack the forest to pieces to make a whistle , how times have changed .:rofl: Guess we got to call it "new wood".
 
Errrr Ryan, I noticed that site says boys life......I know we probably the last of a generation of kids that fixed their own punctures, made their own kites, played with tops, and marbles and i like the idea that you think i am still a boy. :) It would be nice just for a change to see the kids as in boys and girls make their own whistles :rofl:

Should be fun i am going to see if i can find a willow tree around here and get hold of a branch or two if possible. They not that common around me so i dunno.

Guess birch might work as well.

Oh and dont forget built their own soap box and not from bought lumber either. :p oh with recycled nails , gosh who would have known we would have been so environmentally in tune all those years back. :rofl: Now you want us to hack the forest to pieces to make a whistle , how times have changed .:rofl: Guess we got to call it "new wood".

Hah - I think Ted nailed it. We all used to be allowed to have pocket knives no big deal. Be that as it may you can take this as an opportunity to pass some of this on to the next generation :D And really its not how old you are its how old you can get away with acting ;)

Willow is good. Aspen is good. Cotton wood is decent I've made maple work (depending on the type of maple). I think beech would probably do the job. Not sure about Birch, it ought to if you can get a smooth young chunk but usually the branches - at least on the trees on this side of the hill are have fairly whispy limbs so that may pose a smidge of a challenge. The bark is nice and sturdy though so it probably has a decent chance of surviving past the first 3-4 days.
 
Sorry. I am a So. California guy. I never heard of these whistles---probably because we don't have the right kind of trees to make them.

When I was in High School I wanted to take "Band" and play the drums. For some stupid reason my folks kept trying to turn me on to saxophone or piano.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
When I was about 10 (1957) my parents bought me a pair of "Paratrooper Boots" which had a leather snap shut pocket on the right leg with a Barlow type knife in it. School officials would go nuts now if a kid showed up with something like that.
 
Sorry. I am a So. California guy. I never heard of these whistles---probably because we don't have the right kind of trees to make them.

When I was in High School I wanted to take "Band" and play the drums. For some stupid reason my folks kept trying to turn me on to saxophone or piano.

Enjoy,
JimB

Jim - you may well be right. This trick only really works if the tree has the "sap rising" because that makes the bark loose on the tree. When you do it otherwise the bark is stuck on there harder than the paint on a beer can and you can't get it off in one piece. Since you live in the land of perrenial summer there is no time when the sap is running hard like it does in the frozen north so it might just never work.

And you're right there ain't no explaining parents. Sheesh! :D
 
Bump - its that time of year again. I made a big batch of these on our recent trip up to the islands while I was out walking the dogs. Takes about 5 minutes to make and can annoy someones parents for more than a day afterwards.
 
This really brought back memories. I remember dad showing me how then away all us kids went. Drove parents crazy and the dogs howling.
Don't want to go back to the old days but they were much simpler and kids had more respect for rules and elders.
David
 
I started carrying a pocket knife when I was 7 years old... it was my grandfather's old K-bar that he had carried and used to cut his chewing tobacco .... he died when I was 4 and since I was the only grandson, the knife was kept for me until I was 7... I've carried a pen knife of some sort ever since.
 
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