Tin whistle
In recent years a number of instrument builders have started lines of "high-end," hand-made whistles, which can cost hundreds of dollars US each — expensive in comparison to cheap whistles, but nevertheless cheaper than most other instruments. These companies are typically either a single individual or a very small group of craftsmen who work closely together. The instruments are distinguished from the inexpensive whistles in that each whistle is individually manufactured and "voiced" by a skilled person rather than made in a factory.
Ron Foxcroft
Foxcroft often became frustrated with the traditional design of referees' whistles, which features a "pea" (cork ball) inside that is prone to jamming, thereby preventing the whistle from producing sound. He was inspired to create a "pealess" whistle following incidents in international games including the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1984 pre-Olympics game in São Paulo, in which Foxcroft witnessed an obvious foul but he could not stop play as his whistle was rendered useless by a jammed pea; play continued and the referees were booed by spectators. Foxcroft collaborated with an Ontario design consultant, Chuck Shepherd, to design a pealess whistle; they established Fox 40 International in 1987, and the company's whistles were first used at the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis. Throughout the 1990s, Fox 40 whistles became the standard whistle for referees and officials in numerous major professional sports leagues including the NFL, CFL, NHL, NCAA and NBA; it has also been adopted as a standard by numerous public safety agencies around the world. Today, Fox 40 International dominates the whistle industry with thousands of whistles produced each day in Canada.