Besides men whistling as they made their way through their days when I was growing up, a lot of men whittled too.  Every man that I knew carried a pocket knife and settling in for some relaxation very often involved whittling.  So they were whistling whittlers!  LOL

                                    

                                                           Hand drawn and hand carved




This video from You Tube shows what one man accomplished with his knife, imagination and some paint.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYaFUTqazH0&feature=related