Does anyone think much of wooden picks?

[clobflute]

Hi,

on holiday I bought a number of wooden picks - they came in every kind of conceivable wood for about 3 Euro each - from hard ebony wood to cocobolo, and soft woods.

I bought about 3 of them to try on my new mandocello.

Kind of scratching my head wondering what's wrong. They are bevelled, and they had an expensive logo and box description of the manufacturer's name which I can't recall.

When I'm playing, they all make a terrible clacking sound. The hardest wood seems to make the most pleasant sound. Strangely, this is the one which is the most worn as well. I'm happiest with the Wegen Bluegrass pick which seems to make the least noise and the deftest pick to handle with a decent tone.

Has anyone had good experiences with wooden picks? Should I just use them as tree planters?

[JeffD]

I got some lingam vitae picks that I kind of like. Not my go to picks, but they can be right for some situations.

[stevedenver]

a friend gave me what appears to be indian rosewood veneer laminated with a silk core-pretty to look at

but
while I seem to like almost any pick

this one is a drag, literally, even after smoothing out with 600, and more
not sure why, as I like stiff picks but this one is not only stiff but lifeless and feels very slow

[mandobassman]

I was curious about wooden picks once and decided to try one. After some research I bought a "Pink Ivory" pick from Etsy at about $20. I picked that one because it was advertised as have very warm tone. All I can say is that it was the single most offensive sounding pick I ever used. Very, very bright, very clicky, and no tone quality. I might as well have been playing with the edge of a metal spoon. I even tried to round one of the points to soften the sound but it was horrible. My desire to try wooden picks was over.

[sgrexa]

I got some lingam vitae picks that I kind of like. Not my go to picks, but they can be right for some situations.

Me too, $10 for a handmade pick but I forget where I got it? Anyway, he sent me a normal teardrop shape even though I asked for a triangle. Very interesting wood (the hardest on Earth?), but It didn't really work for me. I just had to find that out for myself I guess. I do like it for strumming guitar but not much else.

Sean

[PaulBills]

I tried one on my guitar years ago, I hated it. Every single strum was a torment, expecting my strings to end up shattered

[OldSausage]

I bought one once, in a little shop in Cornwall I think it was, again lignum vitae: as Sean said about the hardest wood there is, or so my dad once told me. Beautifully crafted and even came in a little leather pouch.

However, as a mandolin pick, it was utterly sucktastic.

[bratsche]

I like my ebony ones for some things. They definitely have their uses. I find, though, that mandolas often have different plectral requirements than mandolins, and since I play the former much more, it might not be true the other way around (come to think of it, I haven't even taken a mandolin out for a spin with the ebony picks). I would like to try out a lignum vitae pick some day. But I'd almost surely have to make it myself. I haven't seen another wooden pick maker offer any triangle shaped picks, but only traditional guitar pick shapes, which I don't like.

bratsche

[Dave Hanson]

All woods are fibrous by nature, not good for anything abrasive like constantly plucking strings.

Dave H

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

Yep, tried those Lignum Vitae pics brand name SurfPics. Quite expensive, 20 bucks or so. Well made, look cool, came with a pouch. I don't like the sound at all. Not good for mandolin IMHO.

[clobflute]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I think it's one of those holiday souvenir moments, thinking I'd be missing out having never seen a wooden pick before.

I was happy with my Wegen Bluegrass pick before. I'll stop looking for that grail pick now!

[journeybear]

One of my local stores had a set of these - some two dozen in a little 4" x 8" plastic box, all sectioned out to display , with the names of each wood, a brief blurb about each one, and some sort of hardness rating, lignum vitae being the hardest. Some woods I had never heard of before. I think they were only $5 each. I looked at them as a curiosity, a did the store owner. You know - they were cool to look at but didn't inspire me to investigate further.

[bratsche]

I was prepared to think "ugh", but was frankly surprised that I liked the ebony pick I made. My first reaction on playing with it was "why didn't I try this sooner?" (I have had lots of scrap ebony around here for years, but had used it for other things, mostly bridges.) I think it was the discussion on another thread here that induced me to try making picks from it. I'm rather concerned about it holding up over time, since it's wood, but I have a light playing touch, and may be pleasantly surprised there, too. Oh yeah, it is polished much finer than 600, which is just a starting point for me when finishing picks. More like 6000, IIRC.

bratsche

[mandroid]

Wood does have the grain, from growth rings, to split along ..

[High Lonesome Valley]

Hi,
Should I just use them as tree planters?

toothpicks

[clobflute]

toothpicks

okkkk ..




Might take some time to work my way across all of these ...

[Gelsenbury]

I have a soft spot for them. They're unsuitable for anything fast, but I like their sound for slower medieval tunes. I have a couple of wood picks from Hobgoblin music.

[Jandante]

I have not seen wooden picks, but sounds like I'll be OK without them.

[Michael Weaver]

The most common test for testing wood hardness is known as the Janka hardness test. The actual number listed in the wood profile is the amount of pounds-force (lbf) or newtons (N) required to imbed a .444´´ (11.28 mm) diameter steel ball into the wood to half the ball's diameter.

Because I am a nerd I looked up the hardest woods on earth. I had never heard of Lignum Vitae but it is the second hardest wood on earth coming in at 4,390 LBf (19,510 N) on the Janka scale and the hardest being Quebracho (meaning axe breaker in Spanish) coming in at 4,570 LBf (20,340 N).

Either way I highly doubt the 180 pound difference is going to do anything. I have a buddy that is a woodworker and he made me some really nice beautiful picks. Even though it was very nice of him....they like staying in the drawer.

[stevedenver]

fwiw , when I was building guitars and lutes, I began learning about wood types.

Lignum vitae was, at one time, widely used in manufacturing as skid plates for chutes and conveyors because not only it is really hard, but I was told it is self lubricating -not sure what that means, but perhaps not only releasing oils but also getting a very slick patina.

[JeffD]

Lignum vitae is real oily wood. I see it used, even today, for under water bearings.

The picks have the property of sticking to you fingers and not rotating. Not unlike the BC picks but for different reasons.

[darrylicshon]

I think i will have to make a few i have lots of small pieces of different wood , i think the hardest i have is zebrawood i will let you know how they sound once i finish

[LA Mando]

I have one and I've found that it seems to mute the mandolin--I can't play loudly with it at all. So I keep it in the case and call it the "hotel pick;" great for use when I want to practice, but not bother others nearby.

[Ellen T]

It would be interesting to hear them on different types of strings. Reading that they play softly and are appropriate for Medieval music has caught my interest.

[John Flynn]

I tried both ebony and rosewood picks, as well as a horn and an onxy pick. Completely unimpressed. Bought them on a whim, played them once and they went straight to "The Box of Misfit Picks" and they will stay there. I tried them back in the olden times before Blue Chips, Wegens, etc. Today I would have to wonder why anyone would bother with them at all.