NEVER try to 'test' a Surfpick by flexing it with your fingers.
You WILL break it. They are made to withstand a steel string that GIVES.
If you want to test your Surfpick... play Pinball Wizard

If you break your pick somehow, I'll send a refund as soon as it is returned,
or I may offer you the choice of a thicker replacement.

Note that there is no lettering on any Surfpick.
What you see in the photos is a watermark to protect others from using Surfpick photos to sell inferior picks.

Free Shipping!
It is illegal for me to ship the Lignum Vitae Surfpicks out of the U.S.
I occasionally offer Snakewood Surfpicks that CAN be shipped worldwide.
They are a bit more expensive than Lignum Vitae Surfpicks.
email me at surfpick@yahoo.com for more info on Snakewood Surfpicks.

questions:

How long do these picks last?
- various persons

That is a very 'subjective' question.

Some people might take care not to lose their pick
and pass it on to their grandchildren.
(people tend to lose picks more easily when they only cost 50 cents or less)

I can't put any wear on my Lignum Vitae pick
even when I'm hammering on the steel for all I'm worth...
but some players, who seem to have an odd angle of attack
have been able to get the LV picks to wear down.

I recommend our 3mm pick, or our big Bass pick,
if you know that you are prone to chewing up picks.

Lignum Vitae may be the world's strongest wood..
but it is still wood... and is not indestructable.
If you grind something against a 'wound' guitar string vertically, it is like a file.

The vast majority of people don't seem to have any problems with their LV pick.
I will reimburse any buyer in the U.S., should they desire to return their pick for any reason.

People who tend to shred picks, might want to save their Lignum Vitae picks
for songs that don't require 'string grinding' or for recording sessions and performances.

Tune in to your new rich sound.. and the pick may even inspire new music.

regards,
Ra

I just need to ask a question. What is so amazing about this pick?
I play guitar and have for quite some time and i have never seen a price this high for a pick.

I can pay $4-$5 for 12 nice Gibson / Fender picks and you have this one for $10???

Just curious.

Thanks,
Troy

Hi Troy,

I don't think that I can explain it as well as the people have in my testimonials.

I'm usually pretty thrifty myself.. and I doubt that I would have bought one at this price,
if I didn't know in advance how much I like them.

We're all used to paying 50 cents, or less, for our picks.. so it's quite a shock to see a price of $10.
We might compare it to guitar strings though...
If your strings got rusty and dead.. you wouldn't want to keep playing with them,
simply because a new set, that would sound better, might cost you $5 or so?

By the same token, if you had a choice between 2 amplifiers and one of them had a noticably better tone,
you would probably not take the amp with the inferior tone, simply because it was $10 cheaper.

Think of a bell..
you can whack a bell with a lot of different things and get a sound out of it...
but few things will sound as rich and clear as the clapper that was designed to ring that bell.

It's the same with guitar picks. Different materials impart different tonal qualities to the sound produced.

I carefully sculpt each pick by hand and then gradually smooth it until it is like glass.
These picks are not 'stamped' out, like nylon picks.
It requires 2 hand sanding phases, amidst 9 other operations, on 5 separate power tools,
to craft each one of these picks.

Beware of people offering 'Lignum Vitae' picks that don't use REAL LV.
There are a half dozen inferior woods that people have slapped the LV label onto.
I will soon release a video showing a burning pick
so that you can see the enormous amount of oil locked into
the cellular structure of true Guaiacum Sanctum & Officinale

Lignum Vitae is indeed an amazing wood.
It is the strongest wood in the world. It is heavier than water.
It has been used for propeller shaft bearings on modern Navy ships. It needs no finish.. and will accept none.
It's grain is so tight and interlocked.. that simply fine sanding and buffing it gives a most spectacular finish.
There is an enormous amount of natural oil locked in the cellular structure of Lignum Vitae.
When working on the lathe, the shavings of fully cured wood seem wet!
This oil doesn't appear on the surface.. it is as smooth and cold as stone.

You are aware of how sound travels 8 times better in water, than it does in air, I presume?
Maybe it's the high liquid content of Lignum Vitae that gives it acoustical properties unlike any other material?
Lignum Vitae can be extremely difficult to work with and is dreaded by many woodworkers who have dared to tackle it.

It amazes me that many people who spend hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on incredible instruments,
would then attempt to coax music out of them using a cheap piece of plastic??

best regards, Ra

[update 11/05/06]

Another option for those who carve up your picks,
is the radical move of adopting a purer picking style.
Not only can pick wear be eliminated, speed and control increased dramatically.

Here are the comments of two artists who have done this;

"I have had to correct my picking so i don't chew them up.
I always picked at an angle to the string, I now pick pretty close to 'dead on'."
- Paul Douds

and

"I developed a habit from using the plastic picks---I tilted my pick slightly toward the bridge
instead of keeping it perfectly parallel to the strings. And I played with WAY too much right hand tension.
I tried using the Surfpick for some of my hardcore songs & I had a hard time playing as fast or as clean with the wood pick.
I took a break, & rested my right hand. I tried again without using a plastic pick first.
I kept my hand as relaxed as I could & I played better than I did with a plastic pick this time.
It took a few seconds, but the contour of my pick allowed me to hold it with barely any tension---
something nearly impossible to do with a plastic pick. As my Surfpick became more & more parallel to the strings,
I could play faster & faster. It took a little while to get used to this new way of holding my pick.
Now I can play very precise, fast lines with very little pick attack noise."
- Matthew