Sore Fingers From Metal Finger Picks

[Clark Connell]

Not sure where to post this topic, or if I even should, but here goes. My first and middle fingers get really sore and even crack at the. cuticle from my metal finger picks. I've tried lotions, salves, you name it. Anyone have a solution? Note: I do wear my picks snug.
Thank you in advance!!

[Dave Magram]

Several years ago, I was doing a lot of woodshedding one weekend preparing to record a CD of original material, and my right hand middle finger got inflamed and painfully swollen for several days.

Here's a tip I learned from the SGF that has worked like a charm ever since....
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A comfort tip that also helps the fingerpicks stay on your fingers: Purchase some inexpensive self-adhesive eyeglass nose-pads from the drugstore (about $2 for 10 pads).

Eyeglass nose pads.jpg

Use one pad per pick. Cut the pad in half with a sharp knife like an Xacto, and adhere one half to the inside of the pick just where the pick-band crosses over your right fingernail groove. Adhere the other half of the pad exactly where the pick-band crosses over your left fingernail groove. Do the same with the other fingerpick.
• Replace the pads every 6 months or as needed. Not only will the eyeglass nose-pads keep your picks from falling off, they make the picks extremely comfortable to wear, and they help prevent inflammation around your fingernail groove.

UPDATE: About a year ago, I started using eyeglass nose pads made of silicone.
Unlike the drugstore variety, the cushioning does not seem to wear out and they work great!
Here’s what they are called on Amazon:
“TOODOO 18 Pairs Eyeglasses Nose Pads Adhesive Silicone Glasses Replacement
Anti Slip Nosepads for Eyeglass Glasses Sunglasses (Transparent, 1mm)”.

Eyeglass pads for fingerpicks.jpg

Current price on Amazon for 18 pairs (likely a lifetime supply) is only $6.99!
Cut each pad in half as shown, and adhere each half to the inside of one of your fingerpicks where the band crosses the groove on the side of your nail. If the silicone pads seem too slippery, try roughening the pad surface with a bit of sandpaper.

- Dave

[K Maul]

What brand do you use ? Have you tried more than one? Dunlop makes different gauges that are easier to custom fit to your fingers. The Mini size works well on my index finger, standard size on the middle finger. Propicks are angled and have a comfortable fit. Keep trying different things.

[Rick Campbell]

I use heat shrink tubing. Cut a couple pieces about 1/2 - 3/4 inch long and fit over the part of the pick that surrounds the finger. Stick it on and heat it up. It will last for years. You can get it at Lowes, Harbor Freight. Etc....

RC

[Clark Connell]

These are all great ideas I have not thought of, and I will try them today. Thank you to all of you! I will let you know how it works out. Just FYI, I use the Paul Franklin National picks. Nationals are all I ever use. Since birth.

[Erv Niehaus]

I would try different picks.
I prefer the Dunlop lighter gauges, as stated above, they are easier to shape.

[Stew Crookes]

something that I'm a bit embarrassed to admit took me 20+ years to figure out, was if the picks are hurting it meant (for me at least) that too much pressure was on too little area of the finger.
By bending the bands a little so that they were opened up a bit closer to the blade, and tightened a bit at the bottom end I could make them far more comfortably by spreading out that same tension more evenly on my fingers and that meant much less pinching on any one spot.

[Clark Connell]

Thanks I will try that.

[Andy Jones]

I guess that I am fortunate,but I've never had any problems with metal finger picks at all. I have been using National NP-2 picks for 55 years,playing banjo with them much longer than a steel guitar. I've bent them to fit tight on my fingers and never had them hurt,slip,come off,or any other problem. I don't use anything on them;I just put them on and they stay put.

[Erv Niehaus]

I put a little spit on mine before I put them on.
I've seen pictures of Buddy Emmons doing the same thing.

I eat my peas with honey, I've done it all my life, it makes the peas taste funny but it keeps them on the knife!

[Bobby D. Jones]

Another thing that will help with your problem.
The holes in metal finger picks weakens the metal in the wings that go around you finger, The hole acts like hinges. The finger pick will form into a 5 sided pentagon, Putting more force on certain part of your fingers.
When I form a new set of picks, First thing I check all edges on the picks, File and polish for very smooth surfaces on pick edges. Then I form them with a small hammer around a 3/8" drill shank, I clamp in a padded vice. Here is picture of a set of picks I formed into a smooth oval, And played with a long time. A smooth oval set of picks do not catch on each other and 1 picks goes flying for parts unknown.
[attachment=0]DSC00807.JPG[/attachment

[Dave Magram]

I agree with Stew Crookes regarding the importance of a comfortable fit of fingerpicks to prevent sore fingers.

After I have carefully angled the fingerpick-blade with a needle-nose pliers to the optimal angle, I spend about half an hour carefully shaping and tapering the fingerpick bands with the pliers so that each fingerpick fits my finger like a little glove (similar to what Bobby Jones describes).
To help me tell one fingerpick from the other, I file a single tiny notch in the band of my index finger fingerpick—just deep enough so I can feel it in the dark with my fingernail.

Here’s a clever tip from Bill Keith (who played both banjo and pedal steel), that I have found very useful:
“First, I like them to fit closely around the flesh of the finger. It’s hard to get the bend distributed evenly around, but I like to take the time to do that with a pair of pliers.
Then, I bend the corners [of the bands] down so that they touch the fingernail, taking a little pressure off the flesh so the blood doesn’t curdle in there quite so quickly. And, also in bearing on the fingernail, they gain stability; they’re sort of anchored to the fingernail.”

That's what I do. Then I apply the silicon eyeglass nose pads inside the fingerpick as I described above…
All together, the ultimate in fingerpick comfort!

- Dave

[Clark Connell]

I ordered some of those eyeglasses nose pads....anxious to try that. I did take another kind person's advice and put rubber shrink tubing around the band part of the pick and that is working well. I have always liked fingers before putting my picks on .....helps them stay put.

[Chris Templeton]

Jeff Newman started his classes bending the body side of the shafts, up with needle nose pliers. Sometimes, in old lap steel cases, I'd find no-name picks that were bowled. There's the old National picks with their light bowl.
They eliminated any scraping noise cause by picking on the side of the pick.
Buddy sometimes played without fingerpicks and only a thumb pick.
Of course I had to try it.
What I liked, after slight callousing formed on the finger tips, was the tonal variety going from the soft, bare finger moving to the calloused tip of the bare finger.
I stopped doing that because of the lack of attack.
Gotta be careful about getting too attached to things one HAS TO HAVE to play, like shoes or a stuffed animal on an amp..

[Jerry Overstreet]

Good observation Chris.

I was at Jeffran in April of 1980. The first thing Jeff did was go around the class with a needle nose plier and work on everybody's finger picks. He said you'll be wearing them all day long and if they fit right they won't hurt your fingers. I've tried to remember all these years how he formed the blade and the rings and go by that.

I've heard stories about him throwing student's picks away and giving them new ones.....I don't recall that happening in my class, but Nationals were his picks of choice. The ones he called the old greenies.

I remember him nodding his head in approval of mine when he got around to me. I still have that pair but have tried others over the years. For me, they must be nickel silver and a thickness of app. .025. The lighter ones are just too flimsy for the tone I like.

A pair of needle nosed pliers and quite a bit of time are in order, but you should be able to form them so that they feel comfortable without any other aids.

I find that as weather changes, so do my fingers therefore I keep some pine tar or Gorilla Snot around to adjust for that. If you have pine trees around, that sap works well and is free. That is what I've used for years. You just have to be careful to put it in the right places as It'll gum up things where you don't want it.

I'd think twice about using SS picks. My choice is nickel silver and the most forgiving next to brass, but those are just too soft for me.