Shaping tortoise shell picks

[mandomonkey]

I was given a couple of big tortoise (real turtle) triangle picks a few years back and I haven't used them because they're too big. I want to shape them but I'm really afraid of screwing them up because they came from an animal. I normally use golden gate mando picks and I am pretty comfortable with that shape. Any advice on this?

[MikeEdgerton]

I have shaped and re-shaped mine with an emery board. Just take your time.

[Jim Garber]

The animal is no longer alive so don't worry about hurting it. :-)

Actually, TS is pretty brittle, so just take your time trimming it down. If it is really old and dry it may flake apart. Also there are bugs that love to eat that stuff so that could also affect the integrity of the material.

Get yourself a nail kit at your local drugstore. Emery board and those smoother ones to do the later polishing.

[Mike Bunting]

For the final touching up, the ladies use a sponge type thing with four sides of varying abrasives, all really fine but the finest is used for buffing. They are available at drug stores and the like. Really good for fine polishing AND you can make your own nails beautiful at the same time!

[mandroid]

treat it like fingernails. (don't chew them)

[Paul Busman]

I'm thinking that sanding or filing them perpendicular to the edge of the pick might chip flakes off the edge. I'd tend to file them parallel to the edge. If you're experienced with a Dremel tool and own one, that would probably work well for rough shaping with a fine abrasive bit. If you're not used to the touch of a Dremel, stick with hand sanding

[Ted Eschliman]

Quick shot across the bow, we keep a pretty short leash on this topic.
Posts dealing in the sale or transfer of tortoise-shell products protected by the 1973 Endangered Species act are not allowed and will be removed. This includes picks made from "antique" shells. (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/faq.php)
Slippery road ahead, so proceed with caution.

[Christopher Standridge]

Quick shot across the bow, we keep a pretty short leash on this topic.
Posts dealing in the sale or transfer of tortoise-shell products protected by the 1973 Endangered Species act are not allowed and will be removed. This includes picks made from "antique" shells. (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/faq.php)
Slippery road ahead, so proceed with caution.
Geez Ted,
There is no one talking about the sale or transfer just the care of said material.
Shutting this down is comparable to shutting a discussion down regarding the care of a pre ban brazillian rosewood instrument.
It is best to maintain the integrity and usefulness of all the above so that it might hold future use, no?

[foldedpath]

Geez Ted,
There is no one talking about the sale or transfer just the care of said material.
Shutting this down is comparable to shutting a discussion down regarding the care of a pre ban brazillian rosewood instrument.
It is best to maintain the integrity and usefulness of all the above so that it might hold future use, no?

It's a slippery slope, because the point of international trade restrictions is to reduce the value in the marketplace. Anything that pumps up the marketplace value, including conversation about how X material is better than Y material, adds to the value of trade in the restricted item. We're not quite there yet with the discussion about shaping, but then you have things like Jim's comment:


The animal is no longer alive so don't worry about hurting it. :-)

Years ago, I worked for a while as a photographer in some remote places like Central America where this is a commodity product. I've seen live hawksbill turtles boiled alive to get the shells off their backs. You want to talk about hurting the turtles? I've seen it.

That's why this is a sensitive topic, and I think it's a great thing that the Mando Cafe has some rules about discussing the value of this material.Try a Blue Chip instead; you're only taking a tiny bit of material out of the hands of the aerospace industry.

[almeriastrings]

Shutting this down is comparable to shutting a discussion down regarding the care of a pre ban brazillian rosewood instrument.


Actually, it is very different. What is being discussed here is the re-working of a (possibly) antique piece. Genuinely antique T/S ceases to be legally regarded as antique the moment it is re-shaped or converted in any way and merely transporting it across a state line (never mind crossing an international border with it) is quite a serious offence. It is not even clear that these picks are antique in the legal sense (100 years+), they could be merely old. Either way, for the reasons given above, this is one of the most rigidly controlled materials derived from endangered species. Many people are not aware that simply carrying one can result in problems, and that the restrictions go far beyond direct sale or transfer.

[Grommet]

Kinda like the shape of the Golden Gates I have as well, though maybe a bit too rounded. Not as sure about the tonal effects. Thinkin I get better sound out of my Dunlop utrex/tortex 1.5-2.0 mm though I wish they were a little larger. Sounds like you got plenty of good input on shaping. Good call Ted.

Scott

[Mandoist]

Actually, the methods described above are not the best procedures for working T-shell. I've attached a detailed, most excellent method from an old Mandolin World News article (I think by Todd Phillips?)7056670567

[Charlieshafer]

Yeah, I'm in agreement with those who are pretty uncomfortable with this post. I do believe that the law states you can't reshape, rework or basically modify shell in any way. Doing so makes it's use "current" as opposed to obsolete and therefore "antique." I believe that by sanding the shell, the law, as it's currently written, is being broken.

[Jim Garber]

Sorry for the ostensibly politically incorrrect comment above, but it was in direct response to the OP's:

want to shape them but I'm really afraid of screwing them up because they came from an animal.

I am certainly in no way promoting the killing of live sea turtles to produce picks and I apologize for any misunderstanding.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Go here for more info :- pickcollecting.presspublisher.us/.../tortoise-shell-guitar-picks . It would seemn that it's not illegal to own or re-shape a pick,but the means whereby the item (material) was obtained, 'could be illegal'. The articles is well worth the time to read it.
I have to come clean here & state the i personally own a very old tortoise (turtle) shell pick made way back in the early 1900's. It was given to me by my old Banjo teacher in 1963/4,who was trying to get me to play 'plectrum' style Banjo (to no avail !). Considering that it had been his for many,many years & that he was in his late 60's when he taught me,it must have been made well prior to the current UK laws on the working /posession of such shell. I also have to say, that of all the picks i've used personally,only the Golden Gate & Dawg picks have sounded worse on my Mandolins,
Ivan

[Jim Garber]

Go here for more info :- pickcollecting.presspublisher.us/.../tortoise-shell-guitar-picks . It would seemn that it's not illegal to own or re-shape a pick,but the means whereby the item (material) was obtained, 'could be illegal'. The articles is well worth the time to read it.

Ivan: that link does not work. It is missing some and I could not find any article even after searching that site. Please repost the full link. You can paste it into window that appears after you click on the world with the chain icon above this window.

I would love to understand what the ramifications are for the law regarding TS materials. There does seem to be some confusion but I also understand the moderators on this site erring on the side of caution. And no more endangered species jokes for me.

[Nonprophet]

Might want to check out this website, (http://www.fws.gov/international/permits/antiques.html) and this website, (http://www.guitarbench.com/2010/03/03/tortoiseshell-picks-reworked-feature-article/) and this website.
(http://pickcollecting.presspublisher.us/issue/summer-2010/article/tortoise-shell-guitar-picks)

NP

[Jim Garber]

Might want to check out this website (http://www.fws.gov/international/permits/antiques.html).

Strange site... half the links don't work. This one (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=c0b16ccd693b08320cfb751b315b3142&rgn=div8&view=text&node=50:2.0.1.1.1.1.1.4&idno=50) does and sort of explains it but it takes you into a further labyrinth of codes, regulations, prohibitions, etc.

[Denny Gies]

I do mine with fine (wet/dry) sandpaper and do it slowly. It has worked for me for many years but you do need to be patient.

[Ted Eschliman]

We're done here. Some of you may be new around here, and even many veterans are unaware that EVERY thread that discusses this topic eventually gets pulled. It's not because we want to prevent discussion of altering equipment, but we have members that harbor arguably justifiable passions about dealing, trading, and altering materials derived from endangered animals.

It inevitably ends up in the conversation.