The Steel Guitar Forum

I have 3 pair. Still using a pair I bought off Jeff 20 years ago. I have a pair of BJ picks also. They are the best.

I have 9 JF picks I’ll let go for $100 shipped to your door in the us

Bill, I'll take the picks. PM sent. THanks, Dale

Jeff Newman story and how I got on JF picks...

I'd just gotten offstage at a TSGA Jamboree and Jeff came up to me and said "Herb, good set, man. Say, what kind of picks were you using?"

I told him "Dunlops, .025 guage," and showed him the picks. He took them out of my hand and threw them across the ballroom, probably 30 or 40 yards. He probably hit somebody with them. Then he put two JF picks in my hand and said "these are your picks now."

That was SOOOO Jeff!! I miss him dearly, especially when I hear how Melissa is running Jeffran into the ground.

Anyone have a few BROKEN JF picks they want to get rid of ??

Why would you want those?
Erv

I also think the placement,,or the diamond itself,is a design flaw and weak point of the pick.I have repaired a few. Some can't be.

I have never had any problems with these picks.

So how would you go about repairing a pick and why would you unless you feel they are the best pick out there?
Just curious.

Well Bill,,they break all the time. That's the biggest drawback to them other than now, not being able to get them.I did not say they were bad,,but I do not think they are they best,and I don't think they will bring 50 a pop for too long. Seems they only did that after the supply went away 3 or 4 years ago. I've been using them for years also,and its just a comfort thing. I have a pair now, and others also that I use. If I decide that I want a pair (or more) bad enough,,I'll cut them out on a nitrogen-laser and form them myself. IF they start bringing 50 or more all the time,,I will do just that. The best picks I had I gave to Scott McCree. They were JF's I coated in nickel-Boron,,stronger and slick as a minnow.(he wont give them back)

I have had more problems with Nationals breaking on the bands than the JF or BJ picks.

I've been using Jeff's picks exclusively ever since they were available back in the early 80s. In all those years, I've never had a failure except for one. I dropped my picks once and someone stepped on one before I could recover it. It was squashed and mutilated. I was able to straighten it out, but one of the bands broke a short time later from the damage.

I guess the point is moot as they are no longer available anyway. The one that was squashed was one of the more recent issues. I've still got several that are still intact but the blades have worn down solely from years of use.

I also have a pretty good supply of unused ones that should last me out. It's too bad they're done, but there are a few capable replacements such as National.

Elderly has some styles that they have had cobalt coated by an outside source. National NP2 and Showcase 1941. Interesting choices that I might consider had I not already acquired my stash.

Since getting above 50,,work makes my hands swell and contract from day to day,,so I have to open or close them. I have considered that the newer material (as with all metals now days) is not the same as years ago. There are a lot of people looking to buy more JF picks every day,,and I suppose they have breakage too. I could be wrong,I have been before.

I'd try some 41's,but no one has them. Kyser old style I cant find either.

Sorry Richard. I had not looked lately. I didn't realize they were sold out.

showcase 41's are good picks, not as thick/stiff as JF's, it seems to me https://mullenguitars.com/shop?olsPage= ... cks&page=2

Warren Yates and Doug Hoffmeyer make banjo picks that seem pretty similar in material and template (the blank that's punched out of sheet metal) and Yates oval 8's are chromed also but the blade is spooned differently from JF's.

I remember somebody here or maybe the banjo/dobro forums saying if you want to reshape the blade, do it with a small socket wrench pressing into the back of the blade into a shag carpet or other soft surface.

Yeah,,the spoon on JF picks are part of the lure to them. NP2's are not the same bend,and feel harsh. When I find what feels right,,I'll coat the with the Boron again. Thanks for the link.

Chrome and cobalt plating does really make a difference (tho not huge) in smoother tone, I tested by buffing the plating off a few fingerpicks.

So i was looking for a place to either chrome or cobalt plate some picks and i found these guys https://www.mastercraftmetalplating.com/

Look at that Fender 400, beautiful!

I use a jewelers ring shaping pliers to bend my picks in a smooth round shape. The JF picks still make sharp bends at the diamonds.

Dale McPherson wrote:I use a jewelers ring shaping pliers to bend my picks in a smooth round shape. The JF picks still make sharp bends at the diamonds.

m
Dale
That and a pair of regular needle nose pliers, various grunts, several cigarettes, and a few choice words was what Charlie Norris used to shape my Dunlop’s to custom fit my fingers many years ago 😁 I’ve incidentally never been able to get another set to fit as well as those do. I still have them, amazingly I’ve managed to never lose them even after several moves and a ten year hiatus between selling my Zum and buying another steel, and they’ve not been stepped on lol. I use them almost exclusively.
I read this post earlier today and tried to remember WHAT OTHER TOOL he used besides needle nose pliers then I read your reply and that was what it was was ring adjusting pliers!

I have a new pair around here someplace, if i find them i'll list'em for sale. I never thought they were the rage. They were way too heavy and stiff for my taste. I pick rather lightly myself, and i'm currently using 0.14 Dun's. They work just dandy for me.

George,
I'm with you!
I don't like thick picks.
That's why I like Dunlops, you can get them in different gauges.
Erv

I don't remember hearing about BJ picks. Anyone got a link to them? (assuming they're still available). I tried Google but just got a bunch of porno stuff.

BJ's are not made for several years. They were basically just the JF [Jeff Newman] picks that were chrome plated.

The B was for Buddy and the J for Jeff.

Back in the early 80s I went to Jeff college I bought 2 pair of the bj picks about 2 Mon one broke I was in st Louis Jeff gave me a new set about 4 years or so I broke another pick so I tried the other set 2 months or so 1 of them broke I ran across some 41s got 2 setsyears later I bought some more for spares. 20 something years later I'm still using the 1st set best picks I have ever used Mullen guitar co has them

Same here. I've been using 41s for a long time and bought several sets but have never broken any. I tend to lose stuff before it breaks.