What are "tangs" on a finger pick?

Tom Campbell · Post by **Tom Campbell** » 15 Feb 2020 5:25 pm

I give up...my search for the definition of TANGS on a finger pick has hit a dead end.

Are the tangs another term for the bands or is the tang the pick blade/spade?

Thanks for any help!

Dave Meis · Post by **Dave Meis** » 15 Feb 2020 6:00 pm

I would think the blade...how did you hear it used?

Douglas Schuch · Post by **Douglas Schuch** » 15 Feb 2020 6:04 pm

I'm pretty sure the tang is the band that holds the finger pick to your finger. A tang on a sailboat mast is the piece of metal that connects the wire shrouds and stays to the mast. The tang of a knife is the part that goes into the handle. Tang does not imply the "business" end of something, but more to do with attachment of the business end.

Dictionary.com:

a long and slender projecting strip, tongue, or prong forming part of an object, as a chisel, file, or knife, and serving as a means of attachment for another part, as a handle or stock.

Mariam-Webster:

3: a projecting shank, prong, fang, or tongue (as on a knife, file, or sword) to connect with the handle.

Ed Javner · Post by **Ed Javner** » 15 Feb 2020 8:30 pm

I put a slight bend at the tip of my finger picks. Maybe that's what it's referring to. Seems to give me a better angle attack. I've been doing that for years. (?)

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 16 Feb 2020 1:26 am

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 16 Feb 2020 5:24 am

Some also call the blade a "tongue", and they usually call the parts that wrap around your fingertip as the "bands".

Tom Campbell · Post by **Tom Campbell** » 16 Feb 2020 5:41 am

I was read various posting about shaping finger picks.
A number of players were referring the shaping the "Tangs". But, it was not clear what a Tang was. From the responses I don't think I'm alone as to what they clearly are.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 16 Feb 2020 7:09 am

And that's where a picture is worth a thousand words. If you look at the hands of a pro player, even a (gulp) banjo player it all makes sense.

Mike Bacciarini · Post by **Mike Bacciarini** » 16 Feb 2020 8:09 am

I think Stu may be right..... what the astronauts drank in space.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 16 Feb 2020 9:32 am

Mike,Yes!!

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 16 Feb 2020 9:55 am

A tang is something sharp. It can refer to the spike that fixes a chisel to its handle, but in the context of a finger pick it clearly refers to the business end that contacts the string.
Ok, not so clearly, but nevertheless. Both the blade and the band require shaping, so that isn't a clue.

Tom Campbell · Post by **Tom Campbell** » 16 Feb 2020 10:09 am

The attached Forum site refers to the "Tang".

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... pick+tangs

If you scroll down to the posting by Dennis Saydak I think he is referring to Tangs as the bands.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 16 Feb 2020 11:30 am

In that picture, I think that the "tang" he's talking about is the "band" or "wrap" of the fingerpick, or perhaps just the end of each band, which he's clearly pulling back with the pliers. But I think think most players call the part of the pick that wraps around the finger either "bands" or "wraps". I've never heard of the bands or wraps referred to as tangs.

E.g. - ProPik "Split Band" or "Split Wrap":

https://gregboyd.com/product/propik-nic ... ingerpick/

https://www.guptillmusic.com/propik-ec- ... nger-picks

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 16 Feb 2020 11:41 am

Somewhere in this thread is a Saturday Night Live skit...

Dave Meis · Post by **Dave Meis** » 16 Feb 2020 11:55 am

Right? ðŸ˜„

Allan Haley · Post by **Allan Haley** » 16 Feb 2020 1:46 pm

Tang!!! is the sound when my pick gets caught in a string