Lignum Vitae
Linum Vitae is an amazing wood. The wood is incredibly dense, and over 3 times as hard as White Oak! A thin sliver can withstand constant banging against steel strings, and picks from this wood can be made very thin. The cellular structure of Lignum Vitae is saturated with it's own natural oil, and this oil is contained within each cell. It is visible when carving the wood, but a finished piece is as smooth and cold as a piece of marble. Fine sanding is all that is needed for a spectacular wood. Lignum Vitae is rare and expensive. It has been used for bearings for propeller axles and for many massive hydroelectric generators built around 100 years ago, and is still in use in many of those dams.
We only use the finest quality Guaiacum Officinale, or Guaiacum Sanctum.There are people out there, selling all kinds of pseudo Lignum Vitae such as the Australian Eucalyptus, which lack the quality of the original stuff.
A Lignum Vitae pick will give you a rich, mellow tone an nice sustain.
Pink Ivory
Bright pink to pale red. Hard and heavy at 70 lbs./cu.ft.
Pink Ivory is a rare wood from Southern Africa that can be anywhere from light pink to watermelon red. This wood is very heavy and dense, and also very expensive. Very soft grain pattern, and polishes to a high luster.
Pink Ivory will give you a mellow tone.
Ebony
Generally jet black but sometimes with lighter colored streaks. Hard and heavy @ 50-75 lbs./cu.ft.
Dense and rare wood with similar characteristics as Macassar Ebony.
Great for strumming.
Macassar Ebony
Black with yellowish or reddish brown streaks. 68 lbs./cu.ft
Not so dense and rare as the African Blackwood, but a favorite with many players.
Medium soft mellow characteristic, great for strumming chord patterns and have a good sustain.
African Blackwood
African Blackwood is a very responsive, excellent tone wood, and a very hard and dense wood that lives up to it's name when polished. Tight pattern, close grain and no color variation.
Mellow tone and attack.
Snakewood
A very hard and dense wood with streaks and swirls reminiscent of snake skin.
Mellow to medium string attack and tone.
Desert Ironwood
One of the hardest and most dense woods available, with wonderful streaks and swirls in colors from bright yellow over brown and to black. Polishes to a high luster, and has "chatoyance" (the property of some minerals and woods to exhibit a wavy, luminous band with a silky luster, reminiscent of the eye of a cat). Very rare and expensive wood.
Mellow to medium string attack and tone.
Tamanian Flamed Blackwood (Limited supply)
Not so hard and dense as the other woods, but with nice flame and color.
Medium attack and tone.
Bocote
Yellow green to tobacco brown with black stripes, often highly figured with many "eyes". Hard and heavy with a weight of 50-60 lbs/cu.ft.
Exceptional grain patters with swirls and streaks. Some raunchy tones can be produced due to the open grain surface even when fine sanded.
There is a sharper attack and tone in this pick.
Mexican Kingwood
Dark purple stripes on a yellowish purple background. 75-80 lbs./cu.ft. Stunning swirls and stripes.
Medium attack and tone.
Tulipwood
Sometimes called Pau Rosa and Brazilian Pinkwood. It has alternating stripes of straw or yellow and red or violet. 55-69 lbs./cu.ft
Mellow tone and attack.
Cocobolo
Is variegated, orange, yellow and dark red with irregular black stripes. 60-77 lbs./cu.ft.
Sharper string attack and tone.
Ziricote
Tobacco brown to reddish brown with irregular dark brown or blackish streaks. 50-60 lbs./cu.ft.
Sharper string attack and tone.
Leadwood
Leadwood is very hard, and difficult to work. It was once used for railway sleepers. Tight pattern with a grayish tone. Polishes to a high luster.
Medium tone and attack.
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