How to Make Homemade Guitar Picks

Using a Pick Punch

Purchase a pick punch from a music shop or online. A pick punch is the easiest way to mass-produce your own custom guitar picks. It is essentially a hole puncher with a pick-shaped template that cuts plastic into a guitar pick. It looks like a large stapler and is extremely easy to use. You can purchase a pick punch online or at your local music shop. A pick punch will cost $10.00-15.00, but you’ll make your money back if you find yourself constantly losing and rebuying your picks. You can even sell excess picks that you make to turn a profit.

Get an old gift card, ruler, or plastic sheet. A pick punch will turn any material into a pick-shaped cutout, but the best materials for guitar picks are hard plastics. Credit cards, gift cards, rulers, and other hard plastics will all work as picks. Get a cheap piece of plastic that you don’t really care about ruining to make your picks.Tip: Thicker plastics will make it easier to pluck strings but harder to strum. The reverse is equally true—thinner plastics make it harder to pluck but easier to strum. It really boils down to personal preference though. You can make beautiful music with a pick of any thickness. You can check the balance on a gift card by visiting the website printed on the back of the card. Click the “Check Balance” tab and enter the card’s number to pull up the remaining balance. If you’re going to use a credit card, make sure that it’s expired and that you no longer need it. If you’re going to use a gift card, make sure that there isn’t a remaining balance on it before cutting it up.

Slide the plastic item into the slot at the end of the punch. Look for the ⁄4–⁄2 in (0.64–1.27 cm) slot on the end of the punch where the 2 handles meet. Slide your plastic item into this slot. Push it all the way in until it won’t go in any further.

Look through the viewfinder to adjust the image on the pick. The pick punch has an opening on one side of the slot so that you can see what your guitar pick will look like after it has been punched out. Look at the open end of the punch and adjust your card until you’re happy with the look of your pick. For example, if you have an old gift card with a picture of Santa on it, adjust the card so that Santa’s face is in the center of the pick’s outline.

Squeeze the handles together to pop your guitar pick out. Once you’re happy with the look of your pick, use both hands to push the handles towards one another. Squeeze hard until you hear a click. Once you hear the click, squeeze as hard as you can. The pick will pop right out of the outline. Look away from the punch as you’re squeezing the handles to avoid shooting the pick into your eye. If you’re strong and have big hands, you can easily do this with one hand by wrapping your fingers around one handle and the base of your palm around the other.

Sand your guitar pick to smooth the edges out if you’d like. Turn the pick around in your hand. If it’s smooth and there are no loose shards of plastic, you can use your pick as is. If it’s kind of sharp though, you may damage your hands or strings when you use it. Grab a sheet of 200- to 400-grit sandpaper and fold it around the pick. Rub the sandpaper back and forth to smooth it down and remove any sharp edges. Use a fine-grit sandpaper unless you want to wear away the art on the plastic. You can also use a nail file or sanding brick to smooth the pick out. In a pinch, you can scrape the pick against jagged concrete to wear it down a little. Since you’re going to be playing an instrument with the pick, it is not recommended that you paint or decorate it. The paint will rub off on your strings and hands over time as you play.

Cutting a Pick out of Plastic

Get an old credit card, ruler, CD, or plastic sheet. Even without a pick punch, you can create a guitar pick by hand using an old piece of plastic. A credit card or gift card works best, but you can also use a plastic ruler for a thicker pick. A CD can make a neat pick, but CDs are prone to cracking when you cut them, and it can be hard to file them down to make them soft. Any scrap sheet of plastic will work just fine. The harder your plastic is, the more difficult it will be to cut and you want a little flexibility in a guitar pick anyway.

Draw the outline of your pick on the plastic. Grab a pencil. Set your plastic down a table and draw the outline of your guitar pick. A guitar pick is a pretty simple shape—it’s just a triangle with rounded edges—so feel free to draw it freehand. You can also take a commercially-produced pick and outline it by tracing around the edges.Tip: Even if you’re drawing on a black credit card, you’ll still be able to see the pencil outline so long as the lights are on. A standard guitar pick is roughly 1.2 by 1.2 in (3.0 by 3.0 cm) If you can, put your drawing near the natural edge of your plastic. This will make it easier to cut out.

Cut the pick out of your plastic using standard scissors. Hold the pick in your nondominant hand. Take a pair of non-serrated scissors and place the scissor blades around the edge of the plastic. Squeeze the handles together to cut into the plastic. Keep your nondominant hand at least 3 inches (7.6 cm) away from the blades to avoid cutting yourself. Rotate the plastic as you cut it to carve around the edges of your outline. It may take a little bit of effort to cut through thicker plastics. If you prefer, you can tape the plastic on a cutting board and drag a utility knife around the outline. It may be easier to simply use the scissors though.

Sand the sides of the pick down with a nail file or sandpaper. Cutting your plastic out with scissors will result in some sharp edges. To smooth them down, grab a nail file or sheet of 200- to 400-grit sandpaper. Vigorously scrape the file or sandpaper along each edge of the pick for 30-60 seconds on each side. Once your pick is smoothed down, you’re finished! If you’re sanding the edges of a CD down, be careful and work slowly. CDs are prone to cracking when you apply too much pressure. They’re fine as guitar picks though since you hold them tightly as you use them. You can also use clear tape to cover your CD pick in a protective layer.

Using Prefabricated Items as Picks

Grab a coin and use it as a readymade guitar pick. A thin coin will work in a pinch if you’re missing a guitar pick. An American quarter, British 2 pence, or Chinese yuan coin will work well. So long as the coin is at least 1 in (2.5 cm) or bigger, you can use the round edges to play your instrument.Tip: Coins can get pretty filthy as they’re used and discarded. Wash the coin with mild dish soap and water before using it. Any dirt or bacteria will end up on your hands if you don’t clean the coin. Coins are probably the most effective replacement for a standard guitar pick. They don’t wear down easily and they’re only slightly thicker than a prefabricated pick.

Use an old memory card to play your instrument. A large sim card, SD card, or flat memory card can all be used to play a stringed instrument. These types of plastic cards always have at least 1 edge that is angled or rounded. Use that edge to play your guitar or bass. Don’t use an SD or memory card as a guitar pick if you ever want to access the information that it’s storing. Using a memory card will inevitably destroy it.

Select an uncut gift card or credit card if you are in a rush. If you have to get on stage right now and you don’t have time to make a pick, you can play with an uncut gift card or credit card. Hold the card at an angle so that you’re plucking your strings with the rounded corner. It may be a little awkward to hold, but you’ll be able to play just fine. Gift cards and credit cards have the same thickness as a pick, which is why they’re so commonly used to make homemade picks.