Polymer clay pick handles

[Gordon Airporte]

In another thread raimundo, that amazing font of ideas, suggested using a polymer clay like Fimo or Sculpy for pick handles. I've used the stuff before and it seemed like it would work. And indeed it does.
I used Fimo for this. A pack is around $2.75 from the crafts store and I estimate you can get five or six handles out of it, so the bar is low for experimenting. You mold it, then bake it at 230F for half an hour or so to harden it, then you can sand it to get the fingerprints out leaving a nice smooth surface.







A couple of things to watch out for: if your hands are dirty when you start working it, it will stain. I'd been reading the paper and the ink on my fingers left some streaks. Also the clay is not very firm by itself at this scale so if you build too far out from the butt of the pick it gets floppy. You might be able to rig up a wire armature to help there if your picks are really short.
There is a lot of room for experimenting with ergonomics, but I found I like a pretty much straight handle which can be used comfortably right-side-up or upside-down.

[Tygart]

The handle looks awesome.

To keep dirt off of them when making, I would get some of those cloth gloves from the art store. Photographers use them when handling their photo paper.

[Kaotik]

Nice indeed. I don't think using cloth or material gloves are a good idea, it would make a mess out of the gloves leaving bits of clay stuck to the fiber weaving and could be transfered to another color for different color picks.

It may also leave a textured surface on the clay, which is not so bad because texture can be good. It may be better to just wash your hands thoroughly before using the clay or even use well fitted latex gloves.

I'm not familiar with the type of gloves used by photo developers, so i'm just going out on a limb with other gloves that I know of and that others here may try to use.

[Tygart]

The gloves I am talking you throw away after use. Also I was worried about leaving finger prints in the handle.

[Kaotik]

Must be those real cheap thin material ones? May not be such a bad idea since they can be inexpensive.

But wouldn't they still leave a slight texture like finger prints?

[timal]

Very nice thick and heafty handles.

[JackNco]

thats actually VERY cool. is it heavy or light stuff to use as a handle?

[raimundo]

its plastic, the weight comes from the pick

[JackNco]

ive never had my hands on the stuff, sounds like clay to me, cheers again Raimondo. you seem to be my helper monkey today

[Shrub]

A little advice if you want it,

File and sand your handle so its uniform and smooth,

Take a pot that the pick fits into,

Half fill it with plaster of paris,

Put a film of cling film over the plaster (cling film is the stuff you cover dishes with in the microwave, i dont know what you call it) and then set the pick into it halfway (this isnt critical),

Once set (a couple of mins) remove the pick,

Place the pick back into the plaster and lay another layer of film over the top this time,

Pour in another mix of plaster,

Once set remove to find you now have a mould that simlpy has filmo in the bottom, the pick in the middle and filmo in the top, pressed together will form the same handle every time

[Charodei]

Very clever idea!

In the States it's usually called cling wrap or Saran wrap (brand name, but it's used for any kind now). Don't worry, we still understand your silly British dialect.

[JackNco]

Very clever idea!

In the States it's usually called cling wrap or Saran wrap (brand name, but it's used for any kind now). Don't worry, we still understand your silly British dialect.

Ude be amazed how often i have to re word things in IRC.

but don't worry, its no barney translating

[Gordon Airporte]

Thanks everyone.
I had just been thinking about molds, Shrub, so I'm glad someone has a proven method.
It's not a pick profile I use often (which is why it was floating around without a handle), but I have managed to pick most of my locks with it and it feels pretty good. I think there's a slight loss of touch, possibly because the clay isn't fully hardened. Baking picks longer might take care of that, or leaving some of the hacksaw blade exposed.
As far as weight goes, I can't find an accurate scale or a balance, but subjectively it weighs as much as one of my aluminum handled picks.
The fingerprints seem to be inevitable, but they're shallow enough that they sand out completely. It will probably get dirty from use, so I'm not too concerned about the streaks - it's still a color that I can't lose easily . The clay doesn't turn your hands colors like epoxy putty, thankfully, but they still say you should wash up after use.
The clay also gets softer the longer you work it, so I had to put it down several times to let it cool off and harden a little. This might not be an issue for other brands/products.

[Kaotik]

Either way it looks pretty good. If your really good with a Dremel or are good at carving, you could prolly engrave some designs in it after it's hardened, finish sand it a bit then apply some type of clearcoat.

Good job!

[Kaotik]

Either way it looks pretty good. If your really good with a Dremel or are good at carving, you could prolly engrave some designs in it after it's hardened, finish sand it a bit then apply some type of clearcoat.

Good job!