How to nail it down, with better nails

Guildedagain

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Somehow fingerpicking became my life...

I soon realized, taking care of your nails isn't an option anymore. You either don't it or you don't play well. Next to being out of tune, your nails are probably the second most important thing.

Like many other guitar players, I also wanted to strengthen my nails, but personally unwilling to use chemicals or fake nails. Not only that, I have a lot of other occupations, car, truck, tractor, chainsaw maintenance and repair, etc, so I can't have long fake nails unless I want one ripped off by accident...

I looked around the net, saw what other people were doing. Lots of pros go to a salon every two weeks and get their nails touched up. You can get kits from Savarez, and or there videos of guys supergluing little moons made of yoghurt tub lids under their nails, etc.

What I did also find out is that if you take better care of your nails, they'll be better and stronger nails.

Within a couple weeks, I had the best nails I've ever had, and they just keep getting stronger.

Of course, my left hand nails are filed way down, so it's not about growing nails on that hand, but... they key is filing.

Clipping is bad for your nails, unless they're really long and need to be clipped before filing. Excessive filing rocks your nail back and forth and it's not good. The clipped finish leaves raw grain that splits easily.

Clip to where you can file to a finish.

Your nails are alive, your hooves ;-)

They have grain, and you need to file with the grain. File from the outside to the center. Always file on totally dry nails, they do absorb water and get soft, and that's when they split the easiest.

That's basically the whole trick, filing. You can have someone do it, but there's a filing fee.

I use the old La Cross USA metal files, they do a fine job, there's lots of files out there, and polishers.

Your nails won't split (as much), and you can do things to them to make them healthier.



They love oils, any kind of cooking oils.

Also makes sense to have decent looking hands, people will be looking at them, so you'll be think about a manicure and here it something super easy and natural.

Take a little bit of coconut oil (it's the new does everything lifehack superfood, supergunkcleaner, etc for me), put it in a bowl of warm water, soak your hands in there for a little bit (you won't be able to type or play guitar so it is kind of rough ;-), then use simple cuticle pushers and standard tiny curved scissors to trim any hang nails, etc.



And then finally, if you need polish ;-)

I dare you to try this at home.

Take a big fat clove of garlic, put it in the press, squeeze out the one drop of oil (that's all there is and if your garlic is old and drying out there won't be any oil) from the clove just before the point of crushing it, into a tiny vial that you can stopper.

Take a tiny lettering paintbrush, dip it in the garlic oil and paint your nails.

Let them dry, a couple minutes.

They'll look totally wet, but be perfectly dry and shiny as all get out.

The garlic oil smell actually dissipates pretty quickly and it lasts unless you wash your hands.

No problem, just reapply.

I did this for a while and my nails got strong and thick so much healthier.

I'm thinking garlic oil is the original nail polish, Cleopatra may have used it...

I rub hemp oil into them before going to sleep. It all works in during the night, and in the morning I can grab my Tele from the side of the bed and not get any grease on the strings.

Do the dishes once in a while and that helps to get all the dead skin off your hands between manicures.


This is what's working for me, I wanted to share the tips, mainly about filing your nails.

File your nails, from the outside in to the center.

You'll have better nails right away.



Filing nails ;-)
Filing taxes ;-(
 
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Westerly Wood

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i cut my nails so i finger pick with fingers. works ok, close enough for government work.
 
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bobouz

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99% of what I do is fingerpicking (thumb & two fingers). Nails & flesh striking essentially at the same time.

Have almost always used a cheap clipper & then file smooth. When one breaks, it’s usually from some oddball occurrence, like lifting a car door handle & having my hand slip off, catching the nail. Very hard to wait for one to grow back!
 

beecee

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Haven't had to worry about nails for awhile.
 

JohnW63

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How long do you try to keep them ? I generally have decent finger nails, but I do things, like working on old cars that beats them up.
 

Bill Ashton

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This thread makes me think immediately of Clive Carroll, the English fingerstyle wiz. I was taking a class from him at Kaufman Kamp, and he was going over (just for our general interest) how he makes his fingernail extentions with cut outs from ping-pong balls...when a crew from Knoxville local TV comes in and the whole bit gets put up on TV!

I've looked and cannot find it, however here is a bit from an interview he did with Guitar Player in 2010:

Do you use acrylic nails?
Ping-pong balls, actually. I cut out a semicircle piece with cuticle scissors and attach it under the tip of my fingernail with Super Glue. I trim the material with nail clippers and then use a series of nail files to work it into a smooth contour. I do this for my index, middle, and ring fingers, and the whole process takes less than ten minutes. I’m lucky with my thumbnail—it’s strong and doesn’t require any treatment.
So, unlike acrylic overlays, you’re attaching the material underneath your real nail.
Well, it makes sense to me because you’re playing with the glue—not against it—so the treatments are less likely to fall off.
 

davismanLV

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Not me.
Long fingernails tend to scratch my nose if I pick too vigorously.
Sorry Al, I didn't mean to put your name in there and I was not directing my sarcasm towards you. Don't know what happened. I've edited the post. And i do understand...... long and beautiful nails can be used to cause damage as well as pick strings!! Then you play and you've got blood on your strings......
 

adorshki

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Sorry Al, I didn't mean to put your name in there and I was not directing my sarcasm towards you. Don't know what happened. I've edited the post. And i do understand...... long and beautiful nails can be used to cause damage as well as pick strings!! Then you play and you've got blood on your strings......
It just occurred to me I should milk your guilt for all it's worth.
Join my crusade:
GO thou forth and sledgehammer any and all (unoccupied) electric rent-a-scooters in your path.
And lobby Oxnard for an F47 with 24-3/4" scale and a 1-11/6 nut and an oval soundhole.
.
.
.
"Blood on the strings, snot on the tracks..."
There's gotta be a song in there.
 

Nuuska

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adorshki

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Well

If we deduct BD's "Blood On The Track" album - we are left with "Snot On The Strings" - and good old Google ( The usual source ??? ) gives us non-musical delights like this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoOVbbeFrJg - but no fast musical pleasure.

Leave it to the Finns.
We've seen snotless guitars here before, but maybe now we can replace the tired old cliché of "plays like butter" with "plays like snot".
All y'gotta do is wait for 'em to dry out.
 

Grassdog

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i cut my nails so i finger pick with fingers. works ok, close enough for government work.

I'm in the same boat with WW. I don't grow my nails out (never have) but I work on developing callouses on the fingertips of my right hand so I can get a crisp attack when playing fingerstyle.
 

adorshki

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Like many other guitar players, I also wanted to strengthen my nails, but personally unwilling to use chemicals or fake nails. Not only that, I have a lot of other occupations, car, truck, tractor, chainsaw maintenance and repair, etc, so I can't have long fake nails unless I want one ripped off by accident...
Somewhere along the line I forgot to mention I thought this was actually a great post since I do about 50% of my playing "bareback" myself these days.
I did do the Sally Hansen thing for a few years before I realized the solvents in the polish were probably drying out my nails even more than I what I'd been accepting as a fact of life.
Never came across the idea of "oiling 'em" before but I might just give it a try.
 

davismanLV

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And lobby Oxnard for an F47 with 24-3/4" scale and a 1-11/6 nut and an oval soundhole.
.
.
.
"Blood on the strings, snot on the tracks..."
There's gotta be a song in there.
I'm sure there is!! If only we could agree on nut width, I'd be totally game for such a guitar. Cutaway (Venetian, of course) and a 1 3/4" nut with great electronics........ now if we could all agree. I'm a guy with a dream..... LMAO!!!
 
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