Hawksbill Turtle Shell
It is widely thought that the best plectrums for richness and depth of tone are those made from the shell of the Hawksbill sea turtle. Turtle shell has been a common and widely used material of manufacture for high value personal items since the times of Egypt some 4000 years ago, its use continuing along similar lines through later civilisations until last century when demand reached proportions endangering this species of turtle causing the use and trade of the material to be quite rightly banned in many countries. It would be reasonable to assume the first to use this material to effect sound from a stringed instrument would be the Japanese with the Bachi, used with a 3 stringed instrument called a Shamisen which date back to the 16th century.
Not until the 1800s saw the availability of picks for mandolins and later still, guitars.
Hawksbill Turtle shell is a hard, finely structured, beautifully patterned horn like material in large and thick enough pieces for reasonable sized items to be carved. Similar material properties can be found in other animal horn like that of a Cow or a Buffalo, these other sources however did not provide the distinctive Tortoise shell patterning and the size of products made from horn are severely restricted due to the size and shape of the horn itself.
Not until the 1800s saw the availability of picks for mandolins and later still, guitars.
Hawksbill Turtle shell is a hard, finely structured, beautifully patterned horn like material in large and thick enough pieces for reasonable sized items to be carved. Similar material properties can be found in other animal horn like that of a Cow or a Buffalo, these other sources however did not provide the distinctive Tortoise shell patterning and the size of products made from horn are severely restricted due to the size and shape of the horn itself.