​Shamisen Bachi 

Shaped more like a flat trowel or paint scraper the Bachi can be 150mm or more long and easily 50mm wide, much larger than can reasonably be made from other animal horn. Bachi can, and are used most aggressively in picking and hammering the strings on the Shamisen. Many other materials would no doubt have been tried from those available at the time but none would have been able to match the comfort, light weight, hardness, toughness and wear resistance afforded by the turtle shell, especially in the sizes required for the item. Im quite keen to have a go at making some MooPick Bachi, Please contact me if this is something that interests you.

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