This is an independant review of the Pick Punch from gageteer.com.
The Pick Punch is a great gadget for guitar, banjo, mandolin and other stringed instruments that require a pick for strumming. If you can’t figure out what purpose it serves just by the name and image, then you have my permission to skip this review. Everyone else, click through for more info.
If you play a stringed instrument with a pick and enjoy making things and saving money, then you’re going to love the Pick Punch. It’s a heavy duty spring loaded punch, that will allow you to create your own unique guitar picks from various materials that you already have lying around your house.
The punch looks sort of like a stapler, until you turn it over.
Then you’ll notice that familiar guitar pick shape which is also called the 351 or Fender shape. This punch will create 1-3/16″ (30mm) tall by 1-1/16″ (25.5mm) wide picks in the standard tear drop shape.
Using the Pick Punch couldn’t be more simple. You can purchase sheets of Nylon, Polycarbonate or Acetal as many prefer, just scrounge around your house for different materials that will work equally well. Some of the easiest to come by are plastic gift cards, expired credit cards, ATM cards, etc.
Just slide the material into the slot, check the pick shaped cut out on the bottom to make sure you have lined up the image you want for the pick and then squeeze the handle. That’s it.
Presto, you now have a perfectly shaped custom guitar pick! The edges of the punched pick are surprisingly smooth, but if you want to clean up any rough spots, just buff the edges with some really fine sandpaper. Simple and fast.
Besides using gift and old credit cards, you can also use lids from plastic containers like the ones you find on margarine and cool whip tubs. The sound that you get from each pick when you strum your guitar or other instrument will depend on the material used.
The Pick Punch site has ideas for creating all sorts of interesting pick designs. You can stamp your own graphics on them, combine two thin sheets of clear material with an image in the center, for one thick pick, etc.
I think this product would make a great gift for a guitar player. It’s built to last for years and will punch 1000′s of picks. It’s inexpensive and will save them money because they’ll never need to buy another pick.
