buffalo horn picks for tenor banjo

hi all
I am just running of plectrums ( I have used for my banjo mostly dunlop nylon 0.6 or similar thickness picks, but know I found them a bit soft) and browsing in Amazon or ebay I saw really cheap (from China or Hong Kong as you suppose but suppose can get European made similar ones for not too much more money)…set of picks (random packs of 10 or 20 picks from 0.6 to 1.2 mm ) of “Buffalo horn plectrums”….just wonder as never used one I think how is the quality of the sound, their endurance and performance and, silly question maybe, it they are really made of buffalo horn or similar mammal (do not like to use animal skins or horns or fur….just the meat for me is enough !!, sorry if somebody feels offended !!) ……are worth of it ? or better plastic ones or other material ?
thanks
when i bought my banjo in Andybanjo 2 plectrums included in the deal were too thick or/and hard, am afraid of breaking the strings when i try them !!

I would avoid any animal product coming from China. It could be from an endangered species. China is the main driver of poaching in African countries for rare species.

On the other hand, if these picks are made from domesticated water buffalo, they would be anything but endangered. It is estimated that there are over 130 million domestic water buffalo in China.

I agree regarding the hesitancy of using animal products like this.
I’ve been down that rabbit hole of tenor banjo picks, also. Agonizing over comparing 2 picks that everyone says sounds the same. Ultimately you just have to pick one and stick with it, because all you’re doing really is distracting yourself from practicing tunes. In fairness I’m now trying to relearn this lesson, but with mandolin picks.
FWIW, although I rarely play banjo anymore, it is the 0.60 Dunlop nylon I go for when I do play. But I also found the red Dunlops and white Claytons that are both around 0.50mm to be perfectly serviceable.

“I agree regarding the hesitancy of using animal products like this”… And I’m sure that all the goats in Ireland agree with you.

And wtf does that have to do with anything?

this has got me to thinkiing
what with all the backlash against nylons and plastics maybe a sustainably sourced animal product is a greener way to go?
My banjo picks wear out presumably because microscopic bits of the tip are breaking off?

Well, I got it, Gobby. Nice one.

Rigid: Sliced from the claw of a Giant Panda
Slight flex: Formed from the end part of pectoral flippers of dolphins
Flexible: Lovingly crafted from the baleen plates of the Blue Whale

My bro uses picks fashioned from coconut shells on his tenor. They give a moderately warm sound (yes, I know it’s a banjo), and the material is a sustainable one which is often otherwise discarded.

Buffalo horn picks are most likely going to be very rigid, like a heavy mandolin pick. I prefer something with some flex that gives you a bit of snap on the banjo. I’m a bit weird, because I play with pretty light picks. My usual pick is a .53mm Snarling Dog Brain Pick, and occasionally a .60mm one if the environment is very loud. I tend to play tenor guitar with a .73mm… But everybody has their preferences… 🙂

And BTW, in 20 years of playing banjo, I’ve only ever broken a string once. (Now bouzouki, on the other hand…)

I have very occasionally bought items from China and a few times they have included a ‘free gift’ of buffalo horn plectrums. They were dreadful. Very hard and rigid. Not for me.

@Thomaston. It’s not unknown for fleadhanna (fleadh goers - the drunken few) to chase down wild goats and break off a horn. They then have them sliced, shaped and polished and sell them on Gumtree and DoneDeal as souvenir Fleadh Plectrums.
CCE have been ttying to stamp this practice out for years but it still persists.
I’ve about 50 left from this year and a few from previous years if you’re interested.
Alex.

postie-“On the other hand, if these picks are made from domesticated water buffalo, they would be anything but endangered. ”
There are endangered wild water buffalo-
https://www.livescience.com/27409-buffalo.html

It’s likely that the picks come from the domestic, because of ‘left over’ parts but I wouldn’t risk it.

Apologies, Gobby. I was tired and in a bad mood when I made that last comment, which was unnecessarily snippy.

http://cliffordessex.net/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=13

There’s a whole load of different styles available.

It’s extremely unlikely that the picks are made from anything but domestic water buffalo. The domestic kind is very common. They’d have to go way out of their way to find and kill a wild water buffalo while the horns of the domestic variety are very cheap and easy to come by. It’d be like an American finding and killing a wild bison and then selling the meat cheaply and just calling it “beef”.

Years ago, and I’m mean years (more than 40), there was a US Company that offered picks made from animal horn. I picked up a couple and used them in the mid 70’s almost exclusively when I played electric. By the early 80’s they came apart (I’m estimating 4 to 5 years of heavy use). Horn is made of layers of keratin, a protein, and use, either from the striking of the strings or the oils and perspiration, or a combination of the two, degraded the binding material between the layers and I ended up with picks that fell apart in my hand. The company that made them was either gone or absorbed into one of the corporate conglomerates that own so many shops these days. Not trying to dissuade you from trying them, just passing on the experience of 40 years ago. 3