I made some pretty fantastic looking guitar picks.  One is made from copper and the other is made from titanium.

I've been drawn to circle packing for some time now and have wanted to make something using the technique for ages.  I wanted to make something else out of titanium and because it's a pretty expensive material to work with I figured that circle packing might be a good way to cut down on weight without giving up much structurally. And it looks cool.

The titanium pick is laser sintered from titanium powder.
The copper pick was printed in wax and then cast traditionally.
Both picks have a slight ridge that grows up the middle of the pick.  The shape is very similar to that of the B2 Stealth Bomber.  The ridge that runs through the middle gives the pick some additional structural support.
It also feels very nice when

held.

 

Used as picks they probably won't ever break. The titanium one might snap if you really applied enough force with the purpose of making it breaking it. The titanium one is pretty expensive so I don't think you'd want to have it out of your site let alone try to harm it.   It would be easy to string on a chain and could be worn as a necklace as a way to keep an eye on your investment.

The titanium pick is even thinner than the plastic pick where you hold it and where you strike the strings.

The copper pick is thicker than the titanium one but not by very much.

Both feel great.
I love the look of the copper one.  I'll be making one in bronze and aluminum. I just really like working with copper. I think it's really underutilized versus silver or gold.
Published by Jeremy Burnich in Investigations
Tags: circlepacking, copper, mathematics, titanium