Herco
Herco guitar picks. Used by artists such as Pete Townsend(until the late 60's), Jimmy Page(Herco Flex 75), David Gilmour, Eddie Van Halen(2007-2008), Neil Young....and the list goes on.
I personally like using Herco Flex 75's to play my acoustic. I collect alot of picks. But that doesn't necessarily mean I USE them to play. I like the Herco Flex's because they are easy to grip. Yet not TOO 'sticky' in my fingers that it can't move around a little bit(like cactus grips).
Herco was started in 1940 by brothers Jerry and Eddie Hershman in New York. Herco's pick rights were sold to Dunlop in the early 90s.
I personally like using Herco Flex 75's to play my acoustic. I collect alot of picks. But that doesn't necessarily mean I USE them to play. I like the Herco Flex's because they are easy to grip. Yet not TOO 'sticky' in my fingers that it can't move around a little bit(like cactus grips).
Herco was started in 1940 by brothers Jerry and Eddie Hershman in New York. Herco's pick rights were sold to Dunlop in the early 90s.
Herco 'Axe-Handlers':
I have to say, this website has introduced me to some incredible men & women. Amongst those whom I thought would never contact me with information is Robert Zaidman, producer & designer of Axe Handler picks. There was some question among collectors if the agate-colored picks below were even A.H.s. Thanks to Mr. Zaidman, this has been confirmed. I told him of collectors' questioning their authenticity and in response Robert told me, "Your photos are absolutely Axe Handlers, that's why I contacted you...there was nothing like them at the time & I haven't seen anything like them since."
He went on to tell me that the small oval picks pictured below were made in both dark chocolate & marbleized brown. Mr. Zaidman also sent along in his email, 4 pictures of some of the Axe Handlers that were produced in the late 70s and early 80s. You will find those pictures below those of my own. Enjoy!
These picks are amongst the rarest of the rare. I believe I bought them from a fellow collector at 20 for $4.99 US dollars a couple of years ago. After being told 1 year back they were NOT A.H.s I sold them at 3.00 per pick and am now down to only 11 in my collection. Lesson learned: never sell ANYTHING you, yourself, are not sure of!!
Mr. Zaidman was very curious as to how I'd gotten my hands on these rare jewels as he said, "I thought almost all were sold within a six month period limited-market run." Zaidman explained that all of the picks I have listed under this category are of only 1 style and that there were some other 20 basic shapes available. Again, you will see those A.H.s in the picture provided by Rob. Being hand-made, no pick was alike and ALL had special coatings.
Below is the rest of his email to me:
"I produced them back in the early 1980s .. maybe even late 70s? I don't remember how many we shipped ... I'm thinking 5000 to 15000 worldwide .. some UK and France. I tossed out many for quality reasons because my idea was to actually have picks that had individual tonality and unique surfaces-some slicker than others also.
So I reviewed at least every small batch and made them in all sorts of shapes, colors .. just to test ... it was a lot of fun. I had a partnership with Mr. Hershman(Herco) and my friend...very well known store owner .. they were delighted to undersell Min'd picks at $7.00 retail then? The agate picks .. very noisy .. I didn't know a pro that even used them twice ... never on a session .. you couldn't cancel the bang.
I started the project by getting feedback from some of my buddies .. the best studio guys in New York .. most had favorite picks they would grind away. A few used objects other than guitar picks because none fit the 'thang' they did .. little secret stuff like Mah Jong chips .. bingo markers ... stuff that fell off plastic junction boxes. you name it .. or some just took Fenders, Martins and tweaked them.
Nylon picks .. were not a favorite but Herco sold them by the ton ... you just couldn't get $5.00 retail for a nylon injected molded pick ...
Cheers,
Bob"
Mr. Zaidman contacted me again to give me more valuable information on Axe Handler picks and the genesis of their creation. He also described the difference between Axe Handlers vs. 'other' picks:
"To understand the Axe-Handlers ... we did sell a lot of them but they were more of a market test than a full scale product as I've said. I am not a NAMM guy .... my job was the production from scratch for a new pick. That I did.
Richard Silver of the historic old New York 'Silver and Horlund' Company was a friend of mine and had a store on 48th St., the heart of the NAMM. At that time Jerry Hershman was the President of NAMM and they were not mega yet .. Jerry made them that over the ensuing years. D'Andrea and Dunlop can tell you about these two guys I'm sure. We never even looked at the mass market .. just the local pro market. Richard challenged me ... he and Jerry asked me to come up with a new type of pick .. just 'a concept' dream pick. They wanted 'outside the box'-something that musicians would take to immediately. Richie was selling Min'd picks, mammoth picks .. metal picks .. etc."
"So here is the difference between Axe-Handlers and other picks:
In most cases .. pick makers find materials and make them into guitar picks. No one had scratch designed materials for tonality and durability. Instead of finding materials and cutting them into guitar picks .. like acetate .. or injecting them .. I started playing around with compounds that had acoustic properties before forming. Axe-Handlers are not polystyrene, acetate, acrylic(ABS) , vinyl, epoxy-polys, Bakelite, Lucite, Plexi,. nitrocellulose."
"As a guitarist surrounded by guitarists I was able to get what I thought were picks that guitarists didn't have. As I said previously .. the great studio guys all had trick bags. Important to consult with them first because they listened to every note they recorded on a daily basis. Studio musicians live under an aesthetic microscope."
"Axe-Handlers interact with strings very differently than other materials ... I hand finished many myself to get them to open up. I'm serious .. the way guitars need to be adjusted and broken in ... the picks needed to be finished for surface and tone."
"They were not sold conventionally. They were shipped in mixed boxes ..at the store players would sort through them until they found ones they liked. These would not come out from under the counter for beginners ...
If you give me an address .. I'll send you one ..
Cheers
Bob"
Not surprisingly, Mr. Zaidman kept not only his word to send me 'one' Axe Handler-he generously sent me 2 which are pictured immediately after this article. I received the green 'flagship' pick & a red teardrop shaped guitar pick. I prefer the green over the red due to it producing low-medium tones(which I absolutely LOVE) with my acoustic guitar. And, there is no string click whatsoever. The green pick is also hand-beveled to PERFECTION! Needless to say, I was ENTIRELY interested and will go through my collection to see if I have any of the Axe Handlers in the pictures Bob emailed me! Enjoy the case-candy, collectors! I know I will!!
He went on to tell me that the small oval picks pictured below were made in both dark chocolate & marbleized brown. Mr. Zaidman also sent along in his email, 4 pictures of some of the Axe Handlers that were produced in the late 70s and early 80s. You will find those pictures below those of my own. Enjoy!
These picks are amongst the rarest of the rare. I believe I bought them from a fellow collector at 20 for $4.99 US dollars a couple of years ago. After being told 1 year back they were NOT A.H.s I sold them at 3.00 per pick and am now down to only 11 in my collection. Lesson learned: never sell ANYTHING you, yourself, are not sure of!!
Mr. Zaidman was very curious as to how I'd gotten my hands on these rare jewels as he said, "I thought almost all were sold within a six month period limited-market run." Zaidman explained that all of the picks I have listed under this category are of only 1 style and that there were some other 20 basic shapes available. Again, you will see those A.H.s in the picture provided by Rob. Being hand-made, no pick was alike and ALL had special coatings.
Below is the rest of his email to me:
"I produced them back in the early 1980s .. maybe even late 70s? I don't remember how many we shipped ... I'm thinking 5000 to 15000 worldwide .. some UK and France. I tossed out many for quality reasons because my idea was to actually have picks that had individual tonality and unique surfaces-some slicker than others also.
So I reviewed at least every small batch and made them in all sorts of shapes, colors .. just to test ... it was a lot of fun. I had a partnership with Mr. Hershman(Herco) and my friend...very well known store owner .. they were delighted to undersell Min'd picks at $7.00 retail then? The agate picks .. very noisy .. I didn't know a pro that even used them twice ... never on a session .. you couldn't cancel the bang.
I started the project by getting feedback from some of my buddies .. the best studio guys in New York .. most had favorite picks they would grind away. A few used objects other than guitar picks because none fit the 'thang' they did .. little secret stuff like Mah Jong chips .. bingo markers ... stuff that fell off plastic junction boxes. you name it .. or some just took Fenders, Martins and tweaked them.
Nylon picks .. were not a favorite but Herco sold them by the ton ... you just couldn't get $5.00 retail for a nylon injected molded pick ...
Cheers,
Bob"
Mr. Zaidman contacted me again to give me more valuable information on Axe Handler picks and the genesis of their creation. He also described the difference between Axe Handlers vs. 'other' picks:
"To understand the Axe-Handlers ... we did sell a lot of them but they were more of a market test than a full scale product as I've said. I am not a NAMM guy .... my job was the production from scratch for a new pick. That I did.
Richard Silver of the historic old New York 'Silver and Horlund' Company was a friend of mine and had a store on 48th St., the heart of the NAMM. At that time Jerry Hershman was the President of NAMM and they were not mega yet .. Jerry made them that over the ensuing years. D'Andrea and Dunlop can tell you about these two guys I'm sure. We never even looked at the mass market .. just the local pro market. Richard challenged me ... he and Jerry asked me to come up with a new type of pick .. just 'a concept' dream pick. They wanted 'outside the box'-something that musicians would take to immediately. Richie was selling Min'd picks, mammoth picks .. metal picks .. etc."
"So here is the difference between Axe-Handlers and other picks:
In most cases .. pick makers find materials and make them into guitar picks. No one had scratch designed materials for tonality and durability. Instead of finding materials and cutting them into guitar picks .. like acetate .. or injecting them .. I started playing around with compounds that had acoustic properties before forming. Axe-Handlers are not polystyrene, acetate, acrylic(ABS) , vinyl, epoxy-polys, Bakelite, Lucite, Plexi,. nitrocellulose."
"As a guitarist surrounded by guitarists I was able to get what I thought were picks that guitarists didn't have. As I said previously .. the great studio guys all had trick bags. Important to consult with them first because they listened to every note they recorded on a daily basis. Studio musicians live under an aesthetic microscope."
"Axe-Handlers interact with strings very differently than other materials ... I hand finished many myself to get them to open up. I'm serious .. the way guitars need to be adjusted and broken in ... the picks needed to be finished for surface and tone."
"They were not sold conventionally. They were shipped in mixed boxes ..at the store players would sort through them until they found ones they liked. These would not come out from under the counter for beginners ...
If you give me an address .. I'll send you one ..
Cheers
Bob"
Not surprisingly, Mr. Zaidman kept not only his word to send me 'one' Axe Handler-he generously sent me 2 which are pictured immediately after this article. I received the green 'flagship' pick & a red teardrop shaped guitar pick. I prefer the green over the red due to it producing low-medium tones(which I absolutely LOVE) with my acoustic guitar. And, there is no string click whatsoever. The green pick is also hand-beveled to PERFECTION! Needless to say, I was ENTIRELY interested and will go through my collection to see if I have any of the Axe Handlers in the pictures Bob emailed me! Enjoy the case-candy, collectors! I know I will!!