Dense as the forest it came from. Shaped by hand. Designed for speed.
Deep in the forests of Madagascar grows a tree so hard the ancient Greeks would have named it after iron — and eventually, they did. Sideroxylon, the genus from which Nato wood comes, takes its name from the Greek sideros (iron) and xulon (wood). It is not a poetic exaggeration. It is a description.
This is wood that luthiers trust. Wood that guitar makers reach for when they need something that performs like mahogany but answers to no one. We took that wood and asked a different question: what happens when ancient material meets modern ergonomics?
The answer is the Nato Wood Dual Grip.
The Nato Dual Grip is not flat. It was never meant to be.
Both faces are contoured — subtly, precisely — to follow the natural geometry of the fingers that hold it. The pick itself is 3mm thick, but the Dual Grip contours mean that the material actually sitting between your fingers is just 1mm. It does not feel like holding a pick. It feels like holding nothing at all — which is exactly the point.
The result is a pick that seats itself instinctively in your grip, orients correctly without looking, and stays there regardless of tempo, sweat, or intensity. No adhesive grip coating. No laser-etched texture. No rubber insert. Just wood, shaped the way wood should be shaped — by understanding what the hand actually does when it plays fast.
At speed, the difference is immediate. Where a flat pick can rotate, migrate, or demand constant micro-corrections, the Nato Dual Grip locks in. Your energy goes entirely to the strings. Nothing is wasted on control.
Nato wood sits at the upper end of hardwood density — close-grained, smooth, and remarkably stable under sustained play. Against strings it delivers a warm, full attack with the organic resonance that only real wood produces. Firm without being harsh. Present without being aggressive.
The Dual Grip contours are shaped by hand and finished to lapidary precision — smooth enough that the grip feels intuitive rather than mechanical. The wood's natural density means the contours hold their form indefinitely. There is no coating to wear through, no texture to flatten over time. The geometry is in the wood itself, and the wood does not yield easily.
Sideroxylon species grow slowly in Madagascar's island forests, building the tight grain structure that gives the wood both its density and its tonal character. It belongs to the same family as sapodilla — a lineage of tropical trees known for producing exceptionally hard, workable timber. The grain is tight and fine, finishing to a surface that is smooth under the fingertip and warm in the palm.
Every element of a guitar pick that is not helping you play is working against you. A pick that shifts is a pick that steals attention. A pick that demands grip is a pick that tenses the hand. A pick that you have to think about is a pick that is costing you music.
The Nato Dual Grip was designed to disappear — not in your gear drawer, but in your hand. To become so natural an extension of your grip that the only thing left to think about is what you are playing.
Three millimeters of ancient Malagasy iron wood. One millimeter between your fingers. Zero compromise between feel and control.
Fast is not just about fingers. It is about everything getting out of the way.
Material: Nato Wood
Tip Shape: Butterfly Cross Blade
Thickness: 3mm (0.120”)
Popular With: Acoustic Guitar
Dense as the forest it came from. Shaped by hand. Designed for speed.
Deep in the forests of Madagascar grows a tree so hard the ancient Greeks would have named it after iron — and eventually, they did. Sideroxylon, the genus from which Nato wood comes, takes its name from the Greek sideros (iron) and xulon (wood). It is not a poetic exaggeration. It is a description.
This is wood that luthiers trust. Wood that guitar makers reach for when they need something that performs like mahogany but answers to no one. We took that wood and asked a different question: what happens when ancient material meets modern ergonomics?
The answer is the Nato Wood Dual Grip.
The Nato Dual Grip is not flat. It was never meant to be.
Both faces are contoured — subtly, precisely — to follow the natural geometry of the fingers that hold it. The pick itself is 3mm thick, but the Dual Grip contours mean that the material actually sitting between your fingers is just 1mm. It does not feel like holding a pick. It feels like holding nothing at all — which is exactly the point.
The result is a pick that seats itself instinctively in your grip, orients correctly without looking, and stays there regardless of tempo, sweat, or intensity. No adhesive grip coating. No laser-etched texture. No rubber insert. Just wood, shaped the way wood should be shaped — by understanding what the hand actually does when it plays fast.
At speed, the difference is immediate. Where a flat pick can rotate, migrate, or demand constant micro-corrections, the Nato Dual Grip locks in. Your energy goes entirely to the strings. Nothing is wasted on control.
Nato wood sits at the upper end of hardwood density — close-grained, smooth, and remarkably stable under sustained play. Against strings it delivers a warm, full attack with the organic resonance that only real wood produces. Firm without being harsh. Present without being aggressive.
The Dual Grip contours are shaped by hand and finished to lapidary precision — smooth enough that the grip feels intuitive rather than mechanical. The wood's natural density means the contours hold their form indefinitely. There is no coating to wear through, no texture to flatten over time. The geometry is in the wood itself, and the wood does not yield easily.
Sideroxylon species grow slowly in Madagascar's island forests, building the tight grain structure that gives the wood both its density and its tonal character. It belongs to the same family as sapodilla — a lineage of tropical trees known for producing exceptionally hard, workable timber. The grain is tight and fine, finishing to a surface that is smooth under the fingertip and warm in the palm.
Every element of a guitar pick that is not helping you play is working against you. A pick that shifts is a pick that steals attention. A pick that demands grip is a pick that tenses the hand. A pick that you have to think about is a pick that is costing you music.
The Nato Dual Grip was designed to disappear — not in your gear drawer, but in your hand. To become so natural an extension of your grip that the only thing left to think about is what you are playing.
Three millimeters of ancient Malagasy iron wood. One millimeter between your fingers. Zero compromise between feel and control.
Fast is not just about fingers. It is about everything getting out of the way.
Material: Nato Wood
Tip Shape: Butterfly Cross Blade
Thickness: 3mm (0.120”)
Popular With: Acoustic Guitar
—Durbha K.
★★★★★
—Thomas C.
★★★★★
—Missy H.
★★★★★
—Richard H.
★★★★★
—Alessio
★★★★★
