Sharp nut edge cuts into my hand. Can I knock that edge down?

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Wayne Conrad

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I have a new Kala Pacific Walnut Concert. The nut has a sharp edge that cuts into my hand when I'm making a G chord (shown here) or F chord (not shown).

Can I use, e.g., a glass nail file to knock down the sharp edge of the nut and give it a bit of a fillet? What would you do?

Additional info: The nut is synthetic ("GraphTech NuBone®"). I'm new to ukulele; I've only had this one for a week. I'm an intermediate clawhammer banjo player, so not new to stringed instruments.
 

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I file sharp corners all the time. It’s a finishing step missed on most ukuleles. I use an emory board and polish it off with a fingernail buffer.
 
I file the sharp edges too, or use a Dremel with a small sanding tube.

This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

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Hi, Wayne! Your nails show you are advanced clawhammer banjo player.

Your nut edge is good enough round in your photo. Your nut is same as other nuts on same model of Kala and people are happy with it. G and F chords are difficult and we may touch the nut edge but I normally do not touch the nut edge. Even I touch the nut edge, I do not support or grip the neck with the edge. I used to practice blindfold position change on my acoustic guitar and had callous on that base of index finger.
 
Last edited:
Wayne Conrad said:
I have a new Kala Pacific Walnut Concert. The nut has a sharp edge that cuts into my hand when I'm making a G chord (shown here) or F chord (not shown).

Can I use, e.g., a glass nail file to knock down the sharp edge of the nut and give it a bit of a fillet? What would you do?

Additional info: The nut is synthetic ("GraphTech NuBone®"). I'm new to ukulele; I've only had this one for a week. I'm an intermediate clawhammer banjo player, so not new to stringed instruments.
Click to expand...


I have this issue on a couple of my ukes also. Don't know if I have enough courage to file the sharp points myself.
 
File it.

Release the tension on the A and move it out of the way.

Apply masking tape to protect headstock, neck and fretboard and file then buff smooth.

Take your time and do have someone securely holding the Uke whilst you are working on it so it does not move.
 
I'm not one to do much to my uke, but filing the corner of the nut is super easy. Not sure how well a glass nail file would work but you can give it a try. Plastic nuts will lose their sharpness in one or two strokes, other materials, just give a few passes, see how it feels and repeat if necessary. I don't totally round it, just take the point/edge off so it's hardly noticeable that I touched it.
 
I knocked that sharp corner down with an ordinary emery board. I took maybe 10 careful, light strokes at different angles. A few minutes of making G and F chords didn't irritate my hand like it did before.

Thank you all for your helpful advice. Here are before and after photos.

before.jpg
after.jpg
 
Last edited:
I have two Kala ukes and both had this same problem. I filed both of them down using sandpaper. Both are fine now.
 
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