Well, the woman who does my nails is an artist, speaks English well and plays guitar, even if it is heavy metal on an acoustic. She said the nails probably wouldn't hold up. If I tried playing Led Zep or thrash folk, they might not, but I can't see myself fingerpicking that stuff anyway.

Underfile, yeah, but I don't have the right tool. What I need is one of those little half-circle rasps. I'm still not ready to try the Dremel. Fine sandpaper works. I think Jed once mentioned concrete. I haven't really needed to do this since I've had 'em put on by a pro. These are perfect - smooth, rounded at the tip and just thin enough. My own work was a bit...chunkier. Frankennails.