So I’m very new to learning the guitar but here’s the thing! Not in a month of Sundays did I ever expect to ask the wife for a Nail File 
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Do you play a nylon-string classical guitar, and have to grow right-hand fingernails? If so, it’s understood that you have to file them rather than clip… 
I need to clip my left-hand nails often, because even a bit too long they really get in the way, especially when I have to change more stretched chords fast; also at playing a solo. On the other hand I grow my right-hand nails a bit longer, as I often use hybrid picking. A nail file then comes in handy…
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They do get in the way yeah I am learning on an electric trying to get A D & E down with the anchored finger. 
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I do the same. The attack you get when picking with a bit of nail is much better than with skin only. Especially on steel strings. Picking sounds very dull without puting some nails into it. Although I don’t like having them to long. Just long enough for the attack.
But I use nail file for both hands. Because it makes nails look nicer 
.
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With practice, I think you can pick without nails just fine. The sound is just a little warmer, but not worse at all. Volume maybe a little lower. I play steel and nylon without nails.
The nails took an enormous amount of work and got damaged so often one finger always without nail to play with most of the time anyway.
So frustrating that I chose to live my life differently. I am a hack, not a professional, so it really is all about my experience.
I have no idea how professional players who play with nails manage. I damage nails playing, I damage nails doing household chores, i damage nails shaving, I even (and frequently) ruined a nail just zipping my fly.
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I use emery boards to file both my nails and callouses much better than a file. They come in about 10 or more grits and do a really smooth job.
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Yeah… my nails are so soft they are pretty useless for picking, and to the extent that they might work they irritate me if any longer than half a mm. Also I used to nibble them when I was younger so keeping them short keeps me on the straight and narrow!
Nail clippers for me, file’s too much of a faff!
It does mean l’ve ended up paying pick only. Would love to play some fingerpicking blues or folk / trad some day, but given my age and lousy talent, it’s hard enough to make progress with one technique.
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And I find a glass nail file superior to emery boards. It has a very fine abrasive surface, so it leaves the callus and nail very smooth, lasts nearly forever, and doesn’t have pieces of grit falling off.
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I agree sanding down ain’t no fun in fact I should use the dogs electric file 
I’ve never heard of these tbh.
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To be clear, I don’t mean having nails like this:
Just have them sticking out a bit to improve the attack. It makes a lot of difference to the sound even for us amateurs.
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Cheers
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Me too. I am a no-pick guitar player (learner) and I am strumming with my fingers (sometimes nails, sometimes fingers). I also have very rough skin around the nails and sometimes it breaks apart and get cough in the strings while strumming all this affect tone, not in a nice way. So yeah, I never figured I will be using the nail file to smoothen the skin on my fingers 
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