Finger/Thunb picks-a continuing saga?

[djsbluesbar]

Hi fellow pickers out there, basically, i've been playing for about 3 years now, slide and finger style and always just used bare fingers, It was after seeing Ian Siegal that gave me the final push to take up playin a steel. He uses bare fingers, however it seems i'm fine for about 2 months at a time then, out if the blue my finger ends become too sore and i spend the next month re building calouses. I'v played bass guitar for over 20 years and never had the problem. So...finger picks? I'm trying steel and the white heavy dunlops to get a feel for the right sound, also i'v tweeked the tips to follow my nail profile, as suggested in a recent thread. Will metal picks ruin srings or could they even break one? I'm quite an aggresive player, especially during gigs and jams.
Sorry for waffling...Dj