Abstract: A flux extender or guide for a magnetic read head having a magnetoresistive read element. The element is mounted on a substrate, contained, for example, in a hand-held wand structure. The element is spaced from the contact portion of the wand, to permit a small amount of wear of the head to take place, before the read element comes into contact with the record media. In order to increase the spacing between the magnetoresistive element and the contact portion of the wand, the flux guide or extender is utilized. The flux guide or extender is a wedge-shaped piece of magnetizable material.At the end of the flux guide closest to the read element, the guide is approximately as wide as the element and tapers down to approximately three quarters of its top width at the lower end of the guide. The guide is of uniform thickness and thicker than the read element. The cross-sectional area is selected to be from two to three times the cross-sectional area of the read element.