Creating a new Lockpick company...

[LocksmithArmy]

the picks that need to be engraved are with the engraver (sorry for the delay, we had schedualing issues) he said he will call me tomorrow to pick them up...

also a strange thing happened today... about a week ago I had sent some drafts to the cutter to get a quote on adding a king and queen pick to my line up ( to make it 6spp tools and 6 rakes) he said he would get back to me on a minimum order as he does not stock my metal (which I knew and expected) then today i got a package with king and queen picks in it... more than I had asked for... and with no emails, no charges, no nothing... i even rechecked my email and nothing...

for obvious reasons these cannot be sold until I have some conversations... but it looks like in the near future I may have 2 more picks added to the lineup...

you will be able to purchase them mostlikely when I open the store up for full scale production after the presales have been shipped (praying for before the end of the week)

in the interest of full disclosure... I had never used a king or queen pick before... but had several articles on how their creator made them... I had never even seen one in person (or had any sort of cale to work from) I simply took the articles and recreated the process in autocad... and that became my draft... and i used them... with extream success... VERY quick tools. i like em (and im not a rake man)

I think i need to make a video on how to use them tho as they take a special technique as they are not just rakes, they work more like tryout keys simulating bittings... but still neat tools.

anyway... end update.

[piotr]

in the interest of full disclosure... I had never used a king or queen pick before... but had several articles on how their creator made them... I had never even seen one in person (or had any sort of cale to work from) I simply took the articles and recreated the process in autocad... and that became my draft... and i used them... with extream success... VERY quick tools. i like em (and im not a rake man)

AFAIK their design was first published in The Lock Pick Design Manual (ISBN 13:978-0-87364-081-7) by Paladin Press (the copyright assertion has no year and no authorship is listed, which is strange). It is more a pamphlet than a book at only 23 pages. The text makes repeated reference to "SAK" and the "SAK System" without first telling us who SAK is. Page 18 reads:

It is with great pride that SAK introduces a student to his "KING" and "QUEEN" -- the two picks that will, he claims, open 60 percent of all locks. The following diagram is drawn to scale, and also indicates how the 2 picks can be used:

All of the templates for these picks that I have seen appear to have been lifted from the drawings that the above excerpt refers to. Do you (or anyone else) want me to scan and publish page 18? Does anyone know who SAK was/is?

EDIT: It appears that it was first published in 1973 See http://www.worldcat.org/title/lock-pick-design-manual/oclc/5392993

[LocksmithArmy]

Lol i have the book on file aswell as a few other pamphlets by sak... there is a real nice 2 page note i have that i got most of my design info from... it tells how high each space should be per bitting spacing.


here is the promised vid

[LocksmithArmy]

Engraving is done on schedual.... shipping will commence asap

[LocksmithArmy]

everything is packaged and ready to ship... ill be taking it to the post tomorrow if nothing crazy happens...

[LocksmithArmy]

EVERYTHING HAS SHIPPED!!!

you should all recieve your packages in the next few days (except for you forign guys... may take a lil longer... thats not my fault)

I expect to recieve lots of feedback... hit me up with all the good and bad and indefferent you can throw at me...

and please let me know about any shipping issues... especially you dipped handle guys... i dont expect them to melt... but im a little scared they may... just let me know if they stick together or anything.

any other questions or concerns just hit me up... you know where ill be

and the clifflockpicks.com store it open for business

[Riyame]

and the clifflockpicks.com store it open for business

Make sure to put the address in your video description and make an annotation on your pick videos to that fact

[jeffmoss26]

WAHOOO!!!

[spandexwarrior]

and the clifflockpicks.com store it open for business

Awesome, glad you had some extras since I missed out on the pre-order.

-Brian

[LocksmithArmy]

I need a few things from youguys if your willing to help

firstly... FEEDBACK!!! not only to help make my products better but because I want your testimonials to put on my website...
http://www.clifflockpicks.com/testimonials.php <<< currently blank

secondly... PICTURES!!!
open some locks with them... ill put your pix on my site aswell (if your willing)
currently I have lots of locks opened, but few with pix of the picks used...
http://www.clifflockpicks.com/photo-gallery.php
so lets remidy that

lastly... VIDS!!!
I dont wanna fill a huge page with videos... but I do want more than just mine...
so lets get your video reviews... and just lock pickings and ill select a few of each and toss em up on the site
http://www.clifflockpicks.com/video-gallery.php


I refrained from actually doing a review on these... cause I may be bias... so I need some reviews.. in words and vids..

[Josh66]

The website needs pictures of the picks. You have pictures of locks, but nothing to show us what the picks themselves look like.

I mean, there's a 'drawing' type picture of the pick profile, but an actual photo of it would carry a lot more weight.

From a sales standpoint, it would help a lot too - people want to see what they're buying.

[LocksmithArmy]

Indeed... I need to get a some good pictures... individually... that is just a time comsuming process... and id really like to do it with a super nice camera... wich i dont have... ill work on it with what ive got tho...

[Violaetor]

Super nice camera not necessary. Good lighting and technique far more important, and a little post-processing smooths out the finish, a P&S will do just fine.

[LocksmithArmy]

I dont know anything about any of that... Im a point and click kind of fellow...

[Josh66]

Yeah, the lighting is going to be the most important thing (other than actually getting them in focus).

Just don't use your phone to take the pictures.