My Storm picks arrived, pics attached

[Jay]

Ok these arrived in the mail today. I picked a high security briinks with the offset half diamond right off the bat.
On the nit picky side. The handle that I received had the screw hole counter sunk too deep and the screw protrudes from the opposite side. The handle is also a bit loose even after tightening. I will send Storm a message about this.
Any way here are the pictures

[imghttp://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee511/Keypicking/b5b2d8f7.jpg][/img]



With shipping these ran me just under $100.00 us.
The finish was ok but the edges were just a bit rough. Not much but a bit. A little work with the buffer and they will be alright. More to come after I play with them bit.

[huxleypig]

I like those tension wrenches that they do. Cud do with a twist in them but I spose u can do this yourself.

[chris]

Maybe it's just me, but that bottom "curve" pick looks slightly bent on the shaft before the main curve sets in.
How do you like them? Are they pretty flexible? How do the half-diamonds hold up? Shame about the finish being rough, when they pride themselves on being hand finished. You should give them a try on some residential locks, a Kwikset or Schlage perhaps. How do you like those tension wrenches, that's what they are right?

[Jay]

The curves did have a slight bend as you noticed. I straightened them by hand. Will let you know how they hold up.
The tension tools are nice but very flexible. I hope they hold up well on keyways that are a bit stiff to turn. More to follow.

[the picker]

that's a nice set of picks there hope to see them in action

[piotr]

The curves did have a slight bend as you noticed. I straightened them by hand. Will let you know how they hold up.
The tension tools are nice but very flexible. I hope they hold up well on keyways that are a bit stiff to turn. More to follow.

Well-spotted Chris. Jay -- this isn't going to make me popular with Storm -- but I think bent picks and inconsistent countersinking is unacceptable for premium picks. The Storm picks are inthe same price range as Peterson's and Falle's hence they must be compared to that category of picks. When I buy Gosso picks and I get a bent few I don't complain because it is what I expect from dirt cheap picks that are made in China. But when I pay a premium price for (purportedly) premium picks I expect them to be at least straight. Bent picks, poor finishes and inconsistent machining points towards poor quality control at Storm. The Falle's have been criticised for their sharp edges (and this is a fair criticism, I have owned two sets of them and know this to be true) but (a) they aren't claimed to be hand-finished; (b) I don't know of any Falle-Safe picks arriving bent; and (c) they are structurally sound and hence useful.

There are two reviews of Storm lock picks on YT (one of them from Kokomolock) and it appears that there are design as well as QC issues with Storm picks. Both reviews point to the excessive flexion of the picks and one of them suggests that the curve radii of the hooks are inappropriate for hook picks.

I was excited when I learnt about Storm picks (as I was when I learnt about Schuyler's proposed set -- which is also in trouble at the moment) because I collect picks and was looking forward to adding them to my collection. But because I use them also I won't buy them unless they are useful. I am disappointed and hope that Storm review their QC procedures and designs.

Finally, the photography on the Storm web site is poor in terms of a communicating the pick profile and dimensions to the prospective buyer. There needs to be at least one photo of each pick that is perpendicular to the pick itself, i.e. at a right-angle so that the pick profile is clear. This distant 45-degree(?) shot doesn't help me decide if I actually want a H1 hook pick because I can't actually see what the business end of the H1 pick actually is. The full size photo is equally useless: it is still at a 45-degree angle and the head -- the important end -- is in the background.

I hope that my criticisms are taken as constructive and we gain another commercial vendor of fine picks. Sorry for hijacking your thread Jay but this seemed the most appropriate place as I don't actually own any Storm picks and can not post a review thread.

[chris]

I completely agree with everything you said, and I share he same views. Paying 5 pounds for a pick that shows up bent is unacceptable, as is with it showing up with rough edges for a "hand finished" pick. I haven't had my hands on any of these, but with the reviews with the hooks, and the quality of these, I doubt I will purchase any for myself, though Solomon says his half-diamond is of good quality. It looks as the main problem with the hooks being too flexible is the non-tapered shaft, which the half-diamond has. I'm also interested in seeing how the curves hold up, they seem to be almost as thin as the hook shafts, maybe a slight bit more.

I think I will wait for a few more reviews, and to see if Storm takes any of these critiques (which the creator has been asking for) seriously and attempts to fix the problems i.e. finishing, quality packaging or quality inspection so there is no bent picks, before I go ahead and purchase any for myself.

[huxleypig]

If you aint happy they say they'll replace ur cash if u send it back. The rake I got I'm real happy with and it don't bend like that hook. They're REALLY strong too, a 10 year guarantee. At the locksmith exhibition they were giving a couple out so people cud try and break them and I certainly couldn't.

I agree tho, they aint cheap and u want a certain level of quality for the price.

[Jay]

Well I am trying not to over react until I hear back form Storm. The picks were packaged in the plastic tube shown in the photo above. The curves all had a slight bend but the tube appears not to have been damaged in shipping. I guess we shall see what the final results of my email and PM to Storm happens to be.
Lets' give Storm time to reply and see if this can be solved.

[Jay]

I wish I had a macro lens, but I think this shows the rough edge. Almost a pebbley feel to it. All 3 curves are like this. I have not used this pick. It is as It came from the package

[chris]

Yeah you can kinda see the rough edge. Tell me though, is it the way you are holding it and photographing it, or is that seriously that bent, because to me that looks very warped.

[Jay]

Just the way I was holding it. Here is a top down image. It does have a smal wave to it.

[chris]

Ah ok cool, thanks for confirming that. That had me worried for a second at how bent it looks. Well man you should give it a try in a lock and see how much it flexes, see how the tip works on the pins, does it slip, or does it grip steady etc.? Let us know man. You can sand out the rough edge if you want, but depending on the tip, it might make sense to leave the tip part a little more rough, that way it won't slip off of the pins quite as easy.
Thanks for the pictures

[Jay]

As an update:
Storm emailed me a message. He is sending out a new handle and picks for me. He was vey helpful and very prompt in his reply.
He seems to be a stand up kind of person.

[Storm]

Thanks for the feedback and we will defiantly address all issues raised.

The Constant finish is always a challenge when you are making hand finished tools, but we will review this as a matter of urgency and put in place an extra level of QC.

As someone mentioned, we always offer a no quibble warranty, so in the event an item hasn't reached you in the perfect condition both you and i would expect, then we will of course resolve that and address the problem asap.

In terms of photos, this is already in hand but thank you for informing me of the importance of this to yourselves and because of this we will fast track this issue.

Once again thank you for your constructive feedback.

As some of you already know, we are very much a customer centric organisation and endeavor to strive to deliver a premium service, as well as products of fine quality and intelligent design.

With respect

Storm