Usefulness of making tools?

[cyrano138]

I promise I'm not trying to troll anyone, here. I'm curious to hear some thoughts on the following:

I just thought I'd post a few thoughts about making tools. I've been thinking about it lately because I conducted a 15 dollar experiment last week to see if I could pick comfortably with picks that didn't have handles. I was pleasantly surprised and as a bit of icing on the cake I realized I had bought a basic but complete set for 15 bucks, shipped. It would have been an extra ten dollars if I didn't have a case lying around, but even so, that's really cheap, and for a good brand like Southord picks, that's a good deal.

I admit I tried the experiment because I was attracted to the idea of making a few picks, and since I've never seen any with handles I'd want, I wanted to see how they'd be without handles. After I'd picked a bunch of locks with them, I though, "Great, now if I ever wanted to make any they wouldn't need to be too complicated." But I also realized that the process would have to be impossibly simple and streamlined to make homemade picks worth the effort. I think my time is worth just as much as my money (maybe a little more since unlike money it can't be replaced), and at less than two dollars per pick, I don't think I could make them fast enough to come out ahead.

Now, granted, I don't have a workshop, tools, the mind of an engineer, or any real mechanical talent. I realize that there are other reasons to make your own. Some people find they have needs that no mass prod pick will match, so they make their own. Some people spend loads of time in a workshop anyway, so grinding out a few picks doesn't make much of a difference. Some people just like working with tools as a hobby, so the reward is in the process of making them. And some people are interested in making picks to sell, so obviously their time is an investment of sorts.

But for the rest, I'm curious to know--why spend your hard earned time just to save a few bucks? I realize there's satisfaction in making something, but even if it only takes a half hour to make a pick, that's a half hour's worth of work for two dollars worth of result. Even if my hour is worth a modest twenty bucks, I'd have to be able to make ten picks per hour to make it worth the time (and that doesn't include time spent tracking down materials or--barring that--purchasing them).

Like I said in the beginning, I'm not trying to troll anyone or start an argument. I'm just curious to hear peoples' thoughts about homemade picks, particularly their motivation for making them.

Jack

[Josh66]

I can't speak for anyone but me, but...

It's not about saving money for me, or even having some tool that can't be bought. I do have 'store bought' picks, and I do use them - a lot. I just like making stuff, and if that means custom lock picks, awesome. Making picks is almost as much fun as using them for me.

[piotr]

I can only repeat Josh's sentiment. There is pleasure to be had in making something useful and/or beautiful with one's hands. The process itself can be absorbing and meditative as per Csikszentmihalyi's flow (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29).

[nozza36]

Jack , i can only echo what Josh and Pitor said , i get enormous pleasure from taking a piece of scrap metal and working it into a useful tool , that is as much of a challenge as picking a lock for the first time , sometimes you can even stumble on a new style of pick by accident , and the overall finish is what you want it to be , if you want better than bought picks , then just polish them to suit your wants/needs.
It really is just down to the individual , and what makes you happy ! i'm broke so have very little options other than DIY , but the satisfaction of picking a tough lock with something you personally crafted is intoxicating ! and if i could afford to buy new tools , i would , but i would still make stuff too and invest in a bench grinder lol

[gnarus8429]

In addition to the satisfaction / meditative process that all the other have mentioned. It is educational to build your own your equipment. For instance: What is the distance between the peaks in a bogota pick? If your just buying them who cares. If you are cutting them then you have figured out that it is about 7mm give or take. Why? Because a bogota is designed to work with every other pin stack at a time and the distance on standard locks between pin stacks is about 3.5mm so to work with every other one 7mm between peaks. That knowledge can affect how you use the tool. It also opens the possibility of measuring and cutting a custom pick for a specific lock. A national pin and tumbler mailbox lock has pin stacks much closer. From the knowledge that we have gathered making our own pick we can cut a custom bogota just for that lock. It really comes down to why do you pick: To just open locks or gain a deeper understanding of locking mechanisms and the tools used to defeat them? To your point though just buying picks is cheaper no doubt about it. I have as much fun researching, building, and customizing tools as I do picking the locks.

[Alaphablue]

My first hobby is blacksmithing I love making tools for my family and friends . nice hand made stuff is getting rare and expensive . People like to have unique things and giving them for Gifts save my hard earned money. There is alot of enjoyment for me making picks it's.

[.45cal]

I have store bought picks but I find my goto picks are always the ones I make. I guess I made them for me so they have exactly the curve and depth I want also I make my picks a bit thinner so it is easier to get around tight keyways. Then there is the artistic side of me. Being able to take raw materials and end up with a piece that is not only beautiful but functional is in itself (for me) a reward and worth the time.

[pin_pusher]

i devoured that wiki article on 'flow'...

i purchased my first set of picks and advanced from there to the handcrafted sets made by myself and others on the forum. still, the relationship i have with the picks i made for myself is strong, and the feedback is unlike any other pick i have yet to touch. mainly because the efforts of my hands to create these picks specifically for myself became an extension of myself. the odd thing; if i were to try and attempt making these picks again, if they were to break, i'm not sure they would turn out the same as before, or even close. that said, i think the uniqueness of my homemade tools (though, ugly they are) is not only personal touch and taste, but irreplaceable and individual. now that is some zen sh!t for you.

[mastersmith]

Cyrano, The tone of your letter leads me to think you want to "rationalize" you not making picks. I think you came to the wrong site. LOL Get yourself some old saw blades and have at it, now we all want to see the final result. I have been watching some amazing results from folks that also thought they could not accomplish this. It's about the creation of something that's yours.

[cyrano138]

Lots of good responses here. I kind of figured for a lot of you the process of making something and the craftmanship was the end and not the means.

Don't get me wrong, Mastersmith, I have the utmost respect for craftsmen, and there have been times when I wished I was even a little capable with tools, but I've just never had the urge to make picks. I was actually trying to rationalize making some picks, but I just can't see spending all that time if there's no joy in the process for me. A few years ago (probably about ten now that I think about it) I learned how to work with fiberglass so I could fix my surfboard and my boat, but I always hated doing the work. It was a necessary evil because people charge crazy amounts of money for fiberglass work. Picks are different though--they're crazy cheap and I can have a full set that will open any lock I'm capable of opening for very little cost. As for experimenting with design as in the case of Bogotas, I don't really care too much for them so the act of perfecting or customizing them doesn't really hold much appeal. I stick to the hook and the diamond, both of which have been, in my admittedly limited understanding, pretty well mapped out. It really is just about opening the locks in my case, and I learn plenty about them by taking the locks apart which, incidentally, is the part I enjoy least.

I have my share of creative outlets, but they're more artistic (in the conventional sense--you could certainly make the case that some craftmanship is art). You can hear some of it here. Mind you, if you're not into classical/jazz guitar you'll be quite bored by it.

Jack

[rai]

If you think you need to pick a lock you can order picks and wait for the mail. that takes a few days, or you can make the pick you need that takes half an hour to an hour. obviously your time is too precious for that, how much time does it take to email some company shop and compare, chose the tool you think is the one that will do the job and add the time it take you to check the mail box and open the package, thats precious time too. eh? suppose the email dosent get read and acted on immediatley you might have to re email, all that precious time is lost forever.
making picks is for the self sufficient, mailing for them is for a person who needs others to supply the tools and knowledge, at best a user, not a creator.
then if you lose or break a tool you can replace it toute suite

[Farmerfreak]

You know that you don't have to make picks out of the same materials that two dollar picks are made out of... right?

The point I'm making is that once you are good at making picks. Then you can get the more expensive and stronger metals to make picks out of. Then you will end up with picks that are several times better than the most expensive manufactured picks.

[femurat]

I'm still not sure if I enjoy the most making picks or picking locks.

on a side note, this rai over here reminds me of somebody I know on another forum...

Cheers

[Aedalas]

If it's strictly a time vs cost thing does this carry over to the rest of your life as well? I'd imagine eating anything other than Ramen noodles is a waste of money. Or drinking anything but tap water. Or watching TV instead of working. Or sleeping instead of working. There has to be times when you're not earning money.

Personally though, I'll do about anything that is an excuse to play with tools. I just enjoy making stuff, if I can use it then all the better.

[cyrano138]

Seems like things are getting a little tense. Let me clarify: I'm not suggesting anyone else shouldn't make picks, just that you obviously have to love the work itself because it's not a time- or money-saving measure. At least, that's the conclusion I came to after reading peoples' responses. I wasn't suggesting anything at first; I was trying to find out what kept you guys at your workbenches. That's all.

Rai(mundo?): My time is as precious as anyone's--no more, no less. And you're right: if I needed a lock picked making one would be faster if I had tools and a workspace, but I don't. What's more, as a hobbyist, I don't need to pick any locks. I do it for fun. If I don't have a tool for some particular lock, I can put it aside and wait. For the record, though, I've never had any trouble getting a tool. It takes me literally a few minutes to order one, and I almost always have them in a couple of days. There are times when we're all users and not creators. We probably all enjoy music we didn't write or perform, or drive a cars we didn't build, or use cell phones for which we didn't develop all the software. No matter who the person in question, I guarantee I can find something for which he or she relied on someone else because, at some point, self-sufficiency has to give way to plain old practicality. If it didn't, we'd all be mining and smelting ore for the metal stock we needed to make picks, among other things. Sometimes it makes more sense to use something than to create it so we can take the time to create and perfect other things that are more important to us.

Adelas: It's a time vs. cost thing only because I don't get any pleasure out of making them. There are all kinds of things I do for fun or some sense of accomplishment, but if it's something that simply needs to be done and I get no joy out of it, like fixing a surfboard so I can get back in the water or getting hold of a tool to pick some lock I want to open, then, yeah, it comes down to cost vs. benefit. Ramen noodles don't really survive the cost/benefit scrutiny either, though, because they provide little to no nutritive benefit and come with a host of questionable chemical additives like MSG. In other words, the cost is low, but so is the usefulness.

Farmerfreak: That's a very good point, and I have no response for you, other than to say I've never found my picks inadequate despite their being made of less expensive material. I've never broken or bent one even when I was learning and I've never found that, for some particular lock (again in my admittedly limited experience), my inability to open it was the pick's fault. When I get to that point, I'll definitely give serious consideration to making my own tools.

I feel like at this point I'm just defending my decision not to make my own picks. I'm not sure how that happened, but I guess it's only fair considering that I started by, essentially, asking you guys to defend your decision to make them. But I sincerely hope it came across as respectfully and politely as I meant it. If not, I apologize.

I want to say thanks again for the lively discussion and thoughtful replies. I've definitely gained some new perspective on the subject even if I never make a pick of my own.

Jack