MBI wrote:JR, in addition to your skill in shaping and polishing these picks, I think you found a lockpick trifecta:
An ideal combination of steel selection, handle material, and bonding material/method, between them.
It's sturdy and transmits feedback incredibly well.
This isn't to detract from other pickmakers, there are other combinations of materials and methods that also work well.
This one just happens to work rather well for my picking style.
MBI, I'm glad this combo works well for you as it does for me. I feel as though I should try to give credit where credit is due in reference to the "lockpick trifecta".
This particular method of making picks was a long time in the making for me. Long before I posted on any picking forums or made any videos, I was a hardcore lockpicking forum lurker. I instantly fell in love with picks made by Ratyoke and ToolyMcgee. I was captivated by the attention to detail that went into the tools that they made. At that time I was using picks that were very crudely made from old bandsaw blades and any other scrap metal I could dig out of the trash at Autozone. As I read more and more, I continually saw people raving about the finish on rai's bogotas and so I meticulously studied his tutorial for making picks and even printed it out to leave at my work bench (Its still there today
). Finally, my picks didn't suck...they weren't great but they definitely didn't suck any more.
All my reading about making picks and my MANY failed attempts at making them was starting to add up to some developed skill and a boost in my confidence. I decided to actually buy metal as opposed to minimizing costs (and often results) by using any ole scrap I could find. Since I still didn't want to spend too much money on what could be a huge bust, I scoured the net for a "good deal". When I came across a 25' roll of Starrett feeler gauge stock (the same stuff that Ratyoke uses!
) for less than $1 per foot I knew I had found my first "good" material to buy and work with. Soon I was making picks that were decent enough to at least show off to a friend or two but I had this aching in the back of my mind (or was is in my fingers?) that I wanted to put "cool" handles on them like Ratyoke and Tooly do. Inspired by Tooly's use of synthetic materials, I decided to give G10 a shot. Once I had the G10 in hand, I knew that this was "it". Now all I needed was a good way to attach it. I tried using "loveless" fasteners but did not like the results for various reasons, the most significant of those was the pick's tenancy to "work loose" over time and use. Not that the tool would come apart, but I could feel the slightest bit of wiggle of the pick between the scales and it was a huge distraction while picking. I wanted a way to make the handle become "one with the pick" so that it wasn't a pick with a handle but it was just a pick, neither one independent of the other but working as one solid piece. I spoke with a friend who is a machinist and he suggested I try JB weld. Its well known that when bonding two surfaces together that the mating surfaces should be roughed up to insure a good bond but somehow that didn't seem to me like it would be good enough for a pick. After a little thought and consideration, I decided that in addition to roughing up the surfaces I would punch several holes in the tang of the pick as well as cut several deep grooves (about 1/3 to 1/2 depth of the thickness of the handle material) along the length of the G10. This would allow the JB weld to flow through the tang of the pick and actually into, not just on, the handle material thereby making it "one".
In summary:
1: Steel selection inspired by Ratyoke.
2: Composite handle material inspired by ToolyMgee
3: Bonding material inspired by a machinist who will remain unnamed and failed attempts at other means.