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Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew picks.

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Drussell0104

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Post Mon Dec 21, 2015 12:39 am

Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew picks.

Hey, guys I'm new to this and have been reading for a little while about picking. I love puzzles and learning new things so I figure I should give this a shot a see if I enjoy it. My question is would it be better for me to create my own picks from templates, or should I just buy some. The way I see it is if I'm going to spend 50-80 on a set of good quality tools I want to know I'm getting my value from them if not I would prefer to make my own knowing its not going to cost as much and be better quality. I have all the tools required minus the Dremel, because my old one bit the dust So I'm going to go pick up a new one either way. Also I worked with metal for a living as a welder before getting into nursing school this year. I also did machining with manual lathes, Mills, etc. So the doing it is not the hard part I understand about the metallurgy of most metals except some exotics. I just would like to know your opinions on whether the picks I made would be superior to the ones I could buy. Oh and any help on finding templates would be great. If I do make them I plan to do it out of Stainless Steel. Thanks for any advice y’all give me.
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Scrince

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Post Mon Dec 21, 2015 4:42 am

Re: Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew pic

This is a touchy subject. You can certainly make your own picks and it would be a fun project, but if you desire to start picking I would buy a set of picks, and then work on making yours slowly. It takes a lot of time and effort to make a pick worthy of going into a lock. There are some fabulous artists here that make pics but it takes hours upon hours to churn out a few good picks. I highly recommend reading the home-brew posts. As far as metal goes i would suggest a thickness of greater then .025 because you are going to want to sand down the metal and polish it. There are plenty of good templates around that will give you a nice layout for your design. you need to think about what materials you want to make your handle from as well. You will want something that will give you good feedback but is ergonomic and not cumbersome. You will also want a good steel and a good design. If you are going to make picks, i would start with a medium hook, a diamond, and a borgata type pick. These are the 3 basics you will need to start so you can practice SPP and Rake techniques. If you need some help and advice please let us know we are here to help !!! :tension:
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Drussell0104

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Post Mon Dec 21, 2015 12:02 pm

Re: Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew pic

Bigdipper08 wrote:This is a touchy subject. You can certainly make your own picks and it would be a fun project, but if you desire to start picking I would buy a set of picks, and then work on making yours slowly. It takes a lot of time and effort to make a pick worthy of going into a lock. There are some fabulous artists here that make pics but it takes hours upon hours to churn out a few good picks. I highly recommend reading the home-brew posts. As far as metal goes i would suggest a thickness of greater then .025 because you are going to want to sand down the metal and polish it. There are plenty of good templates around that will give you a nice layout for your design. you need to think about what materials you want to make your handle from as well. You will want something that will give you good feedback but is ergonomic and not cumbersome. You will also want a good steel and a good design. If you are going to make picks, i would start with a medium hook, a diamond, and a borgata type pick. These are the 3 basics you will need to start so you can practice SPP and Rake techniques. If you need some help and advice please let us know we are here to help !!! :tension:

Thanks for the reply ive got time to do a project since im out of school for a couple of weeks. So I guess ill go ahead and do it nothing else to do but try it right? if it doesnt work then I can go ahead and buy a few. However, while i understand that it would take some time im not seeing hours upon hours... unless im missing something? you layout and design the pick. Then Rough cut it , finish the roughing move to fine shaping and then finally polishing. All of the tutorials seem pretty simple. I mean i figure if i can pass NIMMS projects to within .001 tolerance i can do it haha. For material gonna order some feeler gauges and for tension wrenches try the wiper blades which i already have several of. as for handles ill go with the simple plasti dip for these. maybe move on to aluminum or whatever on the next.
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xeo

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Post Mon Dec 21, 2015 12:43 pm

Re: Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew pic

I would recommend buying a short hook :shorthook: a medium hook :longhook: a diamond :halfdiamond: and some tensioners :tension: :prybar: to start off with. Buy several each because you're probably going to break them until you learn pressure and tension control. Don't waste your money on an over glorified "pickset" that has only 3 or 4 usable tools in it.
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nine4t4

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Post Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:59 pm

Re: Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew pic

I would suggest buying a basic kit and LOTS OF TENSIONERS in addition to making your own!!!! Making a set is easy if you have already grinder, if not, then a purchased set is more financially feasible. The other reason is that the purchased sets remove the x factor of your picks being slightly out of spec. the difference between different is usually 0.015 or 0.020 inches. That's not to say your own picks wouldn't be good, but its nice to know whether it's you or the pick that isn't working during the earlier learning stage.

The starter sets are good but they tend to have picks you won't need (Snowman), or are missing a pick found in another kit. (Sparrows!!!). As someone that uses Sparrows, I reference their stuff. This is not an opinion on SouthOrd, and you can easily take from my advice and apply it to another company, I just know Sparrows (they are local for me).


<repetition> of previous post
As someone said you need only a few picks in the beginning. :shorthook: :halfdiamond: :longhook: I would also add a Deforest :offestdiamond: and a bogota style :bogota: A properly made bogota is a brilliant rake. SPP is a point of pride for most, but once you develop a feel for SPP the bogeys are insanely effective .
For tensioning you can never have too few options. most kits will come enough for most applications. But you should also consider some prybar styles :prybar: For top of the keyway (it gives you more room, unless the keyway is a diabolical paracentric) </repetition>

So buying kit doesn't have to be expensive, The most basic Sparrows kit is only $25 CDN (so about 20 US). Throw in a few single picks and the prybars and you'd have a good kit under 50 US. SouthOrd sets tend to throw in more picks per dollar, but those may not be necessary anyway.

Oh add a few bucks for sandpaper to smooth them out. The polishing is almost always required from even purchased picks and makes a big difference. You want to go to at least 1000 grit, and almost mirror-like

Have fun



Making your own picks can become a hobby unto itself
Dymondwood handle
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A leather handle epoxy impregnated and worked to look like horn or antler (not sure if it's a hit or miss)
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Papa Gleb

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Post Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:07 pm

Re: Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew pic

If you want to learn picking them get a ready set and make your own as you go. You need to decided what you really want, do you see yourself a year or more later down in life becoming a great picker or do you see yourself becoming a great pick makers. If picking then buy a few read made picks because with them, you can start learning/picking right away. If making picks then dive right in and you will learn the key points as you go but at a cost of a few mistakes here and there. Another very important point is favorites, we all have our favorite picks that we go-to when we pick locks, we have these favorites because we have tried a variation (big or small) of different picks (speaking about styles hook, diamond etc), if you dive into making picks you could very well spend hours and hours making you self picks that you will find are usually when its time to actually pick a lock.

If you are very serious into making picks then get one of those jumbo and the kitchen sink cheapo sets because there will be that variations for you to find your favorite. Once you find them, you know which picks you need to make.
If you want to master picking then get yourself a standard/short hook, a medium/long hook, diamond. Those are the most commonly used pick types. As for tension, if you want to spend the money then buy them but if not take a trip to your local auto zone and dive into any garabe standing outside, pull out some hold wind shield wipers and take them home. At home cut the black rubber and find nice metal strips. Bend them as you please and you made yourself tension tools.
Im sure you also have a question on which brand so Ill jump ahead, I personally wouldnt use anything else but Peterson however they are pricey and for someone who doesnt know if this is a hobby they will enjoy for years or a week, there is no point to spend the extra money. In this case look into Sparrows. They have beginner sets (2) which come with tension tools already made in different styles and sizes. You can even have them come without or with their rubber dipper thermo handles.
Sorry to ramble and Im to lazy at the moment to re-read everything but I think the most most most important part of all of this is you actually giving picking a try. Many new pickers, get discouraged and leave this hobby because they had a hard time getting anything to pick open while others pop'd their first lock with a paper clip and got hooked for life.
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Drussell0104

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Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 2:38 pm

Location: Mississippi

Post Mon Dec 21, 2015 7:58 pm

Re: Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew pic

Thanks Everyone! Great advice It makes sense to get the basics first and find what I prefer to use etc. I will just order some of the peterson picks that were suggested and a couple sparrow rakes, since everyone seems to rave about them ,and get a little suction vise to hold my locks for practice. I truly appreciate all the advice and look forward to getting to the point where I can help contribute to the community.
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Oldfast

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OldddffAASSTT the Spin Master Extraordinaire and American Lock Slayer
OldddffAASSTT the Spin Master Extraordinaire and American Lock Slayer

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Location: Michigan

Post Mon Dec 21, 2015 9:18 pm

Re: Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew pic

Welcome! I echo most of the thoughts already given. I think it'd be good to purchase at least
a handful of the more basic picks first. This will allow you to start picking and also give you an
idea of what you're shooting for when you start making your own. Glad you're here. Enjoy!
" Enjoy the journey AS MUCH as the destination."
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Drussell0104

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Posts: 20

Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2015 2:38 pm

Location: Mississippi

Post Tue Dec 22, 2015 12:04 am

Re: Hello, new here have some questions about home-brew pic

Alright I'm going to order my picks from Peterson I have decided on that. I plan to get the small, medium, and long hooks. The diamond, maybe a gem, deforest, and a couple of rakes bogata and worm? But I'm having some issues because Peterson names there's differently ex. The hooks are 1-5 and there are several diamonds so I'm not sure which to pick. The diamond I believe should be a smaller one from what I've read. I'm pretty sure of that. Also would it be better to get the rakes from sparrow everyone seems to love their rakes. Thanks again guys

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