Longevity of the hook pic?

[Medecopen]

A noob problem by a noob posting in the noob section....

How long do ur hook picks seem to last you? I've had mine for a couple weeks now and I've been picking like crazy..
I try and be gentle most of the time but I've been reading about some security pins that need some pressure.. My hook pic is just slightly bending back you have to really hold it up and have a eye to see it but it makes me wonder... I assume 2 things....

1. A noob will ruin a pick fairly quick
2. A pick can last a life time in the hands if a experienced locksmith...

I'm also wondering if my technic is wrong causing this... Sometimes I'll rest the pick on the bottom of the key way and pivot so the other end pushes up the pins kinda like I'm prying.. I seem to have more control and know exactly what pin I'm on...


Btw it's a southord pick set mods-14

[fgarci03]

Hey Medecopen,

I've been using the same hook (short hook, southord slimline) for almost a year. it's a little bent and I've ordered a new one yesterday. But still works fine!
It's normal to bend tools at first. You will learn to avoid it. But it still happens to great lockpickers.
Especially if you are heavy handed. I am (though I'm not a great picker ).

The best advice I can give you is to reduce the amount of tension while lifting the pin. You will soon learn the balance between the tension you use to find the bindng pin and to lift it. It just grows on you.

And the prying technique, IT'S FUCKING AWESOME! I pick like that and from the videos I see, many of us too.
Whatever works for you is probably right, there is no sacred rule on that

Good luck!

[Farmerfreak]

1. A noob will ruin a pick fairly quick
2. A pick can last a life time in the hands if a experienced locksmith...

Yes and yes in the hands of an experienced lock picker. Experienced locksmith isn't the same thing as an experienced lock picker.

[Josephus]

My first commercial hook was from a set nearly identical to yours. Made by majestic about 16 years ago. It is twisted somewhat but still works fine. I have never broken a pick, though am only rough on thick ones.

Most of the picks I have get a slight twist in them, some sooner and some later. It probably has something to do with how I hold them. Every once in a while I bend them back, though does not seem to make a difference in how well they work. Thinner shanks tend to get a slight arc in them over time, but I don't really fix those.

What does get ruined much faster is tension wrenches. It seems like everybody breaks or bends one every so often.

My advice to you is not really worry about the hooks. They will probably be fine for some time and even if they break it is not exactly expensive to get more. It is a good idea to keep spares though, doubly so for wrenches. As for pivoting, yeah that is possibly what causes it, but it is also a really good technique. You could try less tension, and thus the pins requiring less force to move if the bending is really bothering you. It should be fine though.

[whizdumb]

I've been using the same hook and tension wrench combo for about 3 1/2 to 4 years.. I don't pick as much as I used to... But, i have put some serious mileage on my Peterson slender hook and AWOL's TOKE tension wrench. I just recently got a new Peterson shortened shank government steel slender hook to play with and it's been fantastic so far. In the right hands, a pick can last a very very long time.

Happy Picking,
Whizdumb

PS I've never broken a pick (Bent one or two but not past the point of no return).. I've gotten a few stuck pretty bad but patience will help you recover from that no problem.

[Medecopen]

Thanks you guys for the reassurance on the pivot, it's good to hear it's the way a lot of you guys are doing it... Any other way would feel a lil awkward... As far as less tension I'm sure I can lighten up a lil like you guys suggest.. The slight bend doesn't really bother me to much I just don't want to wait a week for a new one I love my picks lol...

[rai]

about that bending of tension wrenches goes,

I have one that looks horribly mutilated, I used two pliers to make it that way, the concept is to get the blade of the tension tool enough bent out of its flat plane and yet capable of still being inserted in the keyway where the bending makes it act like a wider tool in the way it grips on both sides of the keyway, its still polished on the bottom though so no sharpness is allowed to ground into the cylinder wall.
you can bend a tension tool to make it spring grip the sides of a keyway, or you can simply make it "footprint" in the lock like a wider tool which is too wide to slip under the ward and into the keyway and cylinder wall bind.