Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:34 pm
Sparrows...
I got a set of Sparrows lock picks a few days ago and I must say I like them. The website is well designed and they have better pictures than I can take, so get a look at them on the website.
http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/
I think there are a couple of reasons why the picks are a good choice for anyone, but especially for someone starting out.
First, the sets are designed so that someone can start with the basic picks and learn the hobby without spending a lot of money. I guess credit for the pick designs and grouping of the sets goes to Wizwazzle. If you are unsure of what picks to buy when starting out, the sets are well organized. Just start with the "Kick start" set and then move up as your skills increase. You won't get any duplication or useless picks in these sets.
Second, there seems to be just the right combination of different pick shapes and the metal used seems to be good quality stainless steel. There are two thicknesses of picks so that as someone learns more about picking and wants to try tighter keyways and security pins they will be able to. The beginner picks are a bit thicker and should take some rough handling.
Third, the variety and quantity of tension wrenches included is amazing. I’ve seen expensive sets of picks that come with three lousy wrenches. These sets total 18 tension wrenches, all different. Very nice.
Another thing I like about the picks is that they leave room for the user to customize (sand and polish) them a bit. Unless you buy a set of handmade custom picks from one of the highly skilled makers, all mass produced picks I’ve seen could benefit from some amount of polishing. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s not like the picks need to be polished, just that they could be if you wanted to. I’m not planning on polishing my set, they seem to function quite well as they are. You could also get the picks without the slip-on foamies and do your own thing with tool dip or heat shrink handles. For me the slip-on foamies are fine and I have no plans to change them.
What about experienced pickers? For those guys I see a nice everyday use set that includes a couple of pick shapes you might not have. They are nice and slender too so they won’t get jammed in tight keyways, almost like a Euro pick you might get from another manufacturer. This smaller size does have a potential downside and a heavy handed picker may find that they need to use a thicker pick for their technique. The picks are intentionally made slender to fit small keyways. This is always going to be a tradeoff between strength and size.
Someone is going to ask if this is the strongest steel in the universe. There is a section on the website that talks about the steel used in the picks. For a hobbyist, I would say that it is more that strong enough for a pick. I mean really, you are trying to lift one pin against a little spring. If you are bending the picks then simply getting a stronger pick might be the wrong solution to the problem. For a working locksmith that has to pick locks full of crud and can’t stop to clean them, maybe a different story.
I also wish they had a nice little case to put the picks in, and perhaps a few more tools I could lust after like maybe disc picks or maybe something for multilocks….
http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/
I think there are a couple of reasons why the picks are a good choice for anyone, but especially for someone starting out.
First, the sets are designed so that someone can start with the basic picks and learn the hobby without spending a lot of money. I guess credit for the pick designs and grouping of the sets goes to Wizwazzle. If you are unsure of what picks to buy when starting out, the sets are well organized. Just start with the "Kick start" set and then move up as your skills increase. You won't get any duplication or useless picks in these sets.
Second, there seems to be just the right combination of different pick shapes and the metal used seems to be good quality stainless steel. There are two thicknesses of picks so that as someone learns more about picking and wants to try tighter keyways and security pins they will be able to. The beginner picks are a bit thicker and should take some rough handling.
Third, the variety and quantity of tension wrenches included is amazing. I’ve seen expensive sets of picks that come with three lousy wrenches. These sets total 18 tension wrenches, all different. Very nice.
Another thing I like about the picks is that they leave room for the user to customize (sand and polish) them a bit. Unless you buy a set of handmade custom picks from one of the highly skilled makers, all mass produced picks I’ve seen could benefit from some amount of polishing. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s not like the picks need to be polished, just that they could be if you wanted to. I’m not planning on polishing my set, they seem to function quite well as they are. You could also get the picks without the slip-on foamies and do your own thing with tool dip or heat shrink handles. For me the slip-on foamies are fine and I have no plans to change them.
What about experienced pickers? For those guys I see a nice everyday use set that includes a couple of pick shapes you might not have. They are nice and slender too so they won’t get jammed in tight keyways, almost like a Euro pick you might get from another manufacturer. This smaller size does have a potential downside and a heavy handed picker may find that they need to use a thicker pick for their technique. The picks are intentionally made slender to fit small keyways. This is always going to be a tradeoff between strength and size.
Someone is going to ask if this is the strongest steel in the universe. There is a section on the website that talks about the steel used in the picks. For a hobbyist, I would say that it is more that strong enough for a pick. I mean really, you are trying to lift one pin against a little spring. If you are bending the picks then simply getting a stronger pick might be the wrong solution to the problem. For a working locksmith that has to pick locks full of crud and can’t stop to clean them, maybe a different story.
I also wish they had a nice little case to put the picks in, and perhaps a few more tools I could lust after like maybe disc picks or maybe something for multilocks….
I will be ordering the kick start set come monday. I wanna see how the best buster fairs.
