Bogota Review by the Numbers

[JK_the_CJer]

Raimundo sent me a very generous care package of Bogotas recently. The catch was that I had to have the honor of reviewing the latest design (Monserrate). I went a bit further and did some thorough testing on all of the tools. Myself and folks that had never picked before did some structured testing to try to determine the best picks of the bunch. I did some math and figured out that we spent over 2 hours of active picking time (not including tool insertion, recording data, etc..) on this one.

These tools rock and here are some numbers to prove it

http://theamazingking.com/bogota.html

[Schuyler]

Excellent! My Monseratte review will follow this week!

[Rift]

Awesome reviews. I just recently placed an order for some Bogota's I absolutely can't wait to try them out!

[Legion303]

Very nice work. Ray, why aren't the new designs undercut on every peak? I was surprised to see straight metal there.

-steve

[Eyes_Only]

They are undercut, but looks like some of the tools overlap each other making it look that way I think.

[Eyes_Only]

nm, I take that back, looked a little further and some of them don't have undercuts.

[scrimshady]

how can i get hold of some of these bogota's??/

[Schuyler]

how can i get hold of some of these bogota's??/

http://serepick.com

[Eyes_Only]

Don't they ask you for locksmith or law enforcement credentials to order from their products page?

[raimundo]

@ legion 303 and Eyes Only, the undercuts near the tip preserve the handcuff picking ability of the tip, and they give more skeletonization to keep the picktips from being stuck or jambed in the deepest part of the keyway, or beyond among locking dogs and springs and whatever,
the part nearer the handle are not undercut because the possiblity of a jamb up at that end of the keyway is low. Also, about the undercuts being made to dissapate stress build up on a point, this is not necessary when there is a thick part between two thinner parts, only when there is a thin part between two thicker parts,
That said, the design is in flux and I have begun to under cut slightly the pick with two peaks further back from the tip as there is a narrow area between them that could use the flex that it gets from a shallow undercut. Previously I considered that the two peaks along the shaft would act as one thick part between two thin shaft sections, but I am now going to make shallow undercuts on these peaks for the narrow area between them to have a bit of flex if necessary.

All of this is to releave stress build up on a narrow weak points, which is necessary if a lot of pressure is used.

Hope this explaination helps.

[langly]

@Eyes_Only, credentials are not required for purchase of Rai's tools, though stock is limited. There are a host of other tools available that require confirmation of .mil/.leo affiliation.

-langly

[dmux]

great coverage and pictures. that was probably the best lockpick review i had ever seen. broken down by lock and by pick

really nice work.

[Legion303]

Hope this explaination helps.

It certainly did, thanks.

-steve

[Eyes_Only]

JK's write up really fired me up about these bogotas again so I finally sat down and focused real hard in making my very own and this time it actually came out pretty well.

I doubt I shaped it in the same exact size as rai's (I used a 6-pin Kwikset plug as reference for spacing the peaks) but so far the performance of this tool design has been amazing. I usually hate raking but the bogota style pick makes it a real joy.