Is SouthOrd a respectable brand?

[shredder]

Whoops just realized his post was from January....

[nostromo]

Having somehow 'lost' my big HPC set of 25 years recently (the teens in the house, mayhap? Absent mindedness of aging?) I bought a Southord MPXS-32 set and am quite pleased with them. Nice assortment of picks and wrenches in different thicknesses and configurations, all of good quality materials, production, and finishing. Very nicely made ziparound case, too.

Studying Raimundo's posts/techniques (three cheers and a tiger for the bogota pick!!!), I've found that well-polished, highly smoothed picks move around keyways and 'work' the action so much better than picks with rougher edges.

Having been a woodcarver for many years I've learned to 'soften' any edges that contact tender finger flesh which makes tools more comfortable to use, which also encourages longer use. Sometimes you can extend handle coverage onto tool shafts, sometimes you lightly file and use abrasive paper on chisel, gouge and knive 'spines'.

Sooooo, I strongly encourage everyone to polish the faces and smooth the edges of all production picks that are not already finely finished. Although Southord nicely finishes their picks (GREAT ARTICLE on Southord in Non-Destructive Entry Magazine http://www.ndemag.com/issues.html) to deburr and smooth, I did a little extra work that makes them even more pleasant to use. Powered abrasive tools are NOT used except for the final polishing, as it seems too likely a chance of cutting too deep and ending up with a mis-shappen tool. Using a medium flat file I round the handle edges of the handled and thinner 'un'handled picks. I follow that with finer grit emery paper, but you may not want to bother.

The working ends of the picks were filed as squarely as I could get them, using various shapes of jewelers files that were about $5 the set at a flea market. The picks were held in the grip of my trusty six-inch visegrips (which have impressioned many a temporary 'key') and held under bright light while being worked. The jaws of the visegrips got a couple of wraps of black vinyl electricians' tape to cushion the picks and tension wrenches and minimize the chance of 'marking'. Having the light at an angle lets you move the light around to get an oblique enough angle to look for shadows from rough areas.

The metal handles by themselves are OK if edges are rounded, but feel better in the hand if covered. If the covering isn't too flexible or 'soft', sensitivity is still good.

Areas of the picks and wrenches that are likely to have frequent finger contact (like the inner part of hooks near the handle, in my case) were rounded a bit with the files and papers, working areas that touch pins were pretty much left square. I haven;t yet decided whether to round the working surfaces of disc wafer picks like the snowballs- what do y'all think?

After filing, progressively finer grits of abrasive paper were used to 'polish' the surface faces, until there are no marks left and they are smoo-oo-oo-th.

Woodcarvers often sharpen tools with zigzag paper wheels and buffing wheels with various types of polishing compounds, like jewelers rouge, on their grinding machines. The zigzag wheels 'cut' deeper than the soft cloth polishing wheels, so I start with that first. You can get a nicely polished finish just off the paper wheel, but Raimundo sets a high standard, so I follow with the soft cloth wheel and light polishing compound. A soft, dry cloth is used to get the polishing compound off, and it's time for the last step.

I cover the handles of picks and tension wrenches alike with 5/16" black heat shrink tubing from Harbor Freight (Item 98072), which is under $4.00 for an 8 foot roll. You can use a butane or propane torch to get the tubing to shrink, the kitchen stove burners, or even a candle. A candle is the most convenient but takes the most time and also tends to leave carbon if you get the tool too close to the flame. A smaller diameter heat shrink tubing is used on the tension wrenches and smaller width shaft picks.

I've tried colored vinyl tapes and bookbinder tape as handles, which invariably let the adhesive kind of leak or get squeezed or whatever onto the tool, and then the pick case and your fingers- blech. You can make handles out of formica, but then there is the attachment problem. Riveting is more work (and more tools you need), especially with annealing the drill spots. Glues won't hold very long since the tools are constantly flexed from side to side. Wire wrapping moves around with the flexing, too. But heat shrink tubing hangs in there.

The heat shrink tubing can be had in different colors, is cheap and easy to apply, is easily removed if you have to get it off, is cheap and easy to apply, stands up to fairly rough use, is cheap and easy to apply, pretty much stays put, is cheap and easy to apply, provides a little cushion, is cheap and easy to apply, increases the handle size just a skosh bit for a slightly larger grip, and is cheap and easy to apply. I especially like how it makes a cosmetic coverup for the wavy blade edge of the hacksaw blades for my Falle-style picks. And heat shrink tubing is cheap and easy to apply!



PS to Shredder - Glad I'm not the only one that replies to older posts!

[nostromo]

Correction-

The article in Non-Destructive Entry Magazine I mentioned in the previous post is for SOUTHERN SPECIALTIES, not SOUTHORD.

Sorry!

[Urbex]

I can also attest to the quality of Southord.

I started out with the five piece beginner "PXS-05L" set, it came with the book and all that. My next purchase was two short hooks with the metal handles, standard and slimline series. I've also got a few tension wrenches, no problem with them.

I've been using the two metal handled picks for about six months and I love them!

[khelben]

i have a small stainless southord set and a larger spring steel hpc set and find myself using the southord set more often on most callouts.
i like both but the stainless set seems to like me more whin im doing a kwikpic or schlage.

[vmikulich]

I find SouthOrd to be a good brand. The quality of the metal used to make the tools is excellent. None of my tools from them have ever broken. They ship quickly and I have never had a problem with them responding to my questions.

[Ajimey]

I juz started lockpicking.
Got myself a 5 piece set from Southord. It came wif a leather casing.
It was affordable too!
So far so good. The picks & tension wrench material is tough.
There is still so much to learn, I cannot comment more.

[Nector]

I own the SouthOrd 14 piece lockpick set.

I find these picks to be durable due to the fact that the pick blade is sandwiched between two handle pieces and welded which gives the handle a good stiffness that translates into good feedback of the pins. The one thing I find is the handles have sharp edges and filing down, sanding, and polishing the edges will prevent discomfort when using. Another fix is to use heat shrink tubing on the handles. This will cushion the handle and will help insulate your hand from a cold tool. You can also try spraying or dipping the handles in rubberized tool coating.

All things considered, I managed to have a good amount of success opening locks with these picks.

[PickYourPins]

I am shocked to see the large volume of posts in favour of Southern Ordnance lockpicks. My personal experience of these picks has shown them to be of very poor quality, however, I have only used one of their bog-standard, manual stainless steel sets, without reinforced handles. I have a number of specific complaints:

1. The southord picks are nowhere near as effective as nicely made hacksaw picks, which can be manufactured at a fraction of southord retail price.

2. The picks bend vertically; That is to say, not in the way that one could flex the flat metal sideways, but permantly bend it up or down. I'm not sure of the exact temper of their stainless steel but it is insufficiently hard. I have had a jagged snake rake bend in a slightly stiff lock, so much so that the pick became weakened at the neck to the point that it was unusable. I was not impressed

3. This confirms my point about the temper of their picks. I have found that while using the ball and double ball picks in some heavier locks, metal is actually ground off the edge of the picks! The 'ball' shaped pick is more of an unsymmetrical ellipse now. Maybe then pins of these locks are harder and sharper than most, but other picks have stood up to them just fine.


I have a few other problems with these picks, but they mainly relate to the lack of reinforced handles.

South Ord picks will probably do for beginners, but I'd seriously recommend researching other brands first. Yes, South Ord are relatively inexpensive, but if you have a grinder and a hacksaw blade, you can achieve a higher quality, custom-made pick at a much lower monetary cost.


Hope this helps anyone considering buying southord in the future!

[piepie]

[quote="PickYourPins"]I am shocked to see the large volume of posts in favour of Southern Ordnance lockpicks. My personal experience of these picks has shown them to be of very poor quality, however, [b]I have only used one of their bog-standard, manual stainless steel sets, without reinforced handles[/b]. I have a number of specific complaints:

1. The southord picks are nowhere near as effective as nicely made hacksaw picks, which can be manufactured at a fraction of southord retail price.

2. [b]The picks bend vertically[/b]; That is to say, not in the way that one could flex the flat metal sideways, but permantly bend it up or down. I'm not sure of the exact temper of their stainless steel but it is insufficiently hard. I have had a jagged snake rake bend in a slightly stiff lock, so much so that the pick became weakened at the neck to the point that it was unusable. I was not impressed

3. This confirms my point about the temper of their picks. I have found that while using the ball and double ball picks in some heavier locks, metal is actually ground off the edge of the picks! The 'ball' shaped pick is more of an unsymmetrical ellipse now. Maybe then pins of these locks are harder and sharper than most, but other picks have stood up to them just fine.


I have a few other problems with these picks, but they mainly relate to the lack of reinforced handles.

South Ord picks will probably do for beginners, but I'd seriously recommend researching other brands first. Yes, South Ord are relatively inexpensive, but if you have a grinder and a hacksaw blade, you can achieve a higher quality, custom-made pick at a much lower monetary cost.


Hope this helps anyone considering buying southord in the future![/quote]



They will not bend vertically unless you use hard donkey pressure on the picks.
Southord is a great company and their products are quality. although they have smaller handles, they re great!

[Josh K]

[quote="piepie"]
They will not bend vertically unless you use hard donkey pressure on the picks.
Southord is a great company and their products are quality. although they have smaller handles, they re great![/quote]

+1

[Gozzo]

I have the southord mpxs-14 found them great for a beginner set, mine certainly dont bend, not to mention they threw in a free copy of easy pickings, when i placed my second order. it's hard getting most companies to ship to Australia ( no idea why ).
So yea imho they are respectable, remember you get what you pay for.
Gozzo

[JustmeP]

Ive got the 9 piece pro set from southord and they do NOT bend at all, there is a beginner set from southord wich i had before and they all broke with a little bit to much pressure. So maybe its just the different in sets they have?

greetz.

P

[unlisted]

I think some n00bs here are applying way too much pressure on their picks.

I'd hate to see the locks they are picking.

Think of the lock and your tools as fine, delicate pieces of fragile glass- I guarantee you will suddenly pick better, and get tonnes more feedback from your picking.

[piepie]

[quote="unlisted"]I think some n00bs here are applying way too much pressure on their picks.

I'd hate to see the locks they are picking.

[b]Think of the lock and your tools as fine, delicate pieces of fragile glass[/b]- I guarantee you will suddenly pick better, and get tonnes more feedback from your picking.[/quote]

Uhghgh....I wouldn't want to see that.

Oh goody! my first set of picks. Ill tie this hammer to my tension wrench to get more tension. A minute later, SNAP! His rake broke.