What To Buy. Picks Sets For Beginners.

[LexDevil]

I couldn’t agree more with the 'less is more' mantra when you start lock picking. When I started I had no idea how few tools I would need and purchased what I think was originally a 39 piece set with at least 12 hooks, probably more, the set did not even contain a half diamond.. Nobody needs that many hooks

If I lost everything in my tool box and had to re-purchase I would buy 1 rake, 1 hook and 1 diamond with 2 or 3 tension wrenches.

[MJK_Tool]

I learned SPP on that $5 DX set, though I polished mine. Theres no rakes though, some waffer tools but I'd rather get a set of auto jigglers for that stuff.

I'm looking to replace that set but will end up getting a few more to loan out to people to teach them SPP.

[skan]

Hello

I'd like to buy a pick set (my first one).

I've found these at dealextreme, that seem to be right.

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/14-in-1-un ... set-126005
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/high-quali ... 16?item=20
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/dimple-loc ... -set-17605

Which of these sets do you advise me to get?
The first one has no reviews.
I know there are other well-known makers, you name some of them. But I expect to get something not too bad for a good price.
Are Southord picks much better that these?
I don't say other even more expensive.

Do you advise any other set for the same price or cheaper (preferably)?
I don't mind if it has fewer pieces but I want strong material, good steel or titanium.

regards



The good thing is that they ship for free to Europe.

regards

[soundwave5150]

I bought the Southord ones in OP's post, they seem to be good quality.

[The Lock Artist]

I have been using a SouthOrd PXS-14, and I want to get a more high quality set of picks now that I have managed to save up a little more money to spend on one. I know that there are those giant leather cases full of picks by southord like to MPXS-62, but I have head that it is a waste of money to buy that many picks. I want something that will give me the most possible feedback so that I can better "see" what is going on inside the lock. I have been looking at a few sets by HPC as well as the Peterson 14 Piece Government Set. So what do you guys think I should get? I want a pick set- I don't need there to be Adams-Rite tripwires in there or anything.

[cyrano138]

That's a lot of money. I'm not too far into this hobby either, so take this for what it's worth, but how many picks do you use regularly out of that pxs14? if you're like me the number's probably around two (maybe three). Why not just get a few individual picks from peterson like the gem and a half deamond, and see if you like them first. Might be better than blowing 200 bucks when you can get a pretty good idea for 20.

Jack

[The Lock Artist]

I know that it is a lot of money. The main reason that I want new picks is feeling issues while using the grips on the PXS-14, and when I don't have the grips on, they are rather uncomfortable (Not unbearable though) When I purchased my first set, I should have probably went with the MPXS-14, they have reinforced handles that would probably provide better feedback. The grips on the PXS-14 seem to reduce feedback. And I have some extra money and not alot of other hobbies that I can spend money on,so I thought I might as well get something higher quality. If anyone knows any really good sets that they have, maybe HPC,that provide notably better feedback than a southord, I am all ears.

[cyrano138]

I've tried HPC (spring and stainless with handles), southord (Stainless with handles), southern spec(stainless and spring with handles), Peterson (gem and reach), and I can say the Peterson were far and away the best feedback. Having said that, though, I don't like the bulky handles so I use just about everything else. I actually just sold all my Peterson picks.

But I think the lesson here is to get a couple of individual picks from each company so you can decide for yourself. People are going to think I'm shilling for Toool because I keep saying it, but the Toool beginner's blend set is great, and you'll get to try HPC and southern spec picks while getting a really good blend of useful picks. Add a couple of Peterson's to it and you've got a great set for less than a quarter of what you'd pay for the full peterson set. If you decide you'd like to move on to the full peterson set anyway, you can always sell the toool set or keep on hand as a backup.

Hope that helps.

Jack

[The Lock Artist]

Thanks, I guess that I will try to get a few peterson picks that aren't in the full set, and see how I like them for myself, then if the handles aren't to bulky (I have huge hands anyway, so it may not be a problem) I will get the full set and not have any duplicates. I will probably also pick up some toool and hpc ones too, to see how I like them.

Thanks, you have been a huge help.

John

[cyrano138]

No worries, John. Glad to be able to help. Make sure you grab the Peterson Gem as one of your try-out picks.

Jack

[The Lock Artist]

Lockpickshop.com only carries the slender peterson gem but not the standard one. The peterson website tells me to put ALOA number during checkout. I am not an ALOA member. Any idea where I can buy a standard thickness gem?

[The Lock Artist]

Nevermind, it's not marked as a required field , it's getting late. I should probably log off now

[cyrano138]

You can order directly from Peterson-International, if I''m not mistaken.

[Oaken]

I was looking to get into this as a small hobby so I Picked up a Dyno Kwick Pick and a small lock without doing any previous research. The thing is that the pick only comes with a snake which i just read isnt very good for beginners and the lock is a small Master lock. I was wondering if I should get more beginner friendly picks first or a cheaper lock to practice on.

Note* the pick will open the lock it just takes forever and a day to accomplish and is very very frustrating since all snake instructions i can find is basically wiggle it till it works

[byronbfd]

I have been using paper clips on a padlock and have fun with it so I wanted to get a set is this good for a beginner.

http://lockpicksandtools.com/index.php? ... &Itemid=53