A knife to pick at my teeth with... or at least a door...

[B-Con]

Hey, I'm a real noob in the lockpicking buisness, and just had a quick (and somewhat stupid) question: I'm looking at getting a JPXS-6F "jacknife", and was wondering if anybody knew anything about it. Will it have what I need (for frontdoor entry, and padlock)? And does that (dang, forgot what ya call it ) long, picking one (ya know, with the 90 degree bend at the bottom and the slight tilt, used for pushing up pins) fit in/on the knife, or is it carried seperately?



And what are these half-diamond, hook things, what's the advantage to each? Plus from the picture, which is the tension *smacks forehead* "thingy"?

Thanx

[tonsofquestions]

As far as the "does it have enough to pick those things", yes. However, there are mixed opinions as to how good it is. Some people say the handle is too big and you can't feel the pins, and some like it. Read it for yorself at viewtopic.php?t=219&highlight=jackknife (also try the ever-useful search feature).
As for the thing "with the 90 degree bend at the bottom and the slight tilt, used for pushing up pins", if I understand you correctly, you're asking about the one pictured at the bottom? That's the tension wrench you also asked about, and it's not used for pushing up pins. It's purpose is to apply a torque (turning force) to the plug so that it'll spin when the pins are picked. And while I'm not exactly sure _how_ it fits inside the jackknife set (because I don't have one), it is supposed to. Whether it actually stays put is a question to ask someone who's used one, but I'd be quite surprised if it doesn't.
The "half-diamond, hook things" are the different types of picks. Each has a different purpose, and can be useful in different situations, but the most common ones are the hook, half-diamond (both used for single picking) and the snake-rake (used for raking).
In the picture you posted of the jackknife the picks are where the blade would normally sit, and are (listed from left to right) key extractor, single-ball, small-diamond, snake-rake, and small-hook.
Hope that helps, and good luck with learning!

[B-Con]

Thanx That's answers a lot for me

(BTW: Probably should have stuch this in a different forum , eh...)

[SlickWare]

I bought the black-plastic version of this jacknife set and was not happy with it. The picks do not tighten into the handle very well, and as a result they often become very loose while picking. I also didn't really like the angle at which the handle had to be held... I'll stick to my reinforced steel picks, thanks!
Also,
The tension wrench piggybacks quite nicely on the back of the handle, it's hard to explain, but suffice it to say that you probably won't lose it by accident.

[Varjeal]

SlickWare: Thanks for your review on the jacknife set. I was curious as to what the construction was like with this tool, and thought there might be problems with the fit. I wonder if the steel handled one is any better?

Anyone have experience with that one?

[SlickWare]

Oh, right, I also had meant to post that I suspected that the metal-handled one would more than likely work much better.
The problem with the plastic one appears to stem from the tightening-knob on the top (which tightens the selected pick into place) not being able to really stay threaded well in its plastic screw-hole.

Hope that makes sense. My tension-knob on my plastic set eventually just fell out because it would never stay tight, even when not in use. I think I eventually threw the whole thing out and kept the tension wrench.

And, I just ordered the Brockhage kit. Can't wait!
-SW

[Bitter Man]

I bought one of those fiberglass jackknife sets. I was a little ticked off cause the hook wasn't really a short hook. It also wasnt a long hook. It was annoyingly in the middle of the short hook and long hook. I actually took them out and put them together. The one in the jack knife is right in the middle and its useless in my opinion. Other than that, all the picks are as they should be. I thought the control screw for the handle was pretty tight...then again I only had it for a few days before it got stolen.

[macgyver]

hey all im new to the forum. i have had the steel handled set for almost a year now. i havent had any problems with the locking screw stripping out, the only problem i have had is with that thing staying tight. it started loosening up like the second day that i had it. and i lost the tension wrench in about a week. it doesnt seem to sit in there tight enough. hope this helps.

[Varjeal]

macgyver: Greetings and welcome to LP101.

Thanks for the post on that steel handled set. Does it seem to loosen up more with use, or does it not just get tight enough?

P.S. I'm a moderator here so if you have any questions about the site, etc. feel free to p.m. me.

Thanks for sharing, and hope to see you posting more in here. There's a smart bunch of lock manipulators in here.

Enjoy.

[macgyver]

in response to your question about the steel handle jack knife pick. when i got it, there seemed to be something like loc-tite on the threads of the screw. but after using it a few times it wears off and then the screw doesnt want to stay tight. the best thing to do is just to add some more when it starts wearing off, not too much tho or its gonna be really hard to turn the screw at all. i do think that its good as a secondary set if you wanna have some picks on you all the time ( i carry mine with my keys on it) but it does take a little getting used to.

[Chubby]

I also have the very well crafted stainless steel JPXS-6, I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the picks, more so with the locking system, there is approximately 5mm (feels like alot more) of vertical play (up & down) once the picks are locked into the forward position (design fault, dogey batch?), I don't know if anyone else here has experienced this(I do know of another person who had the same complaint), if you like picking with a loose handled lock pick and you don't mind paying $40 for a novelty key fob then this is it. I intend to give mine as a christmas present, the free play is far too bothersome, a shame realy as it is otherwise a very good innovative idea, just lacks the dexterity to make it a capable lockpicking tool.

[eric343]

I own the fiberglass version and have never been happy with the play that the locking mechanism allows.

Recently I realized I needed a good every day carry set, and my HPC KGB-1 is lacking turning tools. So I modified my fiberglass tool to eliminate the play, and ground the tools down...

The trick to getting rid of the play is to use your bench grinder. Remove the picks from the tool (you push the pin out from one side [only one side will work] using a mallet and a thin metal rod) and examine the thick part of the picks. When one pick is folded out in position for picking, the thick part needs to stand proud of the others in order for the lock-screw to apply pressure on it. Therefore, you clamp all the picks together so the holes are lined up, put the pin through the holes (so the fat side of the pin is up, holding it in place) and grind down the thick part of the stacked-together pins such that the ground-down side faces the locking-screw WHEN THE PICKS ARE FOLDED IN TO THE TOOL.

This results in picks that are tight and responsive when folded out, as the un-ground side of the thick part of the picks faces the screw when the pick is folded out. The other picks -- having been ground on the side of the thick part that faces the locking-screw when folded in -- do not come in contact with the screw whenever a pick is folded out.

But this wasn't enough. The hook on this tool is HUGE. It's impossible to manuever, the flat-top and pointed tip make it unusable for raking, and it's simply unusable compared to the Falle hooks.

So I lined up a Falle graduated-curve #5 with the bottom of the SouthOrd's hook, and used a binder-clip to hold them together. The design of the Falle I transferred onto the SouthOrd using an Expo dry-erase marker such that the Expo covered all surfaces of the SouthOrd I wanted to remove. I did the same with a Falle graduated-curve #4 on the SouthOrd ball-end.
After grinding away the surface of the SouthOrds that was marked in black Expo, I now have a SouthOrd jacknife that can actually *gasp* pick locks.

[NakOut]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to both this site and lock picking. I have been pouring over the information on here and I have to say, it's a lot to absorb! I'm trying to decide what to buy for my first set of tools and I wanted to know if I should buy the 14 pick set the admin suggests or something more portable like a jack knife pick? I like the idea of being portable but I know there seem to be a couple issues with the jack knife, is there a better brand/design? Or since I'm brand new should I just go with a the standard set from the lock pick shop? Any help or recommendations would be appreciated!