My First Liock pick with hacksaw blade

[rocketry]

Well after 2 hours of filling I made a lock pick out of a hacksaw blade and I was wondering how people think of it. Also I was using it as a rake pick and it works great.

[Cybernation]

Looks good but I would round off that diamond a little... what type of blade did you use?

[morphje]

Looks good. You did all by file? In just 2 hours?
You must either have a lot of musclepower or some spare nephews that did the basic shape

I myself would prefer a longer handle (thinking in the lines of an inch more)
and the business end a little bit shorter. I've never seen locks that are 2 inch deep

Offcourse it's all up to the maker

[Krypos]

not bad for a first try.

tips to consider:

as stated, round off the diamond

try using a slope on the business end. so instead of it being flat across, go with a gentle slope, but make sure it is flattened out by the very front.

you might want more handle to work with, some people (myself included) can pick with a very short (like 1 inch) handles, but others cant.

try looking around for some general pick templates to get ideas for other types of picks.

good luck.

[cjames73]

thats quite good for your first pick.
as already said, round the corners slightly and try taking a bit off the front, it will make it a bit easier to get into tighter keyways.

[rocketry]

ok ill round off the corners, but I dont think I can do much more because I would have no pick left. Also all I did was put it into a vice and went filling I used 3 diffrent files but I did do it alone and in 2 hours.

[kevinH]

Looks good for a first, but man 2 hours, you should really try to invest in a grinder and make a couple more picks in the same amout of time.

[Deathadder]

Looks good. You did all by file? In just 2 hours?
You must either have a lot of musclepower or some spare nephews that did the basic shape

I made a set of 5 in about 6 hours total with hand files, including sanding. The tricky part is making use of the files that you have. Like for me, i don't have any round files, so it was kinda tough to make my snake and hooks.

[xnoobandrew]

I dont see me ever filing a hacksaw blade...

well a dremmel wasn't much.. i got a pretty good kit for 39.99.. haven't bought a bench grinder yet.. No place to put it..

Well good Luck.. I have no experience so I dont have much of a say.

[kr15]

Wow! Thats very impressive, especially for a first lock.

I'd prefer a longer handle though.

[raimundo]

actually its exceptionaly good for a first pick, look at the consistent thickness of the pickshaft, and about the handle length, hes starting with a short handle so he won't be prejudiced toward the long ones, there is no need for a completely sharp point on the tip of the pick or the tip of the diamond, if it scratches brass, (dig it into a key handle {bow} and see how sharp it is, then just sand that sharpness off. ) a tool that cuts brass is not good for the job. you have a good pick there and the next ones will be better. don't be like deadadder, files are relatively cheap and not having the one you need is a shabby excuse. take care of the ones you have, keep them in sheaths if they come in plastic ones, do not store them in a tool box, all the hardend steel will pound the sharpness off them.

[Wolfe]

Id offer more advice but everything seems to be said get a grinder,make the diamond a lil smaller and smoother so on and so forth. you have a good eye bud nice job for the first run. give er a nice polish n hang er on the wall.