My tools

[mcm757207]

I've been wanting to take photoes of my stuff for a while, and I just figured out how to take digital images w/ my video camera. So, here are some pictures of my picks and locks and such:

I use my MPXS-32 case to hold most all of my picks... the far left two pockets have my home made picks (9 out of hacksaw blades one out a metal nail file and a lever pick I made out of some sort of rod I found), the main pocket to the left has most of the 32 picks from the set I got (from southord for $40US). The middle pocket has 5 tension wrenches (3 southord 2 home made). The next pocket over (main one to the right) has my 9 piece slim line set. The far right pocket has my twisted tension wrenches and the double sided ones (shaped like a Z sorta), and the pocket to the left of that has my three most used picks (normal snake, slim line dymond and half hook). You may notice that yellow thing... that's a guitar pick my friend gave me as a joke


From left to right:
-Jacknife set
-Warded pick
-Plug spinner
-Feather tension wrench


Bottom right is the Materlock No.40 padlock, which is my fav. to pick (provides just the right ammount of challenge). The row behind it has the following locks (from the left):
-Russwin 5-pin cylinder (pretty old I think... has ball barings under each bottom pin)
-Corbin 6-pin mortice cylinder (this ones a pain, havn't managed to pick it yet. High-low config)
-Kwikset cylinder
-Kwikset cylinder
-Warded padlock
-Kwikset knob
Behind the warded padlock is a master sesime-style combo lock. To the left of that are 4 normal master combination locks (left over from school the gym teacher gave me). To the left of those is another type of master combo lock that I got for xmas one year. Behind it is a few key rings with really old keys on them (from flea markets and such), and to the far left are several brass padlocks (one Emd-kay padlock and several master no.140's).


My pick gun.

Sorry about the low quality of the pictures

[plot]

i have a very similar set... only, i still need to get a plug spinner and feather tension tool... (don't really want a feather tension tool tho)

[Guitar_J]

that "yellow thing " is a dunlop tortex..... the finest among picks IMO

[Romstar]

I prefer the old fashioned Dunlop grey .60

It's just an excellent overall pick. Great attack, good resillience, and low squeal.

[Eagerpicker]

Is that the butt of a gun in the top right-hand corner?



Eagerpicker

[Guitar_J]

I use .60 Tortex picks, they're orange... I love em, fresh out of the pack they're coated with some sort of powder give an excellent grip.. Mmmm... I need to play more often :-/

[mcm757207]

Is that the butt of a gun in the top right-hand corner?



Eagerpicker

Sorta, it shoots little yellow BBs (soft plastic, doesn't even break the skin). I use it to shoot at the squirrels in my back hard who keep trying to chew on stuff (yard futature, hammock, etc.). It doesn't hurt them either... not to mention I barely ever actually hit them lol.

[Outsideboy]

SCENARIO - Here was this newby (me) wandering thru HomeDepot last week, after helping my parents into their house when their main door lock (Kwikset) self-destructed, and I happened across this lovely MasterLock No. 40 and a MasterLock Titanium (187?).

How pretty. I had to make them mine. But it's been a somewhat frustrating relationship. I can scrub the #40 open in seconds, but I can't seem to pick it - yeah, I've gotten it a coupla times, but I swear it's gotta be a fluke because I can't seem to repeat it.

mcm151201 et al - Is there a particular picking technique that you like to use on the #40

I'm most successful/comfortable using a short hook pick, and am getting more comfortable with a new twist-flex tensioner - this combo works fabulously for picking on the Titanium (which strangely enough seems to scrub poorly).

Off-topic but funny - I actually included the scrubbing of a Master #40 in a presentation I gave several days after purchasing....amazing how effective a physical analogy can work to support abstract arguments.

I'm growing to be a huge fan of this site, this is a blast! Thanks all!

[mcm757207]

For the number 40 I use the snake pick and use a mixture of raking/pin picking. It's sorta like sloppy pin picking if i had to describe it...

[Outsideboy]

I suppose that's what's been throwing me off.....the pin sets are so "mushy" feeling that I never get that comfy *click* that I'm waiting for from other locks.

Thanks a bunch, I'm off to try a little sloppy pickin'!

Beauty of an equipment stash, BTW. I'm jealous, but I'm new to this so it'll take me quite some time to amass anything like that.

[fab]

hello from france.
What tool do you use to open padlocks at the left (shape....)
thanks
sorry for my english.

[mcm757207]

do you mean those small brass padlocks? Most of them I pin pick, but some of them I have better luck raking with the double ball pick (ie my master #140's)