These were made from haxsaw blades on a bench grinder.
Some of the finer details were either cut in with a dremel or hand filed.
All picks were sanded down with 200,400,600,1000 grit sand paper.
The tangs were covered with shrink tubing to make a more comfortable grip)
These were the first picks I have ever used. So at this point I knew more about making picks then I did about using them (And realistically I didn't know much about either) So I consider these my trial set to see which I liked and what needs improvement.
I prefer the hooks right now, I find the shafts a little bit tight to manipulate through some keyways though. So version 2 will have thinner shafts. I am still playing with the design of the tip, not sure weather I like rounded or flat and I'd like to try a deforest diamond next.
The half diamond works better for me with locks that have less of a feeling of the pin setting (the click) as I find i can manipulate it better through the stacks. The other diamond with the longer shaft and tang was a trial that I didn't like as its an akward length so I use it for bypassing now, kinda why its a bit bent.
Now to the rakes, I'm actually not even sure what the one is that I made, a snake rake maybe? Either way I've had limited success with it, probably due to my technique.
As for the one similar "Bogota", I could not find properly sized windshield wiper inserts or street sweeper bristles, so its made out of a haxsaw blade as well. I realize the handle is fairly essential to its design and effectiveness so I will make a proper one (or buy one) when I get a chance. However, even this crude design has been able to open every lock I have within a few minutes with a jiggling motion.
Anyways, that's a fairly long winded post.. But with that said I have been able to open every lock in that picture. The cylinder has 1 security pin (mushroom) and the Masterlock 150 has 2 spools and I can open them fairly consistently now. Time to buy some more locks..
