Need advice on Lock Pick set.

[chris16]

I have looked around the site for a few days and came to 2 choices.
http://www.lockpickshop.com/MPXS-14.html - recommended by the site for beginners
http://www.lockpickshop.com/C1510.html- recommended because it was said in a post that you will end up picking smaller locks and this set will help.
I live in the United States and I am a Beginner, so what do you recommend ?
Thanks in advance.

[Bob Jim Bob]

Get the set for smaller keyways. It will still be fine on larger ones. You won't break them under normal use. Get or make extra tension wrenches, you'll see that the picks don't help much if you don't have a good wrench.

[Darkness1569]

When I started I purchased the SouthOrd C1500 slim line set. After a week I found myself using just the short hook and the half diamond, The rest of the set has never left the case since then. I have heard of people filing off the tip of the long hook pick to make it into more of a medium hook and more usable. As long as you are not really hard with them the slim line set works really good. I still have mime, and have been using it every day since April-ish.
If you are only going to be picking Masterlocks and Kwikset locks, then the MPXS set will work, some of my Masterlocks where old and discarded when I got them so the pins can be hard to push and on those I don’t use the slim line set.
If you have a lot of dirty locks that the pins are hard to push up then the slim line set will give you trouble. For these locks the MXPS would be a better choice because I find myself giving up with the slim lines because they start to bow, but the thicker picks are able to push these weatherized pins just fine.
If you plan on getting into Yale locks or Abus locks, I would say go with the slim line.

I find myself using the slim line picks more than the normal picks.
I hope this helps you and that I didn’t confuse you.

[chris16]

When I started I purchased the SouthOrd C1500 slim line set. After a week I found myself using just the short hook and the half diamond, The rest of the set has never left the case since then. I have heard of people filing off the tip of the long hook pick to make it into more of a medium hook and more usable. As long as you are not really hard with them the slim line set works really good. I still have mime, and have been using it every day since April-ish.
If you are only going to be picking Masterlocks and Kwikset locks, then the MPXS set will work, some of my Masterlocks where old and discarded when I got them so the pins can be hard to push and on those I don’t use the slim line set.
If you have a lot of dirty locks that the pins are hard to push up then the slim line set will give you trouble. For these locks the MXPS would be a better choice because I find myself giving up with the slim lines because they start to bow, but the thicker picks are able to push these weatherized pins just fine.
If you plan on getting into Yale locks or Abus locks, I would say go with the slim line.

I find myself using the slim line picks more than the normal picks.
I hope this helps you and that I didn’t confuse you.

You confused me a little, I would like a set that would work with most of all locks. So would that be the Slimline set ?

[chris16]

Also How is this set ? https://escapethewolf.3dcartstores.com/ ... _p_22.html

[Squelchtone]

Also How is this set ? https://escapethewolf.3dcartstores.com/ ... _p_22.html

terrible for starting out.

get the C1500 as you were already told. The picks in that set will open all the locks your skill as a picker allow them to open.

Squelchtone

[Squelchtone]

You confused me a little, I would like a set that would work with most of all locks. So would that be the Slimline set ?

You're thinking about it the wrong way. There is no pick set out there that opens more locks than some other pick set would open. It's not like if you buy a Southord C1500 you can open more locks than buying an HPC Novice or Peterson Elite pick set.

When you say "work with most of all locks" do you mean the picks will fit inside most common locks, or that the pick set is guaranteed to pick open most locks? Most pick sets will insert and fit inside most keyways, but the opening the lock part comes down to the skill of the person holding the picks, not the picks alone.

Squelchtone

[chris16]

You confused me a little, I would like a set that would work with most of all locks. So would that be the Slimline set ?

You're thinking about it the wrong way. There is no pick set out there that opens more locks than some other pick set would open. It's not like if you buy a Southord C1500 you can open more locks than buying an HPC Novice or Peterson Elite pick set.

When you say "work with most of all locks" do you mean the picks will fit inside most common locks, or that the pick set is guaranteed to pick open most locks? Most pick sets will insert and fit inside most keyways, but the opening the lock part comes down to the skill of the person holding the picks, not the picks alone.

Squelchtone

I mean will fit in most locks. So I can practice on many locks with one set and not have to buy another set.

[funkalicious]

You confused me a little, I would like a set that would work with most of all locks. So would that be the Slimline set ?

This sentence from squelchtone pretty much sums it all up.

Most pick sets will insert and fit inside most keyways, but the opening the lock part comes down to the skill of the person holding the picks, not the picks alone.

Squelchtone

Personally, I barely use any of my "store bought" picks anymore. I literally only use 1 hook and one tension wrench that are commercially available. My "go to" picks are all homemade ones and I can defeat the locks much faster and easier with them (that's why they're my "go to" picks ).

I'm fairly confident that some of the folks on this forum could open locks with a paperclip and a hairpin that I could not open with the most expensive and extensive pick set commercially available. That certainly doesn't mean their paperclip and hairpin are better than my commercial set, but it does mean 100% that they are more skilled than me with lock manipulation.

In short, the best pick set in the world won't make you the best lockpicker in the world. Practice, practice, practice.

[misterwonks]

Here on the forum you'll get the "make your own" 90% of the time. With good reason. I picked my first lock with a handmade hacksaw blade pick. It took me about 15 mins to make..... about 20 mins to finish it nice and whatnot. Now this is time consuming on your first few, but you gain something great from this- seeing how the metal acts as you're filing and clamping it..... sanding on it etc. As a bonus you'll get to smooth those edges which improves the feel as you hit those pins as you're learning.

I have the generic kit you posted around here somewhere and it's .....fine. Honestly they're more like pin prybars than picks, and they're stamped out. You'll see a lot of sets out there, but I've rarely seen anyone utilize more than a hook, half diamond, and a favorite rake of some sort. You'll end up finding a few major picks to use and put the rest in the back of your mind.

I'm on my phone and it's sort of wonky, but if no one has mentioned it yet.... check out the Raimundo picks from serepicks. You could take on any lock you want until you start seeking higher-end locks to beat.... even then you'll probably reach for them first before advancing to other picks. Just my .02.