The Sparrows Monstrum XXL arrived today. Nice picks, I think. I welcome the handles because my bare HPC picks are doing a number on my hands. I've also been excited about trying the horizontal pry-bar-style wrenches. I've been attempting to use TOK tension, but the two tension wrenches I got from HPC weren't cut out for it. Even after some modification, they'd slip out of the top of the keyway often enough to make picking locks with TOK tension very frustrating. I also wanted to try a variety of different shaped picks. So far, I've only used a low hook, half-diamond, and snake, and that's pretty much it. So, now I get to explore a wider variety of picks!
Sparrow picks definitely bend more than HPC's picks when pressure is applied. I wonder how much that has to do with the thickness of their tang and how much it has to do with the differing metals. I think this is actually better, though, because they will bend before they break. The HPCs sometimes feel as if they could be brittle compared to the metal used in the Sparrows picks.While I'm talking about the thickness of the tang, I should mention that the Sparrows picks are thinner than their HPC cousins. See the second image below. I've already been enjoying this feature as it makes getting deep behind the front pins easier to do without accidentally hitting pins you didn't intend to hit. I've got a couple Schlage cylinders that just became easier to pick.
You can see in the photos below that the metal used by Sparrows is slightly gold-tinged compared to the HPC metal. I was going to say they don't look that way in person, but now that I'm checking again in the light, they do appear to have a slightly gold/brass hue to them. The tension wrenches are definitely very silver, though.
The handles
are a hand-saver. They appear to be some sort of plasti-dip, but it is pretty thick. They do not add much weight to the pick at all. The Sparrows picks feel only the tiniest bit heavier than the single-ply HPC picks. They are easily lighter than the HPCs with the 3-ply, metal handles. So far, I cannot detect any attenuation to the tactile sensation I get from the lock due to the handles. But, I usually have my middle finger further down the shaft, touching the metal near where the pick is entering the lock. I probably do feel most of the tactile feedback through that finger, but I don't think anyone would have a problem even if they only touched the handle while they were picking.
While the HPC set came with slight burrs and rough spots on one side of the picks, the Sparrows set
did not. Now, obviously they aren't mirror polished or anything like that, but either they are manufactured in a way that does not create burrs, or they do something to remove them. I did end up smoothing the edges of my most-used HPC picks and that helped them to be more maneuverable in the lock. The Sparrows, on the other hand, have no issues moving about in a lock, right out of the case. They are much smoother.
I thought it was interesting how the two companies style the tips of their picks. Sparrows seems to take a slightly more subtle approach to the curves and angles in their pick tips. I took a few photos comparing them and posted them below in case anyone else finds it interesting. The snake stands out as the biggest difference in design to me.
Images incoming!
The full set minus the case:
Click here for the full-size image.
Comparison - HPC next to Sparrows - Full tang
Comparison - HPC Half-Diamond next to Sparrows Half-Diamond - Tips
Comparison - HPC Low Hook next to Sparrows Low Hook - Tips
Comparison - HPC Snake next to Sparrows Snake - Just the tips.
A single question:
Has anyone attempted trimming the handles to expose longer sections of the thin tang, allowing for deeper penetration into the lock? Is it possible they leave a portion of the handle on there in order to strengthen what is essentially the weakest part of the tang?
