Tried "polishing"

[petemoss]

As a new picker I have been trying different things. After much trial and error, I have found that I pretty much always go to the same pick over and over again. It is a what Sparrows calls a short hook. I like it a lot, though I can see where it might be nice to have some different sized hooks.

Since I seem to use this one 90% of the time, I decided to try and polish it up a bit to see what a difference it would make. So, I wet sanded it up to 800 grit. I know I can go further, but this is what I had on hand. I'm not sure if it made a ton of difference over the stock pick, but it does seem a bit smoother. Overall it seems like it might be worth the effort. I guess I need to spend a bit of time on the other ones that I use from time to time. I wonder if there is any benefit to polishing the tension wrenches. It seems like it wouldn't really help anything.

Thanks,
Petemoss

[femurat]

Polished picks are way better than stock ones.
Leave the tension wrenches alone. Polishing them may make them slip out of the keyway easier. Not a good idea.

Cheers

[Taggart]

Okay, I see people like BosnianBill and TheLockpickingLawyer talk about polishing picks. Does it /Really/ make a difference? If so why is that?

[femurat]

Yes, it does! A smooth and polished pick gives better feedback. A lot better.
Try it yourself, it doesn't take long to polish one and try it.

Cheers

[GWiens2001]

Okay, I see people like BosnianBill and TheLockpickingLawyer talk about polishing picks. Does it /Really/ make a difference? If so why is that?

If the pick still has sharp edges now, it is a good idea to sand down the edges before polishing.

Gordon