Homemade Picks...rusting :-/

[triman247]

If they rust on the handles, you could try making covers to put on the picks to protect them, maybe?

[Timmy321]

yeah, i'd have to agree with db on that one, its the same point as when people ask about how to lubricate locks. its certainly not a good idea IMHO.

I agree, that wouldn't be the best idea, unless you WANT to gunk up the lock. Graphite is always the best way to go... I always keep a tube on hand. Who wants to pick a rough lock? Not me, that's no fun...

- Timmy

[capt.dunc]

do you live by the sea? i find if i keep metal tools in my spare room, which rarely gets heated, then they rust. i live very near the sea and the strong wind carries salt far and wide. whoever lived in the house before me didn't shut the windows properly and the sea air trashed the steel parts of the upvc windows. try keeping your picks in a warm room when not in use, wipe them down after use and give them a quick spray with wd40. see if you can get hold of some sachets of silica gel, which are used in packing some electrical items to absorb moisture, and store them with your tools.

[NKT]

Unless you are sweating a lot when picking, you shouldn't have this problem.

Just get a cloth and rub them clean after use. Bare steel doesn't rust very fast if left alone in still, dry air. Even with moisture it isn't that bad, on most steels. However, add a tiny bit of salt (of any form) or the acids off your skin, and you will get rust quite quickly.

The top tip is not to store the metal items in a leather case. The leather sucks up the moisture, and holds it next to the metal. Leather, of course, also has salts in it from the tanning process, and so rust can become a big issue.

This is easily seen when you get lazy and don't polish your shotgun and/or store it in the gun slip.

A little sachet of silica gel will also keep them shiny, as it sucks the water up faster than most things.

Again, this only works if there is no large moisture source (including you breathing a whole lot in the same room) as it will get full quite quickly.

Beyond this, the Vapour Phase Inhibitors are very, very effective. Get them from a local gun shop. They last about 6 months, and protect various areas. Not cheap, but worth it if you have £500 worth of tools you want to keep shiny without messing around.

[raimundo]

If you are using power tools to sand your picks, these agressive tools will soon thin your picks to the breaking point. if you keep just a small square of fine grit sand paper folded with the grit inside with your picks, you can put the pickshaft into the fold and pushpull it a few times to reduce any surface rust you see, and the fine sandpaper will also leave the pick glossy smooth after a few uses. The sandpaper should be 600 grit or 1500 grit, and don't think its used up when it no longer looks like new, its not used up until the paper backing is ragged. The grit grinds itself down to finer grit. thats good.

[Addi]

i dunno but i fence and i rub in a type of car laquer onto my blade so that it doesnt rust.
Its called liquid-glass not very expensive and it doenst get rubbed of that fast. I just rub a new coat every 2 weeks, maybe you could do that with your picks....hope that helps you...

Addi

[Blunt4sTrauma]

So I don't know much about lockpicking yet, but I've blued steel (and stainless) a couple times, so it looks like I might have something to contribute in my first post.

The blueing setup is fairly simple (moreso if you are in the US and have easy access to gunshops, but I run down the chemicals so you can improvise). Basically you use an electric pot (like the ones used to cast bullets) to heat up a solution of KNO3 (potassium nitrate) until it melts (somtimes one might add MnO2 as a catylist, but like all catylists it just speeds up the reaction it doens't change the result). Then you dip your steel in the melted KNO3. The color/extent of blueing will depend on how long you leave it in the bath. Note that you should use -just- enough heat to keep the salt as a liquid, or you may anneal the steel (kill the temper, and trust me, you won't bet it back unless you've got more metalworking skill than someone who follows internet protocols).

Blued steel can still rust, and the bluing can rub off with wear, but the blueing does help.

[Luke]

I found that plumbing snake doesnt rust very quickly if at all but any way... blueing is the way to go, and its not only home mades i got a peterson reach in my hpc case thats rusted like a bi a t ch!

[sonic]

Have you tried a good automotive wax on them? We do that in the college wood shop just before summer break on all the unpainted surfaces of the power machinery to prevent rust during the summer months when they machines are not used.

When school starts up in the fall, the machines are rust free and the lumber really slides smoothly across the waxed surface.