Sparrows Monstrum

[spandexwarrior]

I haven't seen any discussion about these. I ordered a set and have played with them a bit. There are a couple of interesting picks but nothing I couldn't live without.

I'm curious if there are specific uses intended for each tool and what went into the development Sparrows mentions. At this point for me, the set is more of a novelty than a truly useful set of tools but time will tell with more experience I guess.

Here's a slightly better pic of the set than I could find online, it gives a little better idea of the shapes of the picks which are shadowed in some of the Sparrows images.

All the rubber handled picks are .024" thick and the big rake is .031" thick. The two Peterson pry bar copies are .024" and .031" thick and the other flat tension tools are .018" and .024" thick.

-Brian



http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/product_p/monstrum.htm

[cdf]

I just got an XXL monstrum ( Monstrum + Wizzwazel ) . I've found some of the tools to be very fast in the right keyway . The big Kraken rake is more in the nature of a jiggler .

Overall I like the set , my main observation is that I would have rather had two thick prybars ( .04" , and .05" ) , than the thin ones . The XXL has a plethora of tension wrenches , like other Sparrows kits .

I like the curves and reach picks . In the right circumstances they are very fast .

I gave mine a bit of polishing ( 320 - 1200 grit ) , they move thru keyways very smoothly .

The case is large and fits lots of other goodies . In my case a Peterson plug spinner , blank tension wrench stock , and some homebrew tension wrenches .

Chris

[Divinorum]

I too have the XXL and am very pleased with it. The monstrum is described on sparrows website as "a truly exotic collection of lock picks" that are "designed for unique single pin picking". For me the monstrum picks are situation but do come in handy when needed. I will use my go to picks from the Wizzwazel set and if i run into a tricky bitting or tough pin I will turn to the monstrum picks. I have not used them all yet, but the ones I have used make a tricky lock that much easier to handle. The case is awesome. It's rugged and has plenty of room for other picks/tools. I do agree with cdf on the topic of the prybars. The very thin ones are to thin and flex to much in my opinion. That is my only bone to pick with this set.

[phrygianradar]

I don't have these pick sets ( yet...), but I will like to comment on the very thin top key way wrenches that are also found in the Peterson Flat Five; they have come in handy a few times in certain circumstances. One that comes to mind is on those long shackled bike locks that have multiple lock positions in which the bottom of the shackle comes out of the bottom of the lock near the key hole. I have used the extra flex to get around the bottom of the shackle that a pry bar wouldn't be able to be used on and a bottom of the key way wrench doesn't work well (security pins or too space restrictive etc.). Other than that they don't get much use in my kit. At least they don't take up too much space anyway.

I have been thinking about picking up a Sparrows kit. Sounds like you guys like yours pretty well? I am one of those guys who likes to have lots of tools, but still mainly use only four or five on a regular basis. My go-to hook and pry bar...

[cdf]

I like Sparrows picks , I can testify that they are tuff . Our TOOOL chapter points Noobs in their direction . The picks stand up well . The sets don't contain a lot of " fluff " , and give you a good collection of tension tools . They do profit from a good polishing , but are quite functional without one . Show me a production pick that couldn't profit from a polishing .

Chris

[Divinorum]

I don't have these pick sets ( yet...), but I will like to comment on the very thin top key way wrenches that are also found in the Peterson Flat Five; they have come in handy a few times in certain circumstances. One that comes to mind is on those long shackled bike locks that have multiple lock positions in which the bottom of the shackle comes out of the bottom of the lock near the key hole. I have used the extra flex to get around the bottom of the shackle that a pry bar wouldn't be able to be used on and a bottom of the key way wrench doesn't work well (security pins or too space restrictive etc.). Other than that they don't get much use in my kit. At least they don't take up too much space anyway.

I have been thinking about picking up a Sparrows kit. Sounds like you guys like yours pretty well? I am one of those guys who likes to have lots of tools, but still mainly use only four or five on a regular basis. My go-to hook and pry bar...

Interesting story about the thin pry bar. Maybe one day they will come in handy then Like you said they are small and don't take up much space so ill keep them in my case anyway. I definitely love their picks and would recommend them for sure.

[cdf]

One of the thin bars has no teeth . A blank perhaps ?

Chris

[Divinorum]

One of the thin bars has no teeth . A blank perhaps ?

Chris

Likewise, one of my thin bars also has no teeth.

[DreadrickTaitum]

All in all are they worth buying or should I purchase a different set, perhaps one of the Peterson's sets would be better. I really just want a top of the line set that has everything I need.

[phrygianradar]

My favorite kit that I bought: the Peterson 20 government steel rubber handle set. I have used all of the picks in it plus you get the pry bars, which are a must. After using all the picks at one point or another I have found the few that are "all I need", which may be your biggest question to answer; what are your personal preferences. If you get a quality set like the Sparrows or Peterson they will likely have more than you will need. I don't have Sparrows picks, as I said already, but I have no doubt that they are top notch.

Let us know what you decide on.

[spandexwarrior]

All in all are they worth buying or should I purchase a different set, perhaps one of the Peterson's sets would be better. I really just want a top of the line set that has everything I need.

If you don't already have a relatively complete set of more traditional tools, I wouldn't get these first. Even the sets with some or all of Sparrows original picks aren't complete for my purposes. At a minimum, I would need to add Peterson's Hook 1 and Gem in both standard (euro) and slender plus both prybars.

-Brian

[DreadrickTaitum]

All in all are they worth buying or should I purchase a different set, perhaps one of the Peterson's sets would be better. I really just want a top of the line set that has everything I need.

If you don't already have a relatively complete set of more traditional tools, I wouldn't get these first. Even the sets with some or all of Sparrows original picks aren't complete for my purposes. At a minimum, I would need to add Peterson's Hook 1 and Gem in both standard (euro) and slender plus both prybars.

-Brian

Thats what I was thinking, ideally I thinkI would want a complete Petersons set, but maybe buy the Sparrows wizzwazzle set to get the "Bogota" and "Worm" picks plus some other cool tensioners.

[cdf]

The Wizzwazzel is a very versatile set , and should handle most "normal" stuff . The Monstrum gives you some very nice hooks , I'm not accomplished by any means , but they can be very fast . I bought the Monstrum XXL . If I were to settle on a smaller set , it would be the Wizzwazzel , with maybe a couple of individual Peterson picks thrown in . The Sparrows Sherman case is very generously sized , and easily fits a Peterson plug spinner .

I'm going to end up owning a Peterson set , all I've figured so far is Gvt. Steel , plastic handles .

Chris

[Kridge]

Just for future reference of anyone happening to search this forum for opinions about Sparrows....here's my $0.02...

I've been picking regularly for about two years now. I started out with a set of SouthOrd slimlines, which I happen to like very much despite the metal handles being a bit harsh on my fingers.

I decided to try Sparrows...ordered their "Hooker" set and their "SF Edition Sentry" set.
The picks in the Hooker set have thermo-plastic coated coated handles, while the picks in the Sentry set are one piece bare metal (same thickness end to end).
I, personally, found them to be really flexy....that is, both sets flex side to side very easily even with a light touch.
As far as picking goes, they feel extremely mushy and the feedback is pretty terrible IMHO. I feel like I may as well be using picks made of slightly stale marshmellow.
Their finish leaves a bit to be desired and is inconsistent at best....I noticed on the bottom edge of a lot of the hooks, the point on the business end where the taper leading from the handle transitions to a straight, there's a definite lip. Obviously you can file and sand your picks when you get them, but it does make me wonder about their QC and I'm sure it's a point of possible stress fracture in the future.
If that's not bad enough, their picks are definitely on the short end of the spectrum, and the business end on the picks with plastic handles are too short (plastic coating extends too far forward of the handle, making it impossible to utilize the full length of the pick) to reach the back pin in the 6-pin Medeco I'm currently working on. Easy enough to cut the plastic back, but it demonstrates a lack of planning in my opinion.

About their cases....
The Sherman case seems alright.
The silly velcro case that comes with the Sentry set....the pocket where the picks go (the side with the velcro flap), is too tight and too darn shallow. You might get a few of their picks in and be able to close the flap without bending or putting stress on the tips, but if you try to fit all the picks that come in the Sentry set in, they're going to stick up too high to close the flap....and if you have picks of any other brand that you want to throw in the case (in my instance, I have a couple of my SouthOrds that are must-haves), forget it....they're automatically too long to close the flap without bending the tips.

Good marketing.....nice job throwing their name and fancy graphics on everything....poorly thought out/executed designs in my opinion. I'm sticking with my SouthOrd's....or maybe I'll pony up for a set of HPC's or Peterson's in the future.

[Yoder]

I feel exactly the oposite. I've had a couple of SouthOrd sets in the past, and I upgraded to a Wizwazzle set in the last few weeks. I feel like I get a lot more feedback from the picks then I ever did with the SouthOrd ones. They are a lot thinner and a lot more flexible, and I like that. I feel like it transfers sensation a lot better then the big clunky picks I was used to, and it's forcing me to use better tension control. Also, I've got a pile of locks laying around that I could never pick before because my SouthOrd picks were to bulky to fit around the wards.

I keep one of my old SouthOrd half diamonds in the Sparrows case, in case I need to get rough with something, but that hasn't happened so far.

I have noticed that there is a lot of inconsitancy in where their dipped rubber coating ends. Not sure what the reason for that is. I had to trim it back on a few of them so I could rest a finger on the bare metal.