Polishing picks/tension tools?

[noobLockpicker55555]

Hi all,
Can anybody tell me exactly how and why you polish both picks and tension tools?

Thanks very much, I do appreciate any help here, I am enjoying learning locksport and I am grateful for previous help!

[Squelchtone]

I have never heard of polishing tension tools, where are you seeing this being done?

[OrMeanGene]

For picks i personally go through several levels/grits of sandpaper 160, 220, 400, 800, 1000, 1500grit. Thats a bit excessive though. 800grit is probably plenty, i just like seeing my pretty face in the pick. Slides through the keyway effortlessly and gives great feedback. Like mentioned the tension wrenches ive never heard of anyone doing that. Maybe if selling a custom few hundred dollar pick and throwing one in to be pretty.

[billdeserthills]

I just buy HPC picking tools for under $2 each & the 2nd best thing is they are ready to use, right out of the package

[CaptHook]

I just buy HPC picking tools for under $2 each & the 2nd best thing is they are ready to use, right out of the package

I have never seen a HPC pick that was good to go without some work.

Sure you CAN use any pick in any state of roughness etc, but again, I have never seen one I wouldn't spend a few minutes on.

I carry HPCs daily, and prefer them over most others. Here is my back pocket set (the sharpie case), and my desk/utility set.

[billdeserthills]

I mostly like to use a pick gun--no polishing needed

[pemlock]

Depends on quality of the picks...

My first set of picks was some cheap Chinese stuff, about 10+ hooks and rakes. It turned out to be quite good actually, one of the hooks is still one of my favorites, apart from one thing: The edges were really rough, and in particular the rakes were almost like files. They would have done some serious damage to the key pins as they were out of the box. Some work with a dremel and sandpaper put them into some sort-of ok order.

I have then added various picks of higher quality to the collection, and they haven't required any extra polishing.

[PeterPickedaPepper]

I have heard that the sharp edges on new pics can give you grief. Im not experienced enough to tell you why but i can say i polished a cheap pick that i owned and it completely changed the feel. I felt like after i polished it i had more control over it in the keyway. I have a sparrows set now which are much better quality than the ebay things i originally purchased, i haven't sanded the edges on them yet. I don't feel like they need it.

[Raymond]

There are several reasons to polish your picks.

I have seen fellow locksmiths use new HPC picks and after only a minute or so, the pick was turning yellowish from all the brass it was sawing out.
Reason 1: save the lock from unnecessary abuse.

When a pick has been smoothed by polishing it will move within the keyway MUCH more easily. It will slip between the keyway grooves without hanging up.
Reason 2: ease of picking.

Smoothing a pick doesn't really take a lot of work and you do not have to go to extremes. Nothing I have has a mirror finish but they all work very well.

[PeterPickedaPepper]

There are several reasons to polish your picks.

I have seen fellow locksmiths use new HPC picks and after only a minute or so, the pick was turning yellowish from all the brass it was sawing out.
Reason 1: save the lock from unnecessary abuse.

When a pick has been smoothed by polishing it will move within the keyway MUCH more easily. It will slip between the keyway grooves without hanging up.
Reason 2: ease of picking.

Smoothing a pick doesn't really take a lot of work and you do not have to go to extremes. Nothing I have has a mirror finish but they all work very well.

That makes sense, i started picking with my cheap picks and found i had all these tiny brass filings all over the white table i was practicing at!
Thanks

[CaptHook]

I cant get my phone to focus when zoomed in, but the pic should be good enough.

You need to break the edges, and smooth any surface that touches or can touch the pins. Shaving brass off the pins is bad, but its also just sloppy. It takes only a few minutes per pick, and makes a huge difference in feel, and feedback.

When I hear people say they don't bother, I get a pretty good idea about their skill level and ham-fistedness in general.

[Squelchtone]

I cannot see your Google folder photos, just a big blank spot in the forum thread. It looks like a sharing permissions issue.

please consider uploading somewhere more public like tinypic or imgur.

[CaptHook]

[high_order1]

I have polished or finished both.

Picks are pretty straightforward. You typically don't want to adjust the profile, unless you know exactly why that pick won't work as-is. I like sharp breaks on most non-raking profiles, so a second or two with a pippin file fixes that for me.

For raking picks, I may lightly polish the sides, being very careful not to get it hot and destroying the temper (or, on a fancy one, protective coating).

For tension wrenches I make, sometimes I have toyed with filing sharp edges to increase the transfer of torque. Sometimes I have polished edges that were imperfectly cut.

On all of them, I have polished, filed, taped, coated, whatever to the handles trying to make them more comfortable for me. Current ones are a mix of plain and sleeved handles, there are some picks I want the added 'feel', and some (usually rakes) I prefer sleeved.

Don't forget, if you are using blued or blacked steels, and polish them, you need to be mindful of rust.

I may try plasti-dipping a few of the next set I make / buy. Seems like a good conformal coating, but I don't know how much thickness control I can get.