Purchase 1-2 decent picks or a cheap (<=$15) beginner set?

[interestednoob]

Hello, I am interested in lockpicking, have done some research, and am interested in making a small investment into trying this out after I was unable to open a lock with a paper clip (xd). I don't plan to spend more than $15, as I don't know how many locks we even have or how long I will be interested in this or if I will even decide I would like to further pursue it. It's worth noting that I am only really interested in single pin picking, as using rakes or zips just seems like a cheat to me (I'm sure it's not easy, but I see more fun in single pin picking). Would it be a better choice to purchase a pick or two of decent quality (I've heard brands like sparrows or peterson are good) or to purchase a beginner set with some picks and tension wrenches?

Tl;dr: title

[pemlock]

I started with a small cheap beginner set, and then expanded by buying selected picks and more specialized pick sets. The problem I see with the starter kits are:

Although my set wasn't horrible (quite decent for the price actually), it was quite crude and unpolished and required a lot of work with a dremel.

Beginner sets tend to have way too many rakes and too few picks

They almost invariably have too few tensioning tools. (No top-of-keyway tools in particular)

In hindsight I would not have gone for the starter kit. I would rather start with 2 picks and 4 tensioning wrenches of different types, than the other way around. I still struggle more with finding the right tensioner than finding the right pick.
What type of picks to add later depends on what type of locks you will work with. It might either be more hooks to deal with awkward biting, or thinner picks to deal with narrow keyways. (Eventually you'll want both of course.)

I bought most of my additional stuff from Sparrows, but have a few picks from Multipick as well.

[Squelchtone]

We have gotten this question a lot over the years and I tell people that you either want to get into the hobby or you don't. The idea of spending $5 to $20 to try it out doesn't make sense to me personally, but if that's what you wanna do then go to Southord.com and buy a SP-09 short hook pick for a $1.65 and a TW-02 twist flex tension wrench for $1.50 and pay the shipping and there's your basic beginner set.

They have a basic set with leather case and a book for $16.95 it is model PXS-05L

Good luck,
Squelchtone

[demux]

Similar to pemlock, I also started with a couple of mid-priced sets, and have been adding things I've found lacking. The benefit of that is that I now have some "cheap" things in my pick collection that I would not have spent the money to individually buy a quality unit, but are good enough that I do pick them up from time to time when the situation warrants. A perfect example of such is the double circle (a.k.a. "snowman") rake from my first Southord set. I don't encounter wafer locks enough that I would have bought one on its own, but it's nice to have when I do get one and most wafer locks are cheap enough themselves that you don't need anything really high end to open them...

[jbrint]

Dropping a little coin on a good set will give you better success as you learn and you will not have to fiddle with the set to get it working as it should. In the cosmic scheme of things, lockpicking has a pretty low barrier of entry.

[GWiens2001]

Dropping a little coin on a good set will give you better success as you learn and you will not have to fiddle with the set to get it working as it should. In the cosmic scheme of things, lockpicking has a pretty low barrier of entry.

It is the better locks that will cost you.

Gordon

[sign216]

Let me ask a better question; what's a good moderately priced set?

Joe

[pemlock]

Let me ask a better question; what's a good moderately priced set?

I don't actually own this, but from the look of it, it's more like how I think a set should be: https://www.sparrowslockpicks.ca/kick_start_p/s0.htm

Otherwise, perhaps this 13 piece Majestic? It's more like traditional sets (lots of weird rakes, few hooks and tensioners, and it requires some polishing). Reviewed here by Bosnian Bill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTnNdhi0bSc

[pemlock]

Let me ask a better question; what's a good moderately priced set?

I don't actually own this, but from the look of it, it's more like how I think a set should be: https://www.sparrowslockpicks.ca/kick_start_p/s0.htm

Otherwise, perhaps this 13 piece Majestic? It's more like traditional sets (lots of weird rakes, few hooks and tensioners, and it requires some polishing). Reviewed here by Bosnian Bill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTnNdhi0bSc

I just stumbled over this new kit from Law Lock Tools. I haven't used it myself of course, but from the looks of it, it seems they have addressed the issues I have mentioned before about many kits: It has a good selection of hooks, just a few but essential rakes, and a good set of tensioning tools (ToK in particular).
https://www.lawlocktools.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=100
It's not super cheap, but I still think it might be worth the money. But note that they don't come with handles, so you might want to wrap them in shrink tube, tape, or make something in wood or plastic.