Good starter set or Multipick Jacknife Extended

[SoCalUtah]

Hi All,

I’m new to the lock locking hobby and having a really fun time with it. I recently upgraded to a Dangerfield Infinitus repinnable lock and picked up an Abus 64ti/40 after picking all of my locks I could find in my house and my Kwikset Smartkey door lock. First thing I have come to find is that the cheap Goso imitation starter kit doesn’t have great feel and doesn’t fit well in the Abus. So wondering which of the two following sets I should get to improve my skills.

Good starter set (specifically looking at the Sparrows Tuxedo w/ their knurled TOKs) or Multipick Extended Blackline Jackknife?

Sparrows:
Pros- inexpensive ($50-ish delivered), great quality (from the reviews I’ve watched, combination of picks, rakes, and hybrids, lots of torque wrenches.
Cons- not much other than the tools are all separate in a pouch, limited amount of tools compared to the additional picks with the Multipick extended version.

Multipick:
Pros- everything all in one neat package, seems to have very little play, Multipick has to end tools.
Cons- a bit more expensive ($70-ish, whenever it comes back in stock or if I order from Germany), don’t know if the bulky handle will take away from feel or be harder to manipulate for a beginner.

My goal is to find a set under $75 that has enough options to keep me from getting bored or limited with practicing as I continue to as locks to my collection. Not sure if I’ll be looking to expand my set later or if I might hit a level of proficiency and move on to a new hobby, I’ma serial hobbyist. I’ve looked at some reviews for Southord and Dangerfield sets and the consensus seems to be that they are really good, but need some finishing/polishing. A lot of reviews really like the Sparrows set, but there is a real appeal to the Multipick having everything in one neat package. Open to other suggestions.

Thanks for reading and any feedback and/or suggestions.

-SCU

[billdeserthills]

HPC makes a starter pick set, about $20
https://www.americankeysupply.com/produ ... t-hpc-5116

[SoCalUtah]

Thanks, billdeserthills, for the recommendation. I didn't know of that brand before.

Quick update: the Multipick Extended Blacklike Jackknife came back in stock and I got a 15% discount for signing up for text alerts, so I couldn't help myself and purchased it already.

That being said, still very interested in the opinions from some of the more seasoned pickers on this forum if I'm jumping in too deep and potentially setting myself up for failure or just a really hard road to get better?

I tried making my own TOK today, and it works alright but will probably still get the set from Sparrows. Now I'm debating if I'm gonna order that from them, should I get their Tuxedo set since I'm already gonna have to pay shipping. But, if the jackknife I just ordered is just as good to learn with, then I'd prefer not to spend the extra $. Thoughts?

Thanks - SCU

[Squelchtone]

I wouldn't learn lock picking on a Jackknife pickset, no matter which brand, but if you really want a jackknife, get a Southord, that's the design the Multipick clone is based on.

https://www.southord.com/products/jackk ... -pick-sets


The Sparrows Tudexo is a nice looking set, again Southord makes beginner sets as well, such as the MXPS-08 which you can buy at Lockpickshop.com or other online outlets. I would say the Southord is ready to go out of the box, I don't recall having to sand or file them to make them better at gliding into a lock.

https://www.southord.com/collections/lo ... es-mpxs-08

The reason I don't recommend learning on a Jackknife is the loss of tactile feedback from having to hold this* big object in your hand versus an individual pick from a typical pick set.

Happy picking,
Squelchtone

[SoCalUtah]

Thanks for the feedback, Squelchtone. I had a feeling that using a jackknife might inhibit feedback from the pins. I’ll check out the Southford MXPS-08.

Thanks - SCU