You can see a much better photo of that set (assuming that this is the 8-piece set that you're talking about) on the
Southord Website. It looks like a pretty reasonable set for starting out: the hook and half-diamond will get you started with single-pin picking and you can later try some raking with the two basic rakes that are included. (And I think that most people here would advise you to do some gentle sanding/polishing on the picks when they arrive: it'll help quite a bit.) I've never found much use for either the ball pick or the broken key extractor... but Southord seems to include them in every basic kit they offer, so either I'm missing something, or they simply decided that an "8-piece kit" sounds better than a "6-piece kit".
I'm not sure that I completely understand your question about torque wrenches. I've seen the terms "tension wrench" and "torque wrench" used interchangeably by many folks, referring to the same tool. I'm not sure if you were just wondering about the two different names, or if you were asking about a "torque wrench" in the traditional sense (for example, a 60-ft/lb socket wrench). If you were thinking in the "socket wrench" sense, it's a cleaver idea... but wouldn't quite work in lock picking. The differences in spring tension, pin shape and lock tolerances mean that there isn't any one precise tension (other than "very light") that you could successfully and consistently use. The closest thing to what you might be thinking of are the "feather touch" tension wrenches that have an integrated spring as a sort of force-limiter: you can see an example of one
here.
I hope those answers help a bit. Welcome to your new hobby.
Is there a tension wrench similar to a torque wrench? I know most of you replied to my last question fairly simple and sorry i wasnt paying much attention to other Posts but is the 8-peice kit on lockpickshop a good starter kit for me...i know absolutely nothing about the hobby but im intrested have been since i was 5.
