Recommended online sellers

[andy17]

Hi all

I'm a newbie (just introduced myself in the appropriate thread), so please forgive me if I'm asking something that is already dealt with a sticky somewhere that I haven't yet found.

Is there a list of recommended online vendors for lockpicks? I've seen www.lockpickshop.com and www.lockpicks.com mentioned in quite a few posts, but as far as I can see from their site, the latter sells only to professionals, not hobbyists. The former has a nice range but seems more expensive than the latter.

Also, am I right in thinking that, apart from the secondary market, Falle Safe tools are available only to professionals?

Lastly, because I'm not in the States, does anyone who ships internationally sell the Bogota picks? The titanium ones look very nice but seem to be available only from SerePick.com (who don't ship overseas).

If any of this is inappropriate for discussion on an open forum, sorry about that and mods please edit or delete as needed. PMs also welcomed.

Andy17

[deception]

I've used lockpicks.com before. Not sure if they sell internationally. The shipping was very prompt, and I was satisfied. I don't remember them asking for any ID, but for me it doesn't matter...

As far as the Falle-Safe tools go, you might want to get more experienced in picking before you pick up a set of them, they are quite pricey for one.

Are you from the UK?

[andy17]

Thanks for the reply, Deception.

No, I'm from New Zealand, and so I was looking at the Peterson Kiwi set which lockpicks.com have for $30 cheaper than lockpickshop.com.

I understand Falle picks are not cheap and I've read lots of posts from people who don't particularly like them, but people do generally say they're good quality. I've got a basic Majestic set, and if I do buy a better set I'd rather spend a bit more and get something really good rather than getting something that I might then want to replace later on. This is all academic anyway, though, because I'm not a security professional.

[tadpole_93]

hey mate,

i bought some picks from lockpicks.com about two weeks ago they arrived about a week ago,
i live in Australia so that was pretty good shipping wise, lockpicks.com were great to deal with had no problems,
everything i ordered came so no complaints form me, they did ask for id but that causes no problems as long as you are 18 or older.

i hope this helps.

[deception]

Thanks for the reply, Deception.

No, I'm from New Zealand, and so I was looking at the Peterson Kiwi set which lockpicks.com have for $30 cheaper than lockpickshop.com.

I understand Falle picks are not cheap and I've read lots of posts from people who don't particularly like them, but people do generally say they're good quality. I've got a basic Majestic set, and if I do buy a better set I'd rather spend a bit more and get something really good rather than getting something that I might then want to replace later on. This is all academic anyway, though, because I'm not a security professional.

Just saying, it might be worthy to get a little bit more experience with picking/make sure this is a hobby you enjoy and will stick with for awhile before you pick up a Falle-Safe set, it is 300USD, and I've been told they aren't for the heavy handed user.

[andy17]

I do hear you, Deception. Rest assured, I wasn't going to rush out tomorrow and try to buy a Falle kit, but I was interested if they were available anywhere to hobbyists, should I decide I want to keep going with this hobby.

Re the Bogota picks, can you use the basic pair to do SPP or are they meant only for raking?

Hi from the across the ditch, Tadpole. Thanks for the info; looks like I'll give lockpicks.com a try if I decide to get some more gear. I'm currently trying to pick a Lockwood padlock with my Majestic picks. What set did you get?

Andy

[deception]

Re the Bogota picks, can you use the basic pair to do SPP or are they meant only for raking?

Bogota, pretty much just raking. Not sure if you use Euro config locks in New Zeland or not, but if so, you might want to pick up the Bogota Euro Config pick. It's pretty much the same thing, just the humps are reversed on the pick itself.

[tadpole_93]

hey again,

i decided to go all out and get a Peterson government 20 PC,
all i can say is wow, they are absolutely amazing, i couldn't recommend them more, superb craftsmanship, amazing case and as strong as picks come, what more could you ask for.
Have you had much luck with the Lockwood? i really struggle with them, i think its the key way because i put the pins in a different lock and picked it fine,

good luck with your picks and the Lockwood,
have fun,

[andy17]

No luck at all with the Lockwood, but I've only picked one lock so far (not counting the office drawer), so that's not surprising. The Peterson Government 20 set looks lovely. I can see that it would be very easy to spend a lot of money on this hobby, even though you might end up only using a couple of picks 90 per cent of the time. But I think my first purchase will be an "ultimate challenge" practice lock from learnlockpicking.com.

Decpetion, we get all kinds of locks down here because people import from Europe, the States, and Asia – or at least that's what Peterson say as to why they put together their Kiwi set. But I'm not experienced enough yet to recognise the different types.

[tadpole_93]

wow that is exactly what i was looking for...
thank you so much
i cant tell you how long i have been looking for something like that,
my home brew repinable locks leave a bit to desire.

thanks mate!

[andy17]

No problem. I searched here for comments on it and people seemed to think it was a pretty good buy. Postage to me is about US$18, so it should be about the same to you, and it looks to be a better option than buying a heap of second-hand locks here to practice on.

If you get one, I reckon you should get the "ultimate challenge practice" version rather than the "ultimate practice" one. It comes with a sixth pin stack and a bunch of security keys for only US$5 more.

Andy17

[tadpole_93]

yeah defiantly,
you know you have picked the same locks to many times when you can remember the order that the pins set for each lock in your collection,
to me this thing looks like an awesome substitute for a large number of locks.

thanks again for all of your help and enjoy the sport!

[NinjaLlama]

I just ordered an Ultimate Challenge Lock. I will post an update once I have tried it out.

[raimundo]

@ andy, deception is wrong about the bogota pair, it can be used for spp. thats why a single peak is included.
the reputation as a rake comes from the very effective triple peak rake that is paired with the rake.

there is a lot of wrong information about this type of pick that is usually coming from people who simply don't have any experience with using them.

There are also champion lockpickers who do use them and they can give you correct info. schuyler, NKT, some others come to mind,

Jon King has a review of them at theamazingking.com I believe is his site.

a lot of people have opinions formed from little experience.

[andy17]

Thaks for the extra info, Raimundo. I've also PMed you.

NinjaLlama, let me know what you think of the practice lock. I was all set to order one, till I found out the shipping to New Zealand was $25 and the $18 he originally quoted me was, he said, "unfortunately low". Unless some kind soul is prepared to onship one to me for actual postage, that's just too much postage for me to risk of an unknown quantity.

Andy17