Buying Picks Seperate

[xbadboi]

Which 4 of these should i buy to cover the basic locks like kwikset and other simple locks. And also which tension wrench.

[xbadboi]

http://www.lockpicks.com/index.asp?Page ... tegory=233

theres the site

[stick]

What an original question!

[Dent]

Lol....

1 Short Hook Pick
1 Thin Tension Wrench
1 Regular Tension Wrench
1 Twist Tension Wrench

Since tension's are cheap, you might want to get a "slimline short hook pick" also.

[master in training]

i'd have said
1 small half diamond
1 small hook
1 thin tension wrench
1 regular tension wrench

its ok telling someone to just buy a hook or 2, but people's tastes vary, they may find out they prefer a 1/2 diamond, or something else entirely. theres nothing worse than being put off something because you only get a limited view of it.

[vantito]

is there really a prefernce or difference of buying a simline over a standard?

[master in training]

it depends really.

slim-lines were created for European and Japanese locks, they have much tighter keyways than US locks, meaning that standard picks were hard to fit in, so they made slim line picks which are thinner and therefore easier to use in these locks.

they are obviously slightly weaker than normal picks, because they're thinner, so if you're heavy handed, you may find yourself breaking one or two.

being in the US, you might be fine with normal picks, unless you plan on picking locks with difficult keyways.

[vantito]

the only things ill proly ever be dealing with is a schlage so i guess i will go with standards

[master in training]

i've never seen a schlage, so i would know, but i think its a US lock, so the normal picks should be fine. im in the UK and own normal picks and they open most things, i make buy a slim line hook and half diamond, but thats only to try them out really.

[xbadboi]

so i dont need the ball pick? and i should have two tension wrenches?

[xbadboi]

...also, what about the rake?

[master in training]

im not really sure why you have to have only 4, not 5 etc, but im sure you have your reasons, so i'll go with it.

basically a hook and 1/2 diamond are pobably the most used tools in lock picking, especially when you're learning how to pick, so i would recommend getting 1 of each, probably getting a smaller one and a larger, for example, a small 1/2 diamond and a long hook, the 2 tension wrenches are because if you have say, a door lock and a padock, 1 tension wrench wont fit them both. the larger tension wrench wont fit in the padlock and the smaller will slip around in the door lock. you can easily make your own, which means you could buy just 4 picks and make your tension wrenches if you wanted to, all it takes is a couple of the shiny metal things from inside wiper blades, something to cut them with like pliers and something to bend them with, again, pliers.

as for a rake, it is more personal choice really, most people on the forum will say you should learn to pick pin by pin before you rake, it will improve your skills much more than just learning to rake. if you really want a rake, a would say you should look at what locks you will be opening more of and get the tension wrench more likely to be better suited to that. then you can always make a few of your own tension wrenches later on, or buy some more.

[master in training]

sorry, forgot to mention the ball

the ball and double ball (or snowman, or whatever other name it has for it!) are a different type of wrench, the majority of people will say that it is a lot less useful than other picks, it gives less feedback etc. personally, i've never used mine, but im still starting out as well, which probably explains it! if you want to get a rake, i would recommend a C rake, or snake rake, whatever they're called, they basically have a smooth flowing series of curves on the pick head, like a flattened sideways S. i would advise against the W rake/saw tooth rakes, they are a bit hearder to learn with and can sort of ruin locks in you're not careful, some of them are quite sharp!

[vector40]

And you can rake with a diamond/hook, as well.

[digital_blue]

Ball picks work nicely on cheap wafer locks. Of course, on cheap wafer locks a toothpick, q-tip, or even a stern look will open them nicely too.

db