which is for what?

[Stevo420]

I'm pretty new to lockpicking. I've experimented with homemade tools and have been able to pick four pins so far, and have tried five, but am not up there yet. I was thinking about buying actual tools, but don't know which tool is used for what.



I know that the 3rd, 4th, and 5th tools are a rake, a pick, and a tension wrench. But the other two I have no clue. Help would be appreciated.

[Stevo420]

I'm gonna clarify that I used Digital Blue's picking guide to get up to four pins. Very awesome guide by the way.

[Krypos]

ok in the picture you have (from left to right)

ball pick. used almost exclusively for wafer locks.

short hook. one of the most used picks. this is where you will start, using it to single pin pick.

snake rake. used to rake open locks. stay away from this until basic techniques have been acquired.

small diamond. used to rake and/or single pin pick.

twist flex tension wrench. used to apply tension to the plug.

[Stevo420]

Seems I didn't know as much as I thought I did. This REALLY helps. Thanks man.

[SFGOON]

Krypos nailed that one in a few sentences. If I were you I'd use that book for personal cleansing then mail it back to the publisher for all the good it did.

I take it you won't be reccomending it

[Stevo420]

Will do. I'm not sure if I'm even getting that set, just used it as an example.

[Krypos]

well, depending on where you are in the world (fill out your profile) you may need slimline picks, these are for european locks and some restrictive keyways in the US. im in the US, so i got a 14 pc regular set from southord and added on 2 slimlines for any restrictive keyways i come across. this is working great for me, i have 12 picks and 4 tension wrenches, its awesome.

search around before buying and ask someone in the know if what you are thinking is a good buy. and dont forget we get like 10% off if you enter lp101 into the discount thing on lockpickshop.com.

thanks sfgoon. makes me feel cool to do that.

[Stevo420]

I'm in the US. I was looking at a few things on the Southern specialties website. My first question is are twisted wrenches better than non-twisted? And do you guys think this set is cool? I'm not getting a cheapo set. I want these babies to last. You guys can make some suggestions to if you want...(hint hint) *cough*

[SFGOON]

Oh okay! I'm sorry, I assumed you had the set already. I was thinking "what a crap booklet that must be if he reads it and doesn't even know what tools came with it!"

I'm so stupid!

[Krypos]

i gotta jet for work real soon, but when i get back in around 4 or 5 hours ill post and maybe even pm if i find time. dont buy anything til then if ya can wait.

[Stevo420]

Will do Krypos. I can wait. And sfgoon, that's cool. Come to think of it your idea of what to do with the booklet is probably exactly what I would've done if that were the case. Or just flushed it altogether.

[Krypos]

what that one is is this:

(left to right)

S rake.
half ball.
half diamond.
short hook.
ball.
snake rake.
broken key extractor.
twist flex tension wrench.
twist flex tension wrench.
double sided tension wrench.

i have heard good things about southern specialties, i myself have south ordnance. they were once one but split into two. i dont know if southern specialties makes slimlines, but it would be my own reccomendation of any person to add in like a halfdiamond and a short hook in slimline picks to any order they get. thats what i did, and so i had mostly regs, but a couple slims, so i have them for any restrictive keyways i come across.

thats what i would do (and did).

the set looks good for a beginner set though. although you'll find that you will probably only use the half diamond, the hook and the snake. maybe the S rake. and maybe the half ball. so fairly usefull.

[Stevo420]

Cool. I'll check out Southern Ordinance. See if they have anything better. And thanks for the suggestions. I'll try and add some slimline picks in there. Now off for some more websearching. Bleh.