Peterson, HPC or Southord...your thoughts please.

[xtman]

Hey everybody,

I was looking at Peterson, HPC and Southord pick sets and would like your thoughts on the pros and cons of each company and their pick sets both in general and on spacific sets that youve used. I was looking for a good quality set but dont want to purchase from all three companies to find out which one would be best so I thougth Id ask for some help in purchasing a set. I have a Southord 14 set and was planning on giving them away to a friend who is interested in lockpicking and ordering another one. Any info and help you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and see you on the other side of the door!

[SFGOON]

I did exactly that - I gave my 14 piece southord to my brother when I got my Petersons. I love them, they are excellent.

[xtman]

SFGOON

thanks for the reply, which set did you end up purchasing?

Thanks,

xtman

[devildog]

HPC and Petersons are both excellent and both beat the southords hands down. I prefer Peterson, definately, but HPC is very good quality as well. Definately check out http://www.lockpicks.com for Peterson or HPC, if you're not already.

[Varjeal]

Of the three choices you have given, I personally find HPC's to be the best for me. I do like the Peterson handles, but since their picks rust in my kit, I've actually gone and sold them off.

Picks from any of the makers you've mentioned will do you well, though, and Southord is likely the least expensive with Petersons being the most.

[xtman]

Thanks everybody for your responses, very helpful indeed!

Varjeal...do you know why they rusted in your kit? Would it be the climate, or just from use or the materials they are made from? thanks for the locks I ordered from your site, they arrived quickly and are fantastic to learn on. I highly recommended ordering from varjeal.com, especially for those living in Canada.

Thanks all,

xtman

[Varjeal]

Well..since I keep a variety of tools in the same kit, I'd have to say material. Especially as I kinda like some of the shapes for the petersons and used them previously at nearly every opportunity. Thanks for the kind words. Hopefully we'll be back up soon.

[xtman]

Thanks Varjeal for your reply,

Sorry about that, I didnt know you were down but hope you will be back up soon. Which pick set did you have from Peterson, if you dont mind my asking. They have so many different sets Im not sure which one would be a good one to purchase for overall lock picking etc. Also, where did you order them from since you live in Canada, do you remember if the boarder shipping was much?

Thanks for your time, its greatly appreciated.

xtman

[Bud Wiser]

I have Southord, HPC, and Peterson. BTW Peterson is 45 minutes from me but they do not have a walk in service yet

Any way I started with Southord, not bad but I didn't know I could get a HPC set for the same price! They are good picks, but for the money, you might as well get HPC!

Next I got HPC, they are really very good! Some one on another thread referred them as mediocore. IMHO they are much better then mediocore and better then Southord.

Next I got the Master's Edition of Peterson and have added several more tensions and picks to this set. It is hands down the best of what I have here!

But each has their strengths. I like Southords tensions! And HPC is most certainly a worthy contender!

I have all the tensions of Peterson. My favorite is their Three Serrated Tension Tools! I use the middle one pictured here the most!
http://www.peterson-international.com/tensiontools.htm

I'm not crazy about their flat five, but that could just be me! I know others love them.

My favorite tension by HPC is the small double sided rigid! It makes popping the R70 a breeze!

I recently started making my own picks too. Gotta say although I could never make pick tools near the same quality as store bought, it's really a lot more fun making your own and then opening locks with your home brew!

But if I was starting over, I'd go straight with the Peterson Masters (M-2)
http://www.peterson-international.com/p ... led.htm#E4
and the 3 tension set I mentioned.

If that's a bit pricy go for what you can fit in your budget, but I love the Textured Grip handles the best!

[Varjeal]

Not sure what model the set was, but they had blue rubberized handles and black shafts and tips. The rusting occured along the shaft portions oddly enough. The set included the "gem reach" tool I believe.