THE official Product Review Thread.

[UWSDWF]

guys - is this thread alive? where can I read about product reviews? after getting pretty horrible tools that literally broke in my hands - i'm looking for tools that will last - but as cheap as possible....
i'd thank you for pointing me in the right direction - cheers

SouthOrd is what you're looking for then

[waterman]

guys - is this thread alive? where can I read about product reviews? after getting pretty horrible tools that literally broke in my hands - i'm looking for tools that will last - but as cheap as possible....
i'd thank you for pointing me in the right direction - cheers

I would personally tools from Southern Specialities. I have bought the Slide Six, Jackknife from there. I did not write a review, but if I had, it would not differ from the one previously posted.

Southern Specialties has quality tools for good/decent price.

[jmac875]

I picked up the following:
South Ord- MPXS-20 -
http://www.lockpicks.com/index.asp?Page ... ID=25&HS=1
South Ord- JPXS- 6F -
http://www.lockpicks.com/index.asp?Page ... &ProdID=20
A circular tension tool ( I needed one to work on the automatic key bump project)
http://www.lockpicks.com/index.asp?Page ... &ProdID=59
Last but not least a cheap plug spinner. --
http://www.lockpicks.com/index.asp?Page ... ProdID=115

The first thing I popped open was the jack knife set. I have to say I am impressed with the feel and functionality of this set. I expected for it to be clumsy and difficult to pick with, but it turns out that I was doing better with the snake rake on this then the one in my MPXS-20 set. It fits nicely in my hand, and with it on my key ring now, I have a pick set with me all of the time.
Next was the MPXS-20, I liked the variety of picks with this set, although I would have preferred different depth single rakes, instead of all 3 rakes having the same curve on the tip. The case is beautiful and can hold all of the picks it came with as well as my plug spinner (A5-PGS). The selection of tension wrenches is great. I was able to tensor locks varying from a small gun lock pad lock to a Kwickset.
The circular tension wrench I probably could have done without. When I tried using it on some of the cylinders I got from work, it would not fit. I was able to get it to fit the Kwickset, but I did not like the feel. I guess I am just used to the old fashion wrenches. But I plan on playing with it, I am positive once I get a feel for it I will prefer it over the standard wrench. I just wish the tension rods were adjustable.

Well, the only thing that i want and do not yet have is a set of raimundo's picks, witch will be remedied soon.


I had this review posted elseware, and thought it might be red more here.

[RangerF150]

I ordered the "Falle Basic Pickset" from <a href="http://www.safeventures.com/">Safe Ventures</a>


Their site is not the most impressive i've seen, but I'm there to buy a pick set not view a fancy site.
A trick I use when using an online shop for the first time is to send them an email asking a question or two, and see how long it takes them to get back to me and judge the quality of the answer. Mail was sent on Sunday evening and got a reply at 8:45 AM on Monday morning. They passed !!!
They don' t have an online ordering system ( at this time ) so I sent them an email with all my postal details etc, and called on the phone to give my credit card details ( you don't put CC details in an email!!).
Quick and painless the order was complete on Monday lunch time.
The set arrived on Friday morning in a jiffy bag

The kit is held in a roll with velcro, looks pretty good and works.
The kit itself is pretty awesome, it's called a "Basic" Pickset ? This is a misrepresentation of the word "basic", this is not a "basic" set!
A "basic" pickset is a five piece Southord or some such set, this is an "advanced" pickset.
Perhaps it's basic in the Falle scheme of things, but in comparison to other pick sets this is not basic.
The deep curve picks are nice and work really well, the more standard pick types included also work really well. The tension tools come in two main types.
The "normal" type L strip tension tool, both straight and twisted, and the "Fixed and Adjustable" type of tension tool "unique to Falle".
An interesting design and worth a look.
All the picks have really well proportioned handles and sit in the hand very well.
I would be comparing them with Southord Picksets which are much smaller.

Some cleaning is required to remove burrs, I used a fine oilstone with light machine oil.
Also included is a lever lock pick set. Four picks and one tension tool.
I however did not get the tension tool. D'oh!!!

I shot off an email this afternoon ( Sunday ) and a few minute's later got a reply to the effect " no problem, will send you one first thing Monday" that's good service.

I will take some shots of the kit and post them on my site and throw up a link here for members to view, as I note there are pretty much no good pictures of this kit on the net.

If your in the market for a really nice set of picks this is a good buy IMHO.
Cheap they are not, but if this is your bag then worth it!
And I would have to give full marks to Safe Ventures for service.[url][/url]

[ben_p]

Hi.. I received this set about 3-weeks ago. Since I am new to locksmithing, this is the first set I've ever had.

...

Book “EASY PICKINGS” is not bad if you don’t know anything. But if you are reading this review, then the book will probably be a waste of your time. A couple of illustrations and how locks work. Very basic.

..

Would I buy from this company again: YES, I’m ordering a few different tension wrenches to try out. Ordered on-line with no hassles.

John

Thanks for the review John. I too am just getting into picking and am looking for an inexpensive, not cheap, set of picks. I was considering the 5 piece set with the book but after your review I think I'm going to hit the outlet store on their site and pick up the 8 piece set for a bit more money.

[RangerF150]

Hopefully this will work
Some picks of the Falle-Safe Basic picking kit.


The above pick is of the whole kit!

The above is of the lever lock tools.

The above is selection of the picks included.

Lastly the above is a selection of the tension tools included.

[unbreakable]

Thanks a lot RangerF150

I just drooled all over my keyboard








Those look like some awesome picks, you're a lucky man!! Thanks for the review.

[scorpiac]

Just wanted to add another thumbs up!!! for the FPS -7 Folding Pocket Pickset. I Just received mine today and I love it, the loss of feed back (normally associated with jackknife sets) is extremely minimal. I have only only used SouthOrds with metal handles and my own homemades so far but I notice very little difference in feedback between these and the this jackknife set as it locks perfectly tight with absolutely no looseness or wiggle at all.

Phil.

[junior789]

hey guys im from the UK and was looking for a good UK site in which to order from here is were i found the link to devonlocks.com i ordered the "Eleven Piece Lock Pick Set With Metal Handles" i made payment by debit card and the southord set came through within two days of dispatch the item immaculate condition no burs and excellent case.

i personally recommend this site excellent range of tools

many thanks junior

[RangerF150]

Locks, Safes, and Security an International Police Reference. By Marc Tobias.
Second Edition.

I have not seen any real mention of this book here, just one passing reference to it. So I thought I'd post a quick review as I just got a copy

It's not cheap! $220 on Amazon, it is available for purchase from the authors own site, but he does not use a secure page for the transaction, so I chose Amazon instead. It was $8 for shipping to Ireland and took nearly two weeks.

It's in two volumes, hard backed with high quality finish. The paper used is also of high quality, and in total it's just over 1400 pages.

It's detailed, very detailed! I've only got up to chapter 5 so far, but for all the detail it's pretty readable.
You really do need to be into this to read it, a chapter on Metallurgy goes into the exact composition of all the metals used for locks and safes, this may not be of interest to everyone!
Their are many pages devoted to drill bits, with a pretty detailed analysis of how they work.
People buying this just for information on lockpicking and bypass methods will be skipping a lot of pages. And it may not be worth the asking price.

There is a lot of attention ( as the title suggests) to forensic examination of locks by law enforcement. Again not of interest to everyone.

I have skimmed the rest of the book, it's full of really good pictures, with lots of really interesting information, I will read it in full, only because I'm a nerd and love learning about pretty much anything.
The average hobby picker may not.
If your a nerdy type with some spare cash, you will love this book, it's really well put together and while expensive it's actually good value for money, you are given $220 worth of book. If you bought several normal sized hardback books they would quickly add up to the asking price.

It's something that you will have for a lifetime, and makes for an interesting coffee table book !!!!

[Miami-Locksmith]

thank you for your tips here - for a beginner such as I - these threads make a huge difference. I tried (due to your recommendations here) Southord products - they were exactly what i was looking for. Thank you!

[jmac875]

I just picked up a new Bump Key set from http://www.bump-j.com

This was a 15 key set:


It includes:
KW1, KW10, SC1, SC4, AR1, AR4, RU46, Y1, DE6, S6, WR4, WR5, WK2, M1, and BE2

The BE2 and the RU46 look a little rough, in that the vallies are not as rounded as the other keys. When i e-mailed the site, I received a response back in like 30 minutes on a sunday, they stated that those two keys need to use the pull back method, but the rest should be fine with the method of least movement. They also attached a PDF, my favorate, with some instructions and some lock theory, how they work.

I have only used 4 of the keys, the KW1, KW10, AR1, and SC1. All worked rather quickly, and with out much effort.

This site also seems to be a little cheaper and offers all of their keys individually.

I paid $25 for the 15 key set and $5 shipping.

The shipping was a little slow for priority mail, but it did get there in 4 days.

Overall the product I received was well packaged, zip tied, and bubble envelope, and so far I have not had any problems with the keys.

I hope I provided enough information, PM me or post here again if you have more questions.

Thanks,

[Mr. Glass]

I ordered the "Falle Basic Pickset"...I will take some shots of the kit and post them on my site and throw up a link here for members to view, as I note there are pretty much no good pictures of this kit on the net.

Hi, just wanted to let everyone know that Matt Blaze has some excellent Falle-Safe pick and tension wrench photos in hi-res on his site.

http://crypto.com/photos/misc/picks/

[SmokieD]

Advanced Lock Picking Secrets
by Steven Hampton

Table of contents
Introduction-1
Making the tools-5
Magnetic Locks-25
Disc Tumbler and Puzzle Locks-33
Engergizing your hands-37
Tips for Success-41

In total this 43 pages of text book costs around 15 dollars new, there are only a few things that are worthwile (if that), and everything else can be found on this site.
The Making the tools chapter just explains different pick ideas that he helped develope, and other things of general knowledge to a lock picking, such as "how to make picks with a cutoff wheel", feather touch tension wrench how to make it homemade, small diamond pick for spool pin padlocks, and a pick for a angular Medeco. The only interesting thing I would say that is inthis chapter is his Universal Dragon tension wrench which can fit in Large Rim Cylinders, Ace Rim cylinders, Gem rim cylinders, Double Wafer, pin and tumblers, and auto locks, although I would take the auto lock part with a grain of salt.
The magnetic lock chapter just tells you how magnetic locks work and theory of how a pick would work inside one. This chapter contains electrical diagrams, so if you arent able to read them youi well be mostly lost in this chapter.
The Disc Tumbler and Puzzle Locks chapter just tells you how to manipulate them to open them. Push button puzzle lock part is kinda interesting, while the sesame lock part is to brief, and incoherrant.

This book isnt worth more than 5 dollars, and it doesnt teach any secrets about the actual skill of lock picking. The title to this book is misleading, you think your getting something else, while the finished product does have a few interesting things, you do come away with a feeling you just wasted your money.

All in all a 3 out of 10. for the misleading title and poorly put together, while it does have a couple good things in it. Steven hampton does have a few decent books out there, this isnt one of them.

[totsie]

I have bought the southord mpxs-20 from lockpicks.com. It took 7 days to get to me ( 5 business days).[/img]http://www.lockpicks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=25[img]The%20kit%20came%20with%20alot%20of%20good%20stuff%20but%20the%20metal%20seems%20so%20flimsy.I%20have%20been%20using%20my%20own%20homemade%20picks%20made%20from%20kitchen%20knives%20so%20maybe%20im%20use%20to%20that%20hard%20steel.%20I%20got%20alot%20of%20stuff%20to%20learn%20with%20so%20im%20happy%20with%20it%20overall.The%20set%20came%20in%20a%20manilla%20envelope%20and%20was%20wrapped%20in%20plastic.%20I%20have%20a%20few%20more%20questions%20but%20I%20will%20find%20the%20appropriate%20forum%20for%20those.[/img]