Making royalty - King and Queen Picks

[Romstar]

I have been asked a lot about the king and queen picks, so while I was making a set I thought I would take the time to snap a few pictures and put them here. There will be a few posts because I am taking breaks between the stages.

This particular set is in stainless steel, and will be finished with sealed cork handles.

Here is the first step.


Romstar

[Title edited by MBI for clarity and ease of finding it with the search tool.]

[lockpickroy]

Would you consider selling some?

[timal]

That is too cool !

[Romstar]

Bear in mind that those picks are not polished yet. Thats the next step before preping for the handles.

Romstar

[Romstar]

Okay, so here is first stage polishing, getting ready for the handles. Sorry about the glare, I am in the shop and I just don't have the lighting to get a really good image here.



There will be one more polishing run before they are done.

[Peter Martin]

Where did you get the stainless steel stock?

I've made some picks from Japanese steak knives purchased for a few cents my local Goodwill or thrift stores. I was thinking of actually buying some thinner stainless steel stock from a supplier, but it really goes against my nature not to recycle old stuff.

The problem with using old steak knives for pick stock is the handle holes--and trying to thin the pick uniformly to around .020".

[Romstar]

Peter,

This particular stock is Starrett .020" x 1/2" x 12" feeler gage stock. Its actually kinda expensive ranging in price from $1.50 - $1.90 per piece and they are sold in boxes of 12.

I think there is a post elsewhere on here showing the boxes and the stock.

The next pictures are the second polishing before the handles are bonded to the picks. The trick here is that you can't have them too perfect otherwise the bonding agent has nothing to grab onto. So, they are close to mirrors but not quite.




This is a close up of the tips of the picks.



If you look closely, you can actually see my hand and the camera reflected in the picks.

The next set of shots will show the raw cork handles bonded to the picks before they are sealed.

Romstar

[Exodus5000]

Hey Romstar, I know you posted a while back about king and queen picks, and the fact that you're making a new set piqued my interest. What types of locks do these picks work particularly well on?

[pip]

great pics, Romstar

maybe you or someone could describe
the figure 8 motion that is supposed to be used with these picks

[dmux]

those are nice, man you guys have some good craftsmanship, i just dont have the time or patience, but im sure i could make some sweet picks

but are those like the new bogota, nice rakes

[Krypos]

sweet job rom. i wish i had the tools to do that kind of work. maybe after christmas....

how well do k/q rakes work? never used em.

[Romstar]

Hey Romstar, I know you posted a while back about king and queen picks, and the fact that you're making a new set piqued my interest. What types of locks do these picks work particularly well on?

Sorry, I missed this the first time around.

The king and queen were originally developed for use on Yale locks, so they work best with similar designs. However I have had them work just fine in many locks, including Kwikset, Wiser, Schlage, Yale, Sarget, and many others with slightly open keyways.

The more restricted the keyway, the more difficult it is to insert these picks. Although a little manouvering can get you some decent results.

I am developing an entirely new set of picks based on this for use with a wider variety of locks. It should consist of about 6-8 picks, and will of course have the King and Queen.

Romstar

[Romstar]

Okay, a little preface. This set is done, but I have to figure out what happened to the final pictures. I know they are on the other computer somewhere, but I can't find them. I guess I have to ask the wife where they are.

So, here are three pictures covering the next steps in making these picks.

The next step is bonding the raw cork blanks to the picks.


After they are securely bonded (this stuff is amazing, I have to use a razor blade to peel them) they are shaped.


After shaping they have to be prepped for sealing. This opens the surface for the sealant and makes them look much nicer.


After this they are sealed, and then final polished. Those pictures will be coming up as soon as I can find them.

I hope you have enjoyed this so far.
Romstar

[unbreakable]

nice Rom!

Where do you get the cork, and what do you seal them with?

They look superb

[Romstar]

nice Rom!

Where do you get the cork, and what do you seal them with?

They look superb

Thanks for the compliments.

The cork is pretty basic stuff. Standard 3/32 cork sheeting. Available at Walmart, Central or Kent, just about any craft and hobby shop and even most sewing stores will have it. The catch is the bonding material and I am not telling what that is. This stuff is like a cross between epoxy and krazy glue but really bonds to steel and doesn't suffer from the torsional stress issues that krazy glue does.

The coating is a special clear polymer mix that seals the material and makes it water proof. Its a flexible non-tacky formula that wears incredibly well. I might try dying the next set of handles just to see how the cork takes to dye and if it reacts with the coating.

Romstar