Do you polish your new picks?

by **REparsed** » 2 Dec 2006 1:47

I've got into the habit of smoothing out all my new commercial picks, starting with 320 grit paper and working my way up to 600 or 800 grit. I can drag a fingernail along the narrow sides of a new pick and feel tiny ridges, almost like a file. That can't be good for a lock.

In the picture are two of the same model pick, one polished the other not:

by **LockNewbie21** » 2 Dec 2006 1:59

Mr. Ray gave me some advise onthis a while ago.

Take a small files you can buy a pack for say well 1.50 i payed.

And jsut gently file the ends, but not to much. Then use sand paper of the bottoms and for a comercial you should just need 1200 grit emory paper with a spray of silicon lube on the paper.

Use the same spot on the paper as it will polish really well when the paper starts breaking down.

P.s I saw you Royal picks, they were excellent mate very fine worksmanship

by **lunchb0x** » 2 Dec 2006 2:26

why would you do this? every time you do this it puts more wear on them which will thin them out

by **Romstar** » 2 Dec 2006 2:46

lunchb0x wrote:why would you do this? every time you do this it puts more wear on them which will thin them out

So you don't chew up the insides of a lock.

So the pick doesn't hang in the lock, and knock a pin out of place.

Most locks are made of brass. The steel is far harder than the brass. The likelihood of wearing out a pick is slim to none. You are far more likely to break the pick if you are rough with it, or it hangs up in the lock.

Considering that most comercial picks are .025 to .020 inch thick, the wear imposed by sanding and polishing a pick is negligible. Every Peterson's .015 inch slender gem can use a little polishing.

Romstar

by **cL4y** » 2 Dec 2006 3:41

guess you just need to be careful with your picks.

by **stilte** » 2 Dec 2006 3:54

Does anyone know if there's another name for emory paper? Is it like ordinary sand paper? And by 1200 grit, do you mean P1200?

by **REparsed** » 2 Dec 2006 8:20

Crocus cloth? That's the super fine stuff.

by **Romstar** » 2 Dec 2006 9:36

Emery cloth is emery cloth. Its called that because it uses particles of emery rather than standard sand, or aluminum oxide, silicon carbine or other abrasives.

It is extremely effective in sanding hard materials, and makes a great starting point for other types of sanding papers.

I do believe that P1200 is the same as 1200 grit. Bear in mind that different abrasives have different characteristics. Generally though, they all perform the same function.

Almost everything I use is automotive, and I find the results to be excellent.

Romstar

by **TheMikeMan** » 2 Dec 2006 13:33

My persona way of finishing starts out with 400 grit, then on to 600 grit, then so on up to 1200 grit, then its time for the jewlers rouge! I take my time and do things right, but the finish is so glassy and it gets ruined really fast with use. Oh well.

by **lunchb0x** » 2 Dec 2006 21:01

Romstar wrote:
lunchb0x wrote:why would you do this? every time you do this it puts more wear on them which will thin them out

So you don't chew up the insides of a lock.

So the pick doesn't hang in the lock, and knock a pin out of place.

Most locks are made of brass. The steel is far harder than the brass. The likelihood of wearing out a pick is slim to none. You are far more likely to break the pick if you are rough with it, or it hangs up in the lock.

Considering that most comercial picks are .025 to .020 inch thick, the wear imposed by sanding and polishing a pick is negligible. Every Peterson's .015 inch slender gem can use a little polishing.

Romstar

on something as small as a pick it will not be roughf enough to cause any damage to a lock from picking it so i dont see the point for
smothening it out
or though for the hobbiest picker that picks the same lock every day it probably would make a differance
i use my picks nearly every day at work and do not see how polishing my pick would make the slightest differance, but maybe it does on the type of lockss you have over their or in other countries.
please dont take this as an attack, im not saying its stupid to do this but as a locksmith by trade i find it pointless

by **melvin2001** » 2 Dec 2006 21:12

well im not a locksmith, but whenever i buy a new set of picks i first sand them down and give them a nice polish. i have never really been worried about damage... for me its about the feel. i like how a hook slides over the pins better when it is polished. and yes micro serrations will cause a lock to wear down faster, but as you have said thats of little importance if you pick the lock once... over a period of time though that lock will be worn more.

by **dmux** » 2 Dec 2006 21:37

just wondered, what brand of picks are those pictured on the first post??

and I have polished a few, I dont use sand paper i use a fine sharpening stone to polish the burrs off

by **Romstar** » 2 Dec 2006 23:03

In the years that I have been doing lockouts, I think I have only ever drilled four locks for residences, and not many more than that for comerical and those were things like Medeco.

It is an important thing, even if you are only picking the lock once. The stirations left on the pick from the stamping process leave a small wire edge that grabs in the keyway. Sometimes, the defect is at the tip, and it can grab a pin.

There is nothing more frustrating than picking a lock, almost having it, and then the pick jumps or grabs and some of the pins become unset.

I assure you that if you take the time to stone, or sand or even go the whole way and polish your picks, you will see a difference in the feedback, and your picking performance.

Romstar

by **lunchb0x** » 3 Dec 2006 0:11

i will give it a try on monday and i will see if i can notice a differance

by **Schuyler** » 3 Dec 2006 0:34

Honestly, I was shocked by how smoothly LN21's picks moved through my locks, much nicer than the commercial picks I own, because they were beautifully hand polished.

Do you polish your new picks?

Do you polish your new picks?

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