peterson pick sets

[lockmeister]

Hi all, thinking about buying peterson pick sets, any comments on them please. any views much appreciated

[spyeyes007]

I love my petersons, I have the Just picks with Rubber Handles stored in their Tri-Fold Case, very nice feel, I LOVE the grips, people say it hurts picking but for me it doesnt. You will not be let down.

[lockjaw]

Hi all, thinking about buying peterson pick sets, any comments on them please. any views much appreciated

I have the G4, DCAP and a separate set of 'Slender Gems'. They are well made, the materials are first class and the plasticized grips are comfortable.

What is special about Peterson picks is the 'Government Steel', it's a remarkably strong and durable steel that is also yielding.

You will probably need the DCAP set if you are going to pick cylinders with restrictive keyways. The Slender Gems are slender only in terms of thickness, they are very flat but the stems are a full cut.

Peterson have an interesting range of tension wrenches. They have sets with serrated edges, a rigid lever type tension tool and a DIY kit which is comprised of strips of 'Government Steel' and a tool for bending the metal to the desired shape.

I haven't used the DIY tension tool set nor the lever (it's too thick for Australian keyways). I have used the serrated tools but I find them useful only where I need to apply the tension on the top (pin side) of the keyway. I don't find the serrated tools comfortable to use, they are very slender and fiddly.

The G4 has tools for Adams-Rite latches which are uncommon in Australia but as a hobbyist I'm interested in the technology so I don't really care about commercial relevance. There are also bypass tools for various North American locks.

The leather rolll-up case of the G4 is well-made and I plan to buy an empty case to replace two of my existing zip cases.

I haven't regretted buying anything from Peterson.

[Deathadder]

and a DIY kit which is comprised of strips of 'Government Steel' and a tool for bending the metal to the desired shape.

Lol, I think I need a couple of those

[dosman]

Pft, I love generic names like "Government steel". It's just a stronger alloy, any stamping manufacturer can provide stronger alloys than what are used by most pick makers.

[lockjaw]

Pft, I love generic names like "Government steel". It's just a stronger alloy, any stamping manufacturer can provide stronger alloys than what are used by most pick makers.

It's not a generic name it's a branding of a proprietary stainless steel which is unique to Peterson and which has been demonstrated over many years of field use to be very well suited to pick manufacture.

"Thanks to the high purity of the basic materials we use, and a precision controlled heat treatment process, lock pick steel from Peterson has the right combination of hardness and flexibility for the job. This superior working strength offers you higher resistance to breakage and in-line bending than you have ever experienced. We vibratory polish the picks to immediately provide you a smooth broken-in action. Each pick then receives a black oxide finish and a light oil coating." (http://www.peterson-international.com/i ... lpicks.htm)

It's not merely a matter of getting a "stronger alloy". It's the balance between hardness, strength and flexibility that makes a good pick. A stronger alloy alone will not necessarily make for good pick making material.

[IC-Johnny]

About 2 weeks ago I got a set of Peterson's from the site sponsor. They are very nice. I escpecially like the wallet that comes with them. The picks themselves have really nice rubberized handles.

As far as the "bend it your self" tension tools that accompany the kits, well you need to be carefull with that "government steel" it is VERY easy to break, particularly if you attempt a 90 degree bend with the provided bending tools.

The "government steel" is a bit thicker than the normal spring steel picks i.e. HPC, so they are a bit tough getting into some of the more restrictive keyways that I work with. The Peterson "slender jem" is the answer to that problem, but I wish they would have put the same style flat rubberized handle on the slender gem. They seem to prefer to use the more spongy cellular grips on those picks.

All in all, I would give them a 9 out of 10! I really like the feel of them. I go for them first, but sometimes I find myself going back to the old HPC's more frequently than I expected.

[MudSlinger]

If anyone has had a chance o test out the peterson car plug-spinner, could you let me know how it handles. I sort of want to buy one but i dont know if its worth it.

Also yes I would order the "just Picks " rubber handles there a great extr set if nothing else, And i think the peterson reach is just about the best pick I've ever used.

muds

[raimundo]

found one of those antenna that screw off the top of a folding cellphone, i stripped the plastic cover off the thin part of it, just the right length for a pick, the steel is interesting, it was very hard to cold bend a hook tip, so I heated, (i never heat until i try cold bending first) the temper of this metal is interesting, very flexy yet very hard and difficult to make a bend set. I would really like to know a lot more about this type of steel, the diameter is just about right for makeing a hook pick for those keymark locks.