I know there are all kinds of threads about raimundo's bogata picks around, and probably more threads about people showing off their homemade versions.
Well, this is one more of those threads.
Earlier this week, I ordered a set from raimundo. Yesterday, I got confirmation that they are on their way. As soon as I heard that, it was pretty much all I could think about, and couldn't wait until next week for them to show up. My only solution was to try my hand at making my own, so I could play with them until the "real" ones show up.
I have to say, that even with my feeble attempt, the basic concept seems to be a good one. I was able to open 3 locks with very little effort. But the "dumb luck" comes in with a Master #3 I have. Granted, it's a pretty easy lock to pick in the first place, but I was really amazed at the way this pick opened it. I'm sure it's just blind coincidence that my spacing happened to line up really well with the pin heights, but all I had to do was apply light tension and insert the pick at the top of the keyway. Simply sliding it in clear to the back and "Click!"
I couldn't believe my eyes, so I did it again, and again, and again, and then again this morning.
Here's a photo (i hope), I'm using tinypic.com and this is my first photo posting. If it doesn't work, just copy the URL and go visit the site.
[img]http://i17.tinypic.com/33actac.jpg[/img]
There are obviously a few problems with it. For one, the two "humps" aren't symmetrical, and could use a bit more shaping. Second, I used a pretty narrow wiper blade, and it really doesn't have much depth to the peaks and valleys.
Still, not bad for a first try. I just used images from this site as templates. Since I had no way to print them out, I had to view them at actual size and then periodically hold the wiper blades up to my laptop screen to get a general match. Not an ideal way to do it, that's for sure!
With the moderate success I've had with these, I can't wait to see what can be done with the "real ones". Even the single peak one works quite well, which is amazing, since I've had zero luck using a half diamond pick.
Oh well, this post isn't exactly "earth shattering". I just wanted to post and say that raimundo's design really is quite good...even when you don't do it "just right".
Besides...I wanted to get this posted before my new picks show up, so it didn't look like I was just copying the ones I ordered from raimundo.
And I wanted to say "Thank you, sir, for a very good design!"
Brad
