Dental picks?

[Nox]

Ok, so I came across these dental picks....http://www.defensedevices.com/dental-pick-set-steel.html

(man, I hope that link works...I have no idea how to make them...)

And I was wondering how practical these would be for picking locks (instead of teeth). I was thinking they'd probably work well for smaller keyways...But, hey, you all are the experts, so enlighten me with your opinions, lol.

Thanks in advance. : )

[assweasel]

I've tried using these for making picks and while they can be used they dont really make very good picks.

I would just as soon use a hacksaw blade as opposed to these.

[Eyes_Only]

I don't know why they placed these in the lockpick category but these are not lockpicks at all. Who ever runs this site must not know much about lockpicking to begin with. There are actual pick tools made to look like these dental picks (I think HPC makes them) that Mark Tobias speaks highly of in LSS but whats sold on that site and whats mentioned of in LSS is not the same thing.

[Nox]

The drawback that I can think of right now would be their extremely narrow tips...It seems like they would slip alot, right?

And, maybe them not being able to fit in the keyway (I mean, vertically. It seems that the tools have alot of drop to them in the hook)....I hope you know what I'm talking about. Don't know how to describe it otherwise.

[raimundo]

If theres a metalurgist on this site, heres your chance to jump right in here and tell us what those dental picks are made of, and whats that very hard and yet flexible wire in a cellphone pullup antenna? then you can go over to the thread about making picks from riffler files and get two good posts out of it that will count toward getting into the topsecret section

[Nox]

If theres a metalurgist on this site, heres your chance to jump right in here and tell us what those dental picks are made of, and whats that very hard and yet flexible wire in a cellphone pullup antenna? then you can go over to the thread about making picks from riffler files and get two good posts out of it that will count toward getting into the topsecret section

Ehh...What?

[Eyes_Only]

lol. My thoughts exactly.

[Anero]

lol all Rai is saying is there have been new odd materials being used for picks the metal is questionable.

i know we had a knife maker join a while back(forget his screenname) but he said he knew a bit a metalurgy(sp?) tempering ect.

[SlingsVaqueros]

I own one of these dental pick sets and I tried adapting them for use as lockpicks. It did not go well. The picks with the dramatic arcs are too deep in the curve to fit into most locks. The pick that is mostly straight, except for an almost 90 degree bend at the end, looked like it could be used as a hook, but the steel wire is too thick for most locks and the won't fit down the keyways because of the millings on the sides. I use them for moving around small parts in conjunction with a good set of tweezers while repinning locks or cleaning tiny parts of any small devices. The steel used is also very rigid and brittle.

I clipped off the end of one of the probes and instead of cutting it off, it shattered off. I got the desired result, but I would hate to think of the brittle nature of these devices breaking off inside a lock. The only part of the pick I thought I would use was the nice handles, but then I saw an X-acto knife set with the same handle and interchangable heads that could be filed into pick heads...

[Eyes_Only]

Here's the link to the real dental pick set from HPC, http://hpcworld.com/Picks/p_ndpx.htm

[RangerF150]

If theres a metalurgist on this site, heres your chance to jump right in here and tell us what those dental picks are made of, and whats that very hard and yet flexible wire in a cellphone pullup antenna? then you can go over to the thread about making picks from riffler files and get two good posts out of it that will count toward getting into the topsecret section

The dental picks are made of stainless steel, it says so on the site
The antenna on a cell phone is a metallic substance mixed with plastic, in newer types. Older ones just used plastic coated wire.
I've not seen a cell phone with an external antenna in a long long time, that was back in the days of black and white radio

[Eyes_Only]

Was this before snail mail?

[machinist]

I'm almost positive they are 100% stainless or high carbon stainless.

I get the feeling they'd be the bees knees for dimple locks but, thats just a feeling no experience behind it.

[Eyes_Only]

I bet they would work well for dimple locks if it were made of such hardy material. Most all of my picks flexes too much when I try to pick my KABA's.