Check out my first lockpick!!

[LilJo]

Heya yall, I just want you to check out my pick and let me some comment please thanks .

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z47/ ... CF0016.jpg

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z47/ ... CF0015.jpg

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z47/ ... CF0014.jpg

http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z47/ ... CF0013.jpg

Sorry for the bad pic!

[jamesphilhulk2]

well i clicked yes because seems that these are your first try at making lockpicks you dont a good job. BUT they still need some work like theneck of the picks are a bit "iffy" but other than those little 2 min touch-ups good job. and after the touch-ups give them a good sanding with various grit sandpapers.

[LilJo]

James, what do you mean by 'iffy'?

[Proctor]

1. iffy

Unreliable, uncertain or odd.

[LilJo]

ok well thx alot ill work on that!

[jamesphilhulk2]

what did u use to make the picks e.g bench grinder or a dremel?

[Dragunov-21]

On the subject of us newbies making picks, what's the minimum tang "height" you can file down to before you risk making your pick too weak?

[raimundo]

I have never tried to determine the minimum, shaft width, (tang means that part of a tool, knife, file, etc that is for mounting into a handle)

I do know that it is a matter of the type of metal you are using, and the style of picking you have.

if you are using brittle or soft metal and a heavy prying style, you better keep the pick shafts thicker. like southourd picks.

I make and sell the bogota pick by hand and the shafts are either thicker or thinner, if they come out of the process of handcutting with a thick shaft, I sell that to a beginner, if they are not thick, I reserve that for someone who has used my picks before, figuring that they know how to use it.

the best method of makeing a thin pick includes sanding the pick tip and shaft til its round on the edges, this will help a great deal inside thin keyways, and of course, use harder metal but not brittle, if you are makeing picks for the first time, stay away from any ideas about tempering the metal, experiment with that after mastering the pickmaking basics.
I find that some street sweeper bristle is of ideal temper for the job, and while makeing picks, The first step is the bend and twist which is also the test of the temper of the metal, if it developes a crack even a minute one, I throw that metal away. If you are in a quiet place when you bend the metal, you can hear the crack happen. then you know its there, and can usually find it on the outer radius of the bend, it may appear to be small, but it represents the failure of the metal and you need to find new metal before adding any more work. It matters how close the two pliers are when bending or twisting, if they are too close, you will tear the metal in half. If you have had a failure/fracture, you may be able to still use metal from that stock if you make your bends and twists less acute.

[jzorn1]

I just bought a new pic set from lockpicks.com for $19.95. I can't waste my time for that little bit of money. They take paypal to.

[th3anvil]

I can't waste my time for that little bit of money.

Those of us who like to do it ourselves get great satisfaction from building something. It can't be considered a waste of our time, because we are doing something we like to do.

I agree that for a few bucks you can get a very usable lock pick set from Southern Ordinances or another dealer. However, buying a commercial set is nothing compared to making your own. The quality of some homebrews can even rival commercial sets! (Check out Kaotik and LN21's picks).

When engaging in ANY do it yourself project, the outcome is proportional to the amount of time and energy put into it. Ask any custom pick maker in this forum whether or not they feel they are wasting their time. I bet almost all of them believe that their elbow grease is well worth the outcome. I sure do.

[raimundo]

I havent bought a commercial pick since the 1970's unless it was something very special, I can make picks that are better in every way than the commercial picks. When you do it yourself, you can create something unique, and better. HEY EXODUS, this guys also from the bottom of the lake, maybe you can straighten him out

[Dragunov-21]

@jzorn

Even though half my picks end up getting turfed, I still enjoy making them.

There's satisfaction from it, I guess it just depends what you enjoy about picking.

[raimundo]

OOPS, its n2oah who is from the fond of the lake, not exodus, my bad

[Kaotik]

I can't waste my time for that little bit of money.

Sounds great to me, i'll just put your user name down next to the other candidates I have on a list to mark-up an extra 20% on my flat rate because you would rather spend the extra cash.

Seriously though, would you consider picking a lock a waste of time? Because I get more satisfaction out of spending time creating/making something than the seconds it takes me to pick an lock.

Yes picking a lock is one thing and making something is another but they both bring satsfaction to each individual, but IMO having someone be interested in my tools and using them makes an everlasting impression on them that lasts much longer than telling someone you can pick a lock.

Please don't take what I have said the wrong way, but you made it sound as if your time is more precious than anyone elses.

[poppasmurfenfold]

the safe width for homebrew picks is three times the the thickness of the pick (a normal hacksaw blades safe width is like 3mm)