My homebuilt Falles

[maintenanceguy]

I’ve been thinking about the Falle Safe long curve picks since I first heard of Falle Safe here a couple of months ago. From the looks of the picks, I figured they would just be too big to fit in most keyways and would be pretty useless. But this guy Falle, seems to be well respected so maybe he had something I was missing.

So I’ve been wondering if these picks were all hype or actually any good. But, I wasn’t about to spend $280 US for a set of picks to find out. So last week I made some copies of his picks. All I had to work from was photos from Matt Blaze’s Crypto site.



These, of course, aren’t exactly like the originals. I don’t know what metal are used in the Falle’s or how thick they are. I made mine from a port-a-band band saw blade which is a tiny bit more “springy” than most of the picks I own and .020” thick. My picks surely aren’t as smooth as the originals but I think I got the shape pretty close. I figure they’re probably close enough to see if they’re all hype or not.

I’ve only had them for a few days but I’m already impressed and surprised. I haven’t found much use for the #5 and #6 which are the most aggressive curves but #’s 1 thru 4 have been great. They fit in most keyways okay and the feed back is impressive. By prying these things against the bottom of the keyway, you have a lot more control than you can get with a regular hook and you can really feel what’s happening with each pin.

I’ve been playing with a Master 911 with spool pins for awhile and I can finally really feel what I’m doing. I’ve been able to open the 911 with only 3 pins pretty consistently but it’s just become 10x easier and that’s all because of the excellent feedback I get from these picks.

So, I give the Falle’s a surprising A+…even my crappy copies of the real thing.

The only down side I can see is that, being double ended, they don’ fit in with the rest of my picks, I’ll have to find another place to store these.
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[vrocco]

Wow! I think those look really good. Nice job.

Has anyone had any experience with the Falle replicas that lockpicktools sells?

I don't have the skills you do to make my own.

[freakparade3]

Those look great!! I have the replicas from Lockpicktools, I never use them anymore. I just can't get a feel for them.

[blake1803]

Has anyone had any experience with the Falle replicas that lockpicktools sells?

They're great for what they are, but personally I've found that they have limited application; they're one of the sets of tools I reach for only when more conventional methods fail me.

[Gordon Airporte]

Nice job - even got the numbers
I'm a fan of the sweep or deep-curve picks too, as are several others on the board. It seems unlikely, but they work for all but the nastiest keyings where you have a really high setting pin behind a really low setting pin.
They really shine for setting spools - you have total control.
Mine are DIY too and I've continued to refine them as I use them - smoothing them out, thinning them down, rounding the edges. The real picks have very, very narrow blades (not the thickness of the steel but the depth of the curve) which could get delicate, so mine are all a hair wide. It hasn't been a problem.

[dmux]

nice, still glad i bought them though, saved me odles of time

[Eyes_Only]

I have both sets of the replicas from lockpicktools and I'm considering on taking them out of my pick set cos they never get used anymore. It's just there for show.

I agree with freakparade, they are kind of difficult to get the feel for. I did manage to pop one medeco with one of these tools but other than that it gets reserved for deep cut access use on locks that need them until I can afford the Petersons DCAP.

And props to maintenenceguy, when I first saw them I thought they were the replicas they sell online that just got sanded. Great work.

[raimundo]

at full depth in the keyway, the fulcrum is the center of the curve somewhere near the front of the keyway, as you work the pins closer to the front of the keyway, the fulcrum point is that part of the curve that still remains in the keyway at the point where the pickshaft emerges from the keyway,

it is these closer to the front pins, where you start to lose the fulcrum that yo can use the deepest curves on.

personally, I would design a curve weighted to picking high pins behind deep pins in the back of the lock, this would put more of the curve toward the tip of the pick.

[Eyes_Only]

Southern Specialties makes a second Falle clone set that does exactly that. But it's kinda hard to get the tool in the lock sometimes.

[Charlie511]

Very nice work, i like them.

[maintenanceguy]

....personally, I would design a curve weighted to picking high pins behind deep pins in the back of the lock, this would put more of the curve toward the tip of the pick.

I think they call that a hook

[digital_blue]

Those look great! I'd probably want to polish them up a bit more. If you have a polishing wheel and some polishing compound those puppies will be like little mirrors when you're done. I use the small polishing wheels for a Dremel.

I figure if you're not leaving finger prints on your picks, they're not polished enough.

db

[maintenanceguy]

Those look great! I'd probably want to polish them up a bit more. If you have a polishing wheel and some polishing compound those puppies will be like little mirrors when you're done. I use the small polishing wheels for a Dremel.

I figure if you're not leaving finger prints on your picks, they're not polished enough.

db

You sound like my wife. She believes in form over function. always cloggin up the house with decorative stuff that's in the way. I'm more of a function over form kind of guy. I imagine they'll stay just the way they are. Besides, I've never seen anything I liked in a mirror.

[ObiWonShinobi]

How many hours of cutting and sanding?

[digital_blue]

You sound like my wife. She believes in form over function. always cloggin up the house with decorative stuff that's in the way. I'm more of a function over form kind of guy. I imagine they'll stay just the way they are. Besides, I've never seen anything I liked in a mirror.

I think you got the wrong idea there... I also believe that form follows function. However... I also know that your tools will *function* much better when they're polished to a mirrored shine.

db