THE official Product Review Thread.

[Afisch]

This is more of a retailer review than a product review (couldnt find a page for that) but i bought a nine peice SouthOrd set from Devonlocks.co.uk and the service was good. Here within 2 days and got sent a "product dispatched" Email within a day, i thought this fast. They are more expensive than other sites on most items, especialy the sites from the states but i was happy. The "FREE guide to lockpicking" ofered is only the MIT guide found on this forum however. Id recomend this site to anyone wanting a quick delivery to the UK. Ill review my pickset as soon as i get the oppertunity to use them extensively =D.

[davou]

Another Store review as opposed to product.

I called UPS today to find out what I should expect duty/tax wise from my order (lockpicks.com) and was informed that the all packages worth less than 6 dollars are exempt from border tax... I thought it was a mistake, because the set I ordered cost upwards of 50.

I quickly called Lockpicks.com and asked them whether or not I was shipped the wrong product... Turns out that as a 'favor' to Canadian citizens they list orders to canada as costing less than (insert minimum taxable customs cost here.) so as to avoid having their clients double the cost of the product in taxation.

I personally appreciate not having to pay the 20+ dollars when the item arrives, but am a little concerned about the practice of down-pricing shipments... If it was damaged by ups, they would surely cover the cost listed only... Would lockpicks.com then leave you to hang? If ups finds out about their business practices, will the no longer ship for that company? I know nothing about tax fraud, so I wont go into it... So judge for yourself.

Like I said, I can vouch for their prompt and friendly service and quick dispatch... But I'm not sure what to say about their listing products cheaper than they actually are.

[totsie]

The first set I bought was the southord mpxs-20. Great set and very durable. The new pick is the 8 pin tubular pick. It was shipped the same day I bought it from lockpickshop.com and I recieved it two days later. I have never recieved anything online that fast.It was shipped in its own box within another box,for protection I guess. I have picked anything with it yet but im getting there.Great pick and I reccomend southord for all of your picks and other stuff.

[DDoyle]

I am having some trouble trying to order from the "SHOP" link at the top of the page.

for some reason it wont let me pass stage 2 of the ordering, could it be because i'm in the UK? can anyone help?

[Puzzlebox]

Currently I only own Southord's JPXS-6F and a modified bobby pin for the smaller locks. It's working great so far.
There's currently a sale going on so I figure I'll take advantage while it lasts until December 23 I think...

I'm looking to get:
SouthOrd
9 piece slim-line set (C801) *I liked the review, ty illusion*
Double Ended Euro Tension Tool (Slim Line Series) (TW-23)
and
Warded Pick Set (WP-10)


I'll wait for either 5 responses or the last day of the sale (suggestions mainly) before I actually buy them.

My overall focus is padlocks; I'm just a hobbyist that can pick mid-security and below locks... high security here I come (^_^).

[sfinktah]

I bought this identical kit in Vegas, and I didn't have any rough edges. Was in 2000, maybe production quality has changed.

I am useless with them however, 4 pins max. I opened a bar fridge once. When I lock myself out of my own house, I just use a power drill.

I've had professional locksmiths show me how to use my gear, and I still can't manage it.

I wasn't good at sport as a kid either.

The SouthOrd 9 piece slim-line set (Model number: C801)

I purchased this set of picks when I first began picking, and was attracted by the cheap price.

The set includes the following:
1 'S' rake - good for raking pin locks.
1 'Saw-toothed' rake - useful for jiggling, rocking or standard raking.
1 Ball pick - great for wafer locks.
1 Deforest pick - a mixture of a hook and a half-ball pick.
1 Half-diamond pick - great for pin cylinder locks.
1 Standard hook pick - great for a wide variety of pin cylinders.
1 Slender hook pick - good for locks with heavy keyways that impede the standard hook.
1 Twist-flex tension wrench - great wrench that allows a bit of leniency to a beginner's heavy tension.
1 Tapered tension wrench - Covers a wide range of locks, but due to the shaft being straight it applies the exact ammount of tension you apply - a blessing and a curse.

The quality of the tools is great when compared to the price, and my main critique is the rough edges that can be found on them. The round edges are caused in the manufacturing process when they are stamped out of sheet metal.
The best solution is to buy some wet&dry sandpaper, or emery cloth from any hardware shop, and use this to remove the sharp edges (burrs). Get a bowl of water, and add a small amount of washing-up liquid to it, drench the sandpaper, and begin to smooth out the eges of the picks, and the handles if they are causing irritation.
To test if they are smooth run them across your fingernail, if they mark your fingernail they are still rough. Work from a coarse grade of sandpaper down to an increasingly finer grade untill they are as smooth as possible.

Overall I consider these picks to be perfect for a beginner, and due to their cheap cost will not cause regret if picking doesn't turn out to be your thing. I would advise people to buy this rather than the 5 piece set because the tiny price raise gives you 3 extra picks to play with.

The picks come in a leather snap-over case that holds them all securely in place. The case may require some maintanance if the stitching becomes unpicked - the irony is not wasted.

Value for money rating: 10/10
Quality rating: 6/10

Where to buy them: Online stores sell these, and feel free to browse for the best price. For UK members: http://www.devonlocks.co.uk For international members: http://www.lockpickshop.com and http://www.lockpicks.com.

My thoughts: A great value set of picks that is perfect for beginners, and offers a great price. Bear in mind with these that you get what you pay for, and the need to de-burr the edges is an example.

Hope this helps you all.

Ben

*edited for typos per op's request: Varjeal*

[lokedin]

Hello,

i bought my pick set form airpistol.co.uk. I found the sight a little cluttered but the picks wernt too hard to find. I bought the 14 piece Southord set for about £20 (sorry it has been a while since i bought them and never got round to this post).

the delivery took a little longer then i expected, i even called them one day to find out where they were. they were helpfull and told me the date they had posted them out. the picks arrived the same day i called them but because i was at work i did nt know they had arrived when i called them. the packaging was just a padded envelope with the picks in the case.

seeing as these were the first picks i had bought i was not sure what to expect so i would say that they are good and now i have got used to them.

i hope this helps others.

lokedin

[shanedean]

Has anyone bought anything from this site recently or is it a 'dead' site?

[freakparade3]

The site is very much alive, this thread is pretty dead.

[J-Hood]

Hey I got a "Ken's Set" from Peterson and it is pretty sweet!! I forgot it at work today but I have been using it every night since I got it and it is a nice set. One piece of the set was missing (extractor) and it took one call and it is on its way!!!

Jason

[lokedin]

Has anyone bought anything from this site recently or is it a 'dead' site?

i bought my lockpicks from airpistol and like i said the only problem was it seemd to take a bit loknger then expected to get them but you can always call them to chase it up.

[shanedean]

Has anyone bought anything from this site recently or is it a 'dead' site?

i bought my lockpicks from airpistol and like i said the only problem was it seemd to take a bit loknger then expected to get them but you can always call them to chase it up.

How do I contact them? There are no contact details on the site and when I try to order it tells me that there is no active payment system.

[lokedin]

hmmm...they seem to have changed the site since i was there. when i used it they used to accept bank transfer, cheques and paypal. i think they may have stopped as the regulations hanged and they could not send the air pistols throught the post (and as you can tell this is their major business).

luckily i still have the parent companys name and contact details. they are:
Bull Group Ltd
Unit D Henfield Business Park Shoreham Road
Henfield Sussex UK BN5 9SL

tel: 0870 7707520.

i have had to call them before (but like i said the site has changed and so i dont know if it has all changed since i used it)

i hope this helps.

lokedin

[paul pablo]

I am adding to this thread as I am unhappy with a company Dealextreme, The item I orded Was a dimple bump gun ,it arrived one month after the time stated on there site, It did not work as it should and from ten key profiles only one, would fit anything I can get in spain (Most used) The one profile that did fit was for a tessa, when trying to get the the gun to work (5,6,or 7 attempts ) At the dealextreme setting, IT bent the pins and the gun was stuck in a new lock Tessa as you know is not a cheep one, I have ,Emailed / 7/8 times,Phoned hongkong, and faxed, this is all since the begining of december,I was given a customer number, But nothing since,The gun was $79+ ,And its not just the money its the lack of after sales help, It dont work, its no good in this country, and I also found it at half price on another site, Dealextreme have a price promise but no comment on that too,If you are thinking of using Dealextreme first look at there forum (Feedback ) I know of others who have had a complant removed,check it out its a big list of unhappy people,
Regards
Paulpablo

[nostromo]

paul pablo-

Who did you find that is cheaper than dealextreme?