can picks break?

[Kaotik]

Aren't wafers more likely to break then pins?

I'm still wondering how the heck we went from discussing about breaking/broken picks to to how breakable pins and wafers are.

[csthomas]

Absolutly my s-rake broke last week.

[StabbyJoe]

factors that can cause a pick to break usually have to do with a single weak point... if the pick was exposed to heat it can affect the temper... if one point is thinner than the rest, it can have more wear there and over time it can break... not only heavy handed newbies break them! I haven't broken one, but I do know it happens to eveyone... but if it is a well made pick in an experienced hand, it will take a lot of wear before it does break.

[Archive555]

I bent my most used pick (from southord, its a short hook) when I was trying to pick a padlock that had an obviously far too small keyway . When I aplied tension to the wrench, it crammed the pick into the side of the lock, in which upon removal, the head was bent around 15-20 degrees

[Auswahl]

I had a cheap rake break inside a lock.

It was so bad, with a little jiggling it fell right out

[jpb06080]

I've broken picks many times. Its really only happened to me on jobs though. Well kept locks won't stress your rakes the same way as most locks on the average home.

[ToolyMcgee]

I have broken more than my share of rakes, and especially falle style hooks. Take your time with making picks. They last alot longer, work better, and look so much nicer. Then abuse the poorly made ones until they break so they don't become an eyesore in your case.

[wolfie]

so far i've only broken one pick, was my first hacksaw pick and rather pissporely made *shrug* didn't help i was starting out on that brinks lock with spools in it XD but live n learn, now i got a semi rake/short hook pic and a regular hook that i've made, both work quite well in the three padlocks and two kwikset doorknobs and deadbolt i've thrown at them =) just be gentle and only use enough pressure to hear that sweet lil click sound and yer golden.

[prag]

Just a short while ago I broke a HPC pick. I think I was frustrated with the job. It was a broken key in a Union/Yale lock. There wasn't much room for the picks to do its work. We eventually got the broken out key out with a bit of lubrication and a bit of tapping on the lock. What a great feeling when something happens correctly after you struggled for a while with it.




This is the lock with the broken key. The key in the lock is the broken one and the one on the top is the new key that works. The Shackle was also bent, which could have contributed to the key breaking in the first place.


Need to get some extractor picks. Great thread. Atleast I'm not the only one breaking picks. Also good to know that other people like me continue to use their picks for other lockie jobs.

[hixen976]

The best pick availabe out the is the heavy duty S hook and I been only able to find them at clarks security, think there .025 or .030

[datagram]

The best pick availabe out the is the heavy duty S hook and I been only able to find them at clarks security, think there .025 or .030

Thickness isn't really the best gauge of best pick worth. Overall you'd prefer something that is made with stronger steel so you can make it thinner. With thinner picks you can move around alot more inside a lock, but of course the pick material needs to be stronger to last about as long.

That being said most commerical picks are "good enough." I've made a few of my own with high-carbon spring steel that are definitely stronger and can be made slightly thinner than my commercial set, but in the end it is what you are most comfortable with.

dg

[kg4boj]

Some locksmiths (in my workplace even) sometimes use a very agressive raking technique that can damage and eventually break picks, for some locks this is alright and picks are pretty cheap.... I have broken a pick or two I think, I broke one using it as a probe to depress a stubborn retainer on some crusty old lock, the tip (of the snake rake) broke off... I think also I was in our shop and trying to rake a lock (schlage ) for rekeying right as I inserted it into the lock, probobly from stress fatigue... broken picks do have their uses, and most good locksmiths have a "straight pick" for a few various uses in their pick set...

[wonderbread]

i broke my first set but thats because im a dumbass...lol.

and the way i got it out was by sucking on the lock hole lol

[mr_chris79]

ive broken a couple of picks and bent others but its cause im too heavy with the tension without realising ....need more practice.....

[shadow11612]

Broken picks are still just as useful, from a locksmith point of view...

Years ago I inherited a nice new HPC 50 piece pick set. Inside was a pick that looked like a half-diamond that was broken about an 1/8 inch from the tip. I asked around and found out that this one a standard pick included in the set and was a "you never know what may happen" pick. I have used it for some "knife" attacks on older padlocks.

So do not be in a hurry to get rid of a broken or damaged pick, it may turn out to be even more useful later.