Peterson Government Elite 1: Just purchased

[Brianpojo56]

I agree completely about the government steel. I've got a peterson kit that came with the deep access picks and a few of the slender gems, if the deep accesses were made out of spring steel they would snap incredibly easy because of the reduced shank thickness and the slender gems are just about paper thin (they bend very very easily but spring back). Also, I am lead to understand that any of the standard picks made from their government steel have a lifetime warranty for breaking and bending. All in all, kudos on the peterson kit, i think they are awesome.

[mkultra23]

I have these picks as my main set. If there is a problem with these picks it is that they are definitely to thick to use in a truly paracentric keyway. I also believe the thickness of the steel is what is causing the percieved lack of feedback from the pins but once you are experienced in using them they do work quite well. The handles are a real help and allow you to pick for longer as you dont have sharp edges to chew up your hand. But I do wish they had something between the thickness of the "govt." picks and their "slender gem" picks which are to thin for locks which require greater pressure on the pick.

[mkultra23]

IAlso, I am lead to understand that any of the standard picks made from their government steel have a lifetime warranty for breaking and bending.

Peterson makes good tools but they charge too much in my oppinion. The lifetime warranty replacement plan allows you to buy a new Govt. pick for half price (these pick are $15ea) if you "mangle" them during "normal" use. I love the quality of there products but Peterson can really rip you off with their gimmicks. They sell an IC drill jig for like $150 dollars (a tool which is completely unnecessaty to drill the core's control shear!!! I like these picks but I don't think they are neccesarily worth an extra $100 for so called government steel. But I'm a sucker. Next time I'll probably just get the "city lites" or "ken's pickset" which both look nice but are more reasonable.

[mkultra23]

sorry for the 3 in a row but I just wanted to add that the laser serrated broken key extractor is the best key extractor I have ever encountered. Even If you hate their picks do yourself a favor and get one of the laser serrated extractors; they are unrivaled in my opinion.

[Brianpojo56]

Very Very true, it cost 75 bucks for my peterson set (MBA had em on closeout so I got the purple set 'cause they were the only ones left :P). Price doesn't bother me too much because my employer pays for my tools and I work for a college. So as long as I'm in my budget I just whip out the ol' P Card. However I bought my Slender Gems for 32 dollars before I started at the college and although I was pleased with the product, the price made them sound a lot better than they are.

[mkultra23]

Those purple handles picks are really nice. It's a shame that they discontinued them. If they hadn't that would have been my next set as they were a great deal (for Peterson) and very cool looking as well. Instead I think I'm gonna have to go ahead get a pick for a popular Israeli lock brand I sell. I won't mention the name here. That or some 13 song'.[/i]

[Brianpojo56]

I still see the same purple set I have advertised in some of the catalogues, just not in purple. They've got them in green, blue, and red and I think a few other colors.