My first homemade pick set

[femurat]

This is my new hook. This time I tried to leave more material on the shaft.
I started with my wet-grinder to make the gross work, then i filed a little with hand files.
I smoothed all the sharping edges with sandpaper. Then the final touch, the abrasive-gum rubber to polish the surface.

This hook is very easy to move in the keyhole. It gives a good feedback, in fact I opened for the first time a lock in less than two minutes!

Thanks for all your suggestions

[femurat]

I tried to summarize all your tips and suggestions and this is my brand new half diamond.
I was not sure about it's shape but even if it's not slim as my other picks it works very well!
Despite the poor photo quality the pick is smooth and shining, I sanded it properly.

I'm satisfied with my pick shape, now it's time to work on the handles...

Thank you all and see you soon

[raimundo]

the recent hook and half diamond picks are great improvements over the earlier stuff, experience will do that
Refering to the earlier pieces, you should avoid having the pickshaft narrow at any point, either keep both sides parallel or make it so the shaft is slightly tapered from the root to the tip.
and forget about heat treating them, unless you find that they are too soft.
you would find this by using them and finding them bending when gently used,
Anyone can bend any pick if they are heavy handed.

Your improvement is obvious, in the photos, it should also be obvious in the functionality of the tools

Good work

[femurat]

the recent hook and half diamond picks are great improvements over the earlier stuff, experience will do that
Refering to the earlier pieces, you should avoid having the pickshaft narrow at any point, either keep both sides parallel or make it so the shaft is slightly tapered from the root to the tip.
and forget about heat treating them, unless you find that they are too soft.
you would find this by using them and finding them bending when gently used,
Anyone can bend any pick if they are heavy handed.

Your improvement is obvious, in the photos, it should also be obvious in the functionality of the tools

Good work

Thanks raimundo, I'm happy you noticed my improvements!

At the beginning I tried to make the shaft thinner to allow easier movements in the keyhole, but I exaggerated. The pick was too elastic to give a good feedback. So I made the new ones with a bigger shaft, as ady1989 suggested. My last two picks are much better than the earlier ones: they give much more feedback.
I've never bent a pick, I just broke one cause I made a wrong heath treatment. Now I use a wet grinder to avoid heating the pick while grinding. This eliminates any need of heat treatment.

Cheers