Homemade picks for sale. your imput?

[justbegginin]

if i was to go out and buy a bench grinder and make some picks, not the hacksaw ones covered in heat wrap but really nice wooden handled ones. would any of you buy them?

[barbarian]

Probably some people would. You are up against some difficult competition.

There are members here that can make some wonderful picks. Would yours be as good as theirs ? Would yours be a bit cheaper ? What would make someone choose yours instead of others.

Best thing would be to make some, and then take some pictures and see if there is any interest. If not, then at least you have some nice picks for yourself.

[justbegginin]

how much do others charge

[Squelchtone]

if i was to go out and buy a bench grinder and make some picks, not the hacksaw ones covered in heat wrap but really nice wooden handled ones. would any of you buy them?

not without pics.

and everyone charges different prices from $20 for a set to $50 per pick.

LN21
Ratyoke
Legion303
Kaotic
and a few other guys come to mind.

[Olson Burry]

I was going to say roughly the same thing as squelchy.

There are members here who have truly turned pick making in to an art.

I dont think seeing the quality of their workmanship should dishearten you though, some of these people have specialist tools and knowledge from such vocations as jewellery.

I would frame some of the picks made by members here and never use them.

There isn't really any reason that these picks would work better than anything you could produce, it's just the way they look.

There are going to be beginners and lock sports people needing picks all the time and if you can offer something comparable to what you'd get via lockpick shop you might be in with a chance, it's not going to make you a shed load of dosh though.

Perhaps there are also going to be people on the job who need quality picks that they don't mind having a go with in a rusty old lock that might make them cringe at sticking a peterson in or something.

Without some examples of your work though, it would be hard to say which market area you should aim for.

Looking forward to some pics! Have fun.

O

[Squelchtone]

omg god, I forgot to mention Raimundo and his hand crafted Bogota rakes. which are my personal favorites even though I have a $200 dollars worth of Peterson and HPC picks.

<3 my Bogotas.

Squelchtone

[roxylass]

tooly mcgee also .

[raimundo]

Go ahead and start making them, put up photos and we'll give you tips on things like sanding etc, while you go ahead and make your own designs. Most of the designing is about fancy handles, but lately there is some interest in making small picks, someone showed an interesting short little pick in a falle long curve design, and the handle was interestingly ergonomic. You may have to make a few picks till you find your niche in the designs. look at Ratyoke and Tooly Mcgees threads, I think they are in the 'lockpicks, manual' section. And there is a large thread called homemade picks. No doubt there are interesting designs and tips on making them there. Don't let Kaotics picks discourage you, I could teach you to make those in just a day, the real trick is to put your mind into the working, not to be in a hurry to get done, but just be involved in that part of the process that is happening now.
You should probably start by making picks for yourself, This is where you can do the experiments in design and learn about techniques in making them.
I doubt anyone is really making money on homemade picks, selling them is just a way of sharing them with people who appreciate them. The money sorts out the real aficionados.