Just sanding and sanding away

[Moosekace]

So i recently jumped back into lp1o1 after having been way busy with school and such lately. The more I look into it the more I hear about sanding your picks and getting them nice and polished. Well i've given in and am polishing my first pick. It's not home made its one of my pro-lok picks that i've had forever but I think it's about time i took off those corners. Wish me luck.

[Eyes_Only]

I think the Pro-Lok picks are essentially the same as the SO picks so it should work out ok. Are you going to sand in steps from like starting with 300 or 400 grit and finish off with something like 1000 or 2000 grit?

[Moosekace]

Like a goof i just grabbed a piece of plumbers emery cloth while i was at work and started scratchin' away. I ended up using wet and dry sand paper of these grits. 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400, and 600. Then I grabbed my dremel and tried to buff it out with a cotton wheel and some Brasso. It got to the point where it has a decent reflection on it but still has some very shallow scratches. Because i went through so many of the coarser grits i ended up losing a bit of thickness too. I polished my short hook because (just like i say every other time I come back after an absence) I'm gonna work on my s.p.p. a lot more. I did put it in a lock last night when i was done and it did feel really smooth.

[PickYourPins]

I know that polishing your picks makes them looks nice, but ultimately it doesn't help your picking skills, and if done too severely - as appears to be the case here - it can seriously weaken your picks. I'd certainly advise that great care be taken when polishing slimline picks.

In the military, we used to work on ways of blackening picks to completely prevent reflection, trying to find methods that were not detrimental to the effectiveness of the tools.

Take care of your picks. Don't worry too much about how they look; How well they pick is far more important.



Hope I helped,

Jack

[loki-aka]

Yes, polishing picks is largely cosmetic and for ones' personal gratification. But in the case of SEVERLY rough finished
picks, moderate to fine sanding has practical benefits; 1) a tools' rough edges and surfaces can cause undure wear to the lock components. 2) rough tool surfaces tend to "drag" and cause spurious vibrations that interfere with tacticle feedback.

Of course over-polishing is not good either. After all, polishing is, defacto, a metal removal process, albiet in fine amounts.

[nostromo]

Smooth probably doesn't help much for SPP, but I can feel a signficant difference when raking. Since the pick isn't catching or abrading on the pins, more energy seems to transfer and they're 'bouncier'. Especially with acute angled profiles like the camelback or bogota.

Perhaps Raimundo will weigh in here?

[LocksmithArmy]

sanding makes moving in the lock easier... its got a bit more that asthetics going for it... less scraping means less false feedback as well as more accurate feedback. also as the pick slides through the warding instead of grinding up aginst it, it makes for, wait for it... better feedback...

sanding handles is asthetic... but the pick itself needs to be as sanded and polished as possible

[Moosekace]

Right on fellas! I Have been picking with it and it feels less sticky and more... ummm... feedbacky? Even if it makes no functional difference the idea that it would will help your picking makes a difference me thinks. I do believe it helps in actual operation but it still gives a confidence boost/ placebo effect when you pull it out and it winks at you as you put it in the lock.