SouthOrd Max High Yield lock picks

[HRPufnstuf]

Maybe Max High Yield refers to their profit on these picks, compared to less expensive ones.

[Eyes_Only]

Awesome first post.

[HRPufnstuf]

Thanks! And a sticky too!

I've been lurking on the outside of these forums for some time, having gotten bitten by the bug a year or so ago. Bought a "Quickpik" and played around with it, raked opened several Master padlocks and some similar ones. Also started working on door locks, but without nearly as much success. But I did get a reputation at my workplace as a somewhat successful lock picker when I opened a wafer lock on a cabinet in about 2 seconds. They thought I was a master, and I myself didn't realize how ridiculously easy it would be.

Then I lucked up, had a random encounter with a master locksmith at a security company. 40+ years of experience, and he's a third generation locksmith, so that really gave me a brain to pick. Picks, spinner, bypass tools, anything I'm interested in I get really cheap. I try to spend a little time with him every week or two, to discuss my progress, and learn more.

But my biggest gain has been his patience, and the access to his experience. At his suggestion, I put the snake rake away and have used NOTHING but a hook and a stiff tension wrench ever since, so as to get the real feel for setting each pin. Kwikset and other cheap locks: usually no problem. And I recently opened my first Schlage, much to my amazement and his enjoyment. So I'm getting there.

I don't consider myself good at this at all, but my mentor says I'm better than 90% of his "locksmiths." They pretty much just rake the daylights out of a lock to open it, or just go ahead and drill it, replace it, whatever.

Reading these posts, I wonder just how rough some of you guys are. I have yet to break a pick or tension wrench. Maybe I've got sturdier tools (HPC), or maybe I'm just not as violent with them, but so far, no damage to tools or locks. I've got a box of them that I work on, and when I get frustrated at the harder ones, I pick up one of the padlocks that I know is easy, and open it a few times. Matter of fact, the box, a mid sized Pelican case, was given to me with a lock on it and no key. I opened it in a couple of minutes, and now that's one of my practice locks.

[Lauren]

Nice post....you obviously put alot of feeling in what you wrote. Keep up the good work.

[zeke79]

Since I started picking back when I first joined the site I have broken one pick, a southord standard hook pick. Granted it was broken being used as a key extractor. I had bent the hook portion straight then sharpened it to a point with a file and added some serrations similar to a peterson extractor. I was using it to cram a large paper clip that had been straightened and then crammed into a camlock on a desk. The "key extractor" was being pulled and pried on hard enough to straighten a large sized bent paper clip. Of course the clip was removed and the wafers straightened so they didn't get stuck in the up position after putting the key in.

I can say that it in my opinion worth the extra cash to buy one of the peterson standard sized government steel picks to try out. You want the ones with the black rubber handles to try out. They are the strongest picks I have ever used and despite the rubber handles offer great feedback. The gov steel and rubber handles offer just as good feedback as the spring steel picks with the blue plastic handles. I wish they offered the gov steel picks with the blue plastic handles as the feedback from those picks would be simply awesome. I do know that the peterson gov steel picks cannot be cut like the spring steel picks during manufacturing. The result is a much much smoother pick surface where the cutting took place. If I recall correctly the gov steel picks simply cannot be punched out they are so hard. Again if I recall correctly they have to be made by wire EDM. That seems like what I remember Ken saying when we were discussing the picks. It may be worth giving him a call to see just how they are made. Definately put a bit of scratch together and pick up your favorite pick from them so you can give them a shot. I have always wanted to pick up a couple sets. One set I would keep as they arrived from the factory and the second set I would sit down and modify with a file to reduce shank size and put my favorite personal touches to them and put it all in a TriFold case.

I may have to see if I can put a few bucks together and buy a couple different hooks from southord so I can try these new picks of theirs. I have some of their original picks and I am just not sure it is possible to destroy them when being used for picking.

Hope everyone who is interested gives the peterson gov steel picks a try. I know I am one of those who really push peterson picks but they have always been my favorite picks. My only problem with them is here lately their prices have simply gone ridiculous. Ken has stated this is due to steel prices but I'll tell you this, 5 years ago I bought a tri fold set that had all of their picks in plastic handles and all of their picks in rubber handles along with a tri fold case (old style) and a set of u bend it wrenches and bending tool. This set cost me between $45 and $50. Then it seemed that around 1.5 years went by and these were phased out and the only set you could buy for the price of the old tri fold set was like the city lights kit. Their prices had simply went up in the neighborhood of 600% plus. Now I work in engineering with piping design, civil design, electrical design, and structural design so I am well aware of the rise in steel price as I had to track my budgeting for my jobs and outside of the highest price alloys such as Inconel and high chrome steels, steel prices were no where near 600% increase. In fact even the high chrome steel and inconel alloys were not close to a 600% increase in cost. To give an idea of costs, we had around 40' of 10" sch 40 inconel piping that reduced down to 8" for around a total of 20' of sch 40 pipe, and included two 90 degree long radius elbows, a single 10" std wt tee, 2-10" 300# flanges and 1-8" 300# flange and 1-10"X8" STD wt concentric reducer. So in all 60' of pipe, a reducer, two elbows, one tee, a couple 10" RF WN 300# flanges and a single RF WN 300# 8" flange. The cost in 2004 was in the ball park of $350,000 with a 6 month lead time for the piping to be made. The replacement I done in 2008 of the same piece was in the ball park of $480,000. So less than doubling in cost. That didn't include the cost of assembly but that wasn't too bad as there was only 10 welds off the top of my head. The type of welding used did require the piping itself to be nitrogen purged from the inside to prevent any bubling in the welds and ensured good root passes etc. Every weld was carefully X-rayed and checked carefully so alot of that was involved in the total cost. The point I am making is simply that there is no way that steel costs were the sole cause of his mind boggling rise in prices.

Kind of got off on a wierd tangent there but anyhow give the peterson government steel picks with the black rubber handles a shot. I'll give one of the southord Max picks a shot and let you know a comparison between it and the peterson gov steel picks.

Have a good one guys,

-Zeke79-

[parkourer]

Hey,

So this might only be my perspective (or for that matter, lack of skill ). My friend recently a Southord Max Yield hook Pick. I have the regular Southord hook pick. His pick is said to be better, yet it is thinner than mine, which does not seem to work well. We could pick many locks with my regular one, but his doesn't seem to be working. The thinness seems to not work with the locks. Is it just our skill, or has anyone else encountered this problem??
I will be posting stock photos and not my own because I am too lazy to take a picture of them (Sorry )
My friend's Max Pick:

My Regular Pick


Thanks

[parkourer]

Don't the thinness of the picks, especially in the hooks affect anything? I couldn't pick a No. 3 for the life of me with a Max Yield hook pick!!

[Squelchtone]

Don't the thinness of the picks, especially in the hooks affect anything? I couldn't pick a No. 3 for the life of me with a Max Yield hook pick!!

it is not the picks. you are still new at this and.. you probably suck just like we all did when we were starting out. dont blame the picks when lack of skill is enough or a reason.

[GWiens2001]

Met a guy who claimed his out-of-the-box HK rifle was inaccurate. He was shooting at a 5 gallon barrel at about 100 meters - and missing. He was flinching, closing his aiming eye, jerking the trigger, and breaking just about every rule of accurate shooting. And he was blaming the rifle.

I asked to see it, and hit two golf balls in two shots with the iron sites at 100 meters (I love reactive targets). He still would not believe that it was him that was inaccurate, not the rifle.

The moral of the story - as Squelchtone suggests, blame your lack of experience before you blame the picks.

Gordon

[parkourer]

it is not the picks. you are still new at this and.. you probably suck just like we all did when we were starting out. dont blame the picks when lack of skill is enough or a reason.

The moral of the story - as Squelchtone suggests, blame your lack of experience before you blame the picks.
Gordon

I know, i still have lot to learn about picking, the thing is, i really don't get why im not having trouble with my regular, not thin pick.I was just wondering if that max pick is used in a different way than the regular hook pick because it is way skinnier, plus it is a little bendy. Have you guys had any experience with them? If so, how was it like?

[spandexwarrior]

My 2 cents... The regular Southord hook has a wide and flat tip so you can get right on the pin with it pretty easy. The 07 and 08 MAX hooks have thinner shanks and smaller, more round tips and would be harder to place on the tip of a pin precisely. The MAX picks also probably don't 'lever' off the bottom of the keyway or the warding quite as well as the standard one due to the thickness of the shank. This is fine for some locks but you'll find some keyways where the standard profile is very hard to maneuver because of this.

-Brian

[KPick]

Thanks for that SpandexWarrior. I was thinking about buying a set of M.Y. Southord picks.

BTW I got the pins you sent me! Gracias!

[smokingman]

I got a couple of MAX Yield Picks and they seem to be about the same type of steel as the Petersons Gov
Steel.
To me though, the plastic handles of the MAX Yield picks are just too thick and too long.
Like using a crowbar and they take up too much room in smaller cases, like the sparrows tuxedo case.
They do not offer the MAX picks with slim metal handles, the ad that I saw showed them with the metal but was incorrect.
When they arrived I could see no difference between them and the regular tools.
So I contacted customer service and discovered that they had sent the regular tools instead of the MAX Yield
and they replaced them with the proper set with the plastic handles.
So if you order them make sure that you get the plastic handles , as these do not come with metal handles.
Also the .031 set is too thick and will not fit in all keyways, the .023 set is good though.
In all I like the Petersons Gov Steel tools better, but that is just my personal choice.

[parkourer]

Thanks for all your replies. One question though: Why can't they just make them normal size? I mean its not really that hard (Ha, like I would know ). But like @spandexwarrior said (which he helped me realize), the tip is too thin to lift pins. If they would make it less bendy, and a little more thick, then it would be perfect.

BTW:

So if you order them make sure that you get the plastic handles , as these do not come with metal handles.

Mine came with a black handle. I'm pretty sure its plastic. Why do you think the ad shows a metal handle?

[Squelchtone]

Thanks for all your replies. One question though: Why can't they just make them normal size? I mean its not really that hard (Ha, like I would know ). But like @spandexwarrior said (which he helped me realize), the tip is too thin to lift pins. If they would make it less bendy, and a little more thick, then it would be perfect.

BTW:

So if you order them make sure that you get the plastic handles , as these do not come with metal handles.

Mine came with a black handle. I'm pretty sure its plastic. Why do you think the ad shows a metal handle?

depends on which set you get, the M2000 comes in metal handles, the M2000B is ABS plastic handles.. There is always the chance who ever picked and boxed your order grabbed the wrong ones, or they have the wrong info on their website. Where did you buy them from?

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