Hook Pick broke

[skyiscoolbeans]

My hook pick just broke after three months of picking. RIP Hooky.
Is it standard for them to break this early or is it a sign that I was being hard on it?
If it's not standard, does anyone know a reputable brand (hopefully cheap) that won't break as early? I'm looking for just a hook pick.
I was using Sparrow's cheapest available ones.

[MacGyver101]

I can only speak for myself... but I've been picking for years, and haven't yet broken a pick. My guess would be that you're being a bit too hard on them -- but, obviously, it's just a guess.

[LocksmithArmy]

i hae broken picks... and im not saying all picks last 3 months either... but i have not broken a sparrows pick (bent yes, often, but never broken) so im gonna go with... too rough...

but peterson is strong lol
HPC is strongish and cheapish...

[yono]

even though these materials are factory made, with aim for it durability, and quality controlled, there is always a chance that they varies in their properties. its also a chance for us to learn tools of different made materials and adjust ourselves to their limit. like when you make a pick tool out of a butter knife, hacksaw blades, or wifers, I made my own picks and its stay for years, but when my fellow locksmith borrowed it, it ended up either bent or broken sometimes.

[UEDan]

Weird. I've never broken any picks, even after ~3 years of heavy on and off picking.
I have to go with the masses. I've always used Southord picks, they'll bend before they break.

[raimundo]

When you make your own, you have a much better feel for how hard to use it. and enough pressure to break a pick is more pressure than picking requires, you were not picking but preventing picking by binding the lock with too much force.

[Eyes_Only]

When you make your own, you have a much better feel for how hard to use it. and enough pressure to break a pick is more pressure than picking requires, you were not picking but preventing picking by binding the lock with too much force.

And if you're using your own hand made tools you tend to be more careful with it cos you don't want to break within 3 minutes the tool you spent 3 hours on making.

I've broken a hook pick myself in the past when I was still new to lockpicking. My problem (and a common one for most people who breaks a pick tool) was using the pick more like a pry bar to lift the binding pins because I was applying way too much tension on the lock. After suffering the shock of my favorite pick snap on me I've learned to treat and use my pick tools more like a delicate surgical tool or a precision measuring device. You wouldn't use a micrometer like a c-clamp right?

[MacGnG1]

i havent broken a hook, but i've broken a few rakes.