Convenient and portable pick (beat to death topic i know)??

[kyle1058]

Well, I've been strongly leaning towards getting a jacknife, purely for its appearance and portability. The set screw deal doesnt bother me, I am a machinist and i can fix that easily. I have seen some 'cheap' credit card sized pick sets that do not look very impressive at all.

I'm looking for something I can carry on me 24/7 thats either in my pocket or in my wallet, even if its just a tension wrench, a hook pick, and a half diamond. I don't feel like carrying around a pick gun or a full length set.

Are the credit card sets junk ? (they look like it...)

Leaning toward the jack knife...

[Squelchtone]

Well, I've been strongly leaning towards getting a jacknife, purely for its appearance and portability. The set screw deal doesnt bother me, I am a machinist and i can fix that easily. I have seen some 'cheap' credit card sized pick sets that do not look very impressive at all.

I'm looking for something I can carry on me 24/7 thats either in my pocket or in my wallet, even if its just a tension wrench, a hook pick, and a half diamond. I don't feel like carrying around a pick gun or a full length set.

Are the credit card sets junk ? (they look like it...)

Leaning toward the jack knife...

Look into carrying a set of Bogota rakes (fits very well in a wallet). That's all you'll need in a pinch and they hold better and have much better feedback than a bulky jackknife style set.

Squelchtone

They're for sale on serepick.com or at Defcon if you are going next week.

[kyle1058]

A rake set? Do you really recommend raking over picking? They seem pretty pricey... Which set do you recommend? (I see some are out of stock)

[kyle1058]

Nevermind about my raking comment, i just used a rake to pick a tumbler lock using a pin-by-pin method pretty easily. (i'm fairly new to picking). About 15-20 seconds or so without raking just pushing the pins up.

Do you know how big these are? If they fit in a wallet comfortable that would definitely be a great alternative to the other sets i've seen!

[criminalhate]

About 2.5" I would guess. They do fit perfectly in your pocket / wallet.

If you want a set that are out of stock then email them asking for the set you want and they will probably get you a set quickly. They are hand Made by a member of this site. So they may take a little while to get but they are one of the best designs around. And yes you can SPP with one. The Bogota Arch set is made to SPP with.

[Squelchtone]

A rake set? Do you really recommend raking over picking? They seem pretty pricey... Which set do you recommend? (I see some are out of stock)

If you're locked out, do you really want to be outside trying to SPP a lock with a hook pick or do you actually want to get into the building? Raking = faster most of the time. I revert to SPP when raking doens't work.

Squelchtone

[Squelchtone]

A rake set? Do you really recommend raking over picking? They seem pretty pricey... Which set do you recommend? (I see some are out of stock)

Right now all their stock is being sold at HOPE and DEFCON so the website's inventory levels may be off balance. You can email/PM raimundo on here and see if he can sell you direct. I think someone was doing that for him as he's busy making them, but I don't remember who was handling that for him.

As to the price.. recently I noticed everyone's trying to get a pick set for $10 and expecting the world. A bunch of us own Peterson sets that cost $100+ dollars, but like I said, lately everyone's going to Deal Extreme and buying crap from China for $7.95 and still complaining that $7.95 is sooo much for a pick set. For a hand made and hand polished set of Bogotas (that are finished much smoother than a Southord, HPC, or Peterson set), $25 to $35 is a steal, and in all honesty the Bogotas will open more locks for you than other lock pick sets can. The skill of the user comes into play, but the triple hump Bogota is a very powerful pick/rake in the right hands. the handle of each Bogota doubles as the tension tool. How cool is that?! =)

proud owner of 3 sets, (2 steel, and 1 titanium)
Squelchtone

p.s. you'd want the "Custom" Set for $30 http://serepick.com/products.html

[nostromo]

My two cents:

A pick set that can fit in a wallet means either short handles and a riveted or handle extension, or working very tight against the keyway. You'll be gripping the pick with just the last metacarpals of only one finger and a thumb instead of several fingers and the palm - which leads to early fatigue and loss of control. Which is all OK if you are willing to deal with the handicap. Though you rarely see anyone reaching for picks that size as their first choice.

The whole pick is also getting bent from being squashed when sat on. The best way around that is to not have them in a wallet - and Raimundo's set would be the best for that - pin them in your shirt. A second choice would be a jacknife set from Southord or Southern Specialties. The 'picks in a credit card looking case' will probably break if kept in a wallet in a hip pocket for very long.

[Squelchtone]

The whole pick is also getting bent from being squashed when sat on.

1. Not everyone puts their wallet in their back pocket. I've always put mine in my front left pocket. It's full of stuff, so back pocket would be very uncomfortable to sit on for me, but I see your point as I guess many people put their wallet in their back pockets.

2. Great to meet you at HOPE, it was good to put a face with the name and to hang out (and eat that huge platter of sushi!)



Squelchtone

[pjzstones]

My two cents:

A pick set that can fit in a wallet means either short handles and a riveted or handle extension, or working very tight against the keyway. You'll be gripping the pick with just the last metacarpals of only one finger and a thumb instead of several fingers and the palm - which leads to early fatigue and loss of control. Which is all OK if you are willing to deal with the handicap. Though you rarely see anyone reaching for picks that size as their first choice.

The whole pick is also getting bent from being squashed when sat on. The best way around that is to not have them in a wallet - and Raimundo's set would be the best for that - pin them in your shirt. A second choice would be a jacknife set from Southord or Southern Specialties. The 'picks in a credit card looking case' will probably break if kept in a wallet in a hip pocket for very long.

i keep four tension wrenches, two hook picks(one doubles as a tw), hump rake, pen clip, bobby pin, and two straight pieces of wiper blades inserts in my wallet. they're all around three inches long. they work really well, but i practice with them regularly so maybe i'm just use to them. they're made of either hacksaw blades or other things that are flat so they don't get squashed, haven't bent, and i don't feel a difference in my wallet. i also keep them between business cards so they can't be seen when i open my wallet.
i don't think you can go wrong with a wallet set for emergencies. you have to practice with them though for them to be effective.

[pjzstones]

here's a video of me using my wallet set. i've updated it since this. i swapped the half diamond for the hump rake and added an extra hook and a few more flat tension wrenches since the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78BRBrdBPgo

[sailorjim]

I just ordered my first wallet set. It should be here in a few days. I know that the wallet set means working at a disadvantage but as pjzstones video demonstrates, skill will overcome the handicap. Thanks for the youtube link PJZ.

[illusion]

I've had a Bogota set kept in my wallet for years now - I've only had to use it a couple of times and most of the time I forget they're even in there unless I need to use them.

Of course you could make a set of them for a lot less but it's not a false economy to buy a set premade since they are well finished and generally they've turned out a bit better than any I've attempted to make.

[raimundo]

look on youtube and search for bogota lockpick, there are a few videos, they open locks very quickly if you know how to use them. and the handles do only allow for holding with the thumb and the first two fingers, which is ideal for the technique, you can't do it right with your whole fist on a popsicle handle.

[xBMW M3 GTR]

I have a small Philips headphone case that I use to carry my home made picks and home made tension wrenches, all of which are a little over 3 inches long. (They are made from fractions of an engine dipstick and one dip stick gives you quite a bit of material to work with. Some are stronger than others so next time any of you are at the junkyard, keep an eye out.) This stays in my left pocket 24/7 and I have southern-specialties (lockpicktools.com's) jack-knife. Its small and from what I've experienced, smaller picks give much better feedback and this jack-knife does the job. The locking lever used instead of the locking screw on southord's jack-knife just makes it much easier to switch picks with one hand while keeping plug tension with the other. This little guy clips right onto one of the pouches in my wallet. Im now left with all portable pocket-sized tools. They work wonders. There isnt one lock ive come across that I have not been able to open. You just have to learn to work with your tools other than replacing them with new ones.