I made a custom pick for our friend Squelch. I designed it for ISEO R6 dimple locks. I tested it during the process, and since its shaft is a bit longer than usual, it works very well on MTL 7x7 also. These half diamonds with 2 angled corners are supposed to easily slide under the pins, and to lift them by rotating the pick. You hold it like a pen.
The first and third pictures show the pick before and after the fire treatment. As you can see it's a lot darker in the end.
In the second picture you can see the torch I used to fire harden the handle. I run the flame back and forth, while I keep the pick from the tip and slowly rotate it. Every few seconds I put down the torch and sweep the bamboo with a rag soaked with bees wax.
This is a very important part of the process since the wax penetrate into the dried bamboo and prevent it from splitting.
A cotton rag should be enough, but at the end of the process I had to use a piece of sandpaper (1000 grit) to remove the debris.
It's a quite difficult process since you can burn the thin bamboo. But it's supposed to harden it so it worth the effort.
I think these bamboo handles will need some bees wax from time to time.
Cheers
