Why aren't all pick sets slimline?

[dauce]

It seems to just be a better setup (granted, I do not have a set yet). My guess to the answer would be:

1. traditional American sets were designed for American locks, thus no slimline needed

2. Slimline may be more prone to breaking

Is it worth getting an entire slimline set, or just buy a hook or two?

[Solomon]

I'd get a short hook and an offset diamond in slimline, that's all you'd really need to be honest. It's always nice to have a bit of extra variety though. Most locks you can pick with standard sized picks, and they are considerably stronger... you only really need slimlines for extra tight keyways. Most common euro locks aren't that tight, even the common ones with awkward keyways like asec and corbin can be picked with standard picks provided the bitting isn't too wacky.

[raimundo]

"traditional american sets are made for heavy handed beginners who would curl a slimline into a pigs tail and then complain about the tool
the fact that the pick shaft is so thick is the reason why so many people think lockpicking is hard to do.
Make your own, and do not copy the thick shafted profile,
you would be better off looking at a key for a lock and thinking in terms of pick tip height being somewhat less than the measurement of the deepest cut possible on the key because it dosent need to be as deep as a long pin cut, its agility and freedom of movement in the keyway will fully compensate for a medium to small hook.
sanding your picks so that the pickshaft and tip have no sharp 90 degree edges to interact with the warding. rounded off these picks will slide in and out easily.

[dauce]

Understood. Thanks to both of you. At some point here I do plan on crafting my own set. Its more an issue of getting the tools to do so than anything else.

[MortimerDuke]

traditional american sets are made for heavy handed beginners who would curl a slimline into a pigs tail and then complain about the tool

I was going to say "because us noobs would break the slimlines" but Raimondo put it much, much better.