Recommended pick material

[The Lock Artist]

I have been reading around the DIY threads and have finally decided to give a shot at making my own set of picks. I already have some nice templates and now need to find my pick material I have seen people using hacksaw blades, spring steel, stainless steel and many other materials. Which provides the best feedback? Do different hacksaw blades work better than others, are there certain brands of blades you recommend? Any particular type/ thickness of spring or stainless steel I should use? I'm just looking for some Ideas on what I should start off with. I will be making the picks using a bench grinder and a dremel. Thanks

[raimundo]

hacksaw blades are thick,
look for precision or starrett brand 12inch long half inch wide feeler gauges, these are tool steel and you can buy a pack of them relatively cheap,
the temper of the metal is very good

I think this is the stock that ratyoke uses

you can choose the exact thickness down to the thousands of an inch
20 to 25 thousands is good to use, hacksaws run around 30 thousands of an inch thick

this is good tool steel, but if left in a moist envirnment for a time they can start to rust but they do not rust very fast so if you do get them wet and dont dry them soon, a little maintenence with with the 600 grit will cure the problem.

[The Lock Artist]

Thank you I will go to the local hardware store ( I assume that is where to buy them at?) And If they dont have them I will order online. These would be the right ones, correct? http://www.amazon.com/Flat-Length-Steel ... +gauge+.20

[Solomon]

hacksaw blades are thick

Any hacksaw blades I've ever used were pretty thin, about the same as say southord picks... I reckon if you go much thinner than that, you're getting into super bendy town like peterson slenders. I like a bit of flex, but not that much

[Josh66]

I've been using mostly band saw blades lately. I'm not sure what the exact alloy is, but I've been getting very good results with them. They are a lot stronger than hack saw blades (the ones I've seen, anyway).

The ones I use are .025" thick. It doesn't take much to get them sanded down to .020" if you like. .020" is about the thinnest I would go, personally.

[The Lock Artist]

Is there any annealing/ heat treating needed when using the feeler gauges?

[Buzo]

Definetely hacksaw blades. I would look at the more expensive brands at the hardware store though, as the cheapest are of lower quality.

[raimundo]

@ the lock artist

no heat treating necessary with the feeler gauges,

Have you read the book "the lock artis" that author has a lot of books now, at least I think I saw a book in barnynobs that had a list of the authors books under the cover and 'the lock artist' was one of them.

the story was about someone who couldn't talk or wouldn't and got mixed up with some of those "with your skills and my criminality we could do me a lot of favors." kind of people,
but in the end he falls in love or something and is saved,
I bought it and read it. don't recommend it for people who like locks, maybe for some other people, I donno...

[The Lock Artist]

Lol no I didn't know that there was a book, I just thought of the name. I'm not sure where it came from but it sounded cool to me. Maybe ill read the book sometime though.