I only want to buy about 3 picks, which do I need most?

by **Chronos** » 11 Oct 2004 1:35

I only want to buy a tension tool and abotu 3 or so picks, which are best for a begginer? Are there some I absolutely need? Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm kinda new.

by **poisoned** » 11 Oct 2004 1:50

Trust me when I tell u that u need more than just 1 tension wrench.. :wink:

About the picks then.. I personaly like hooks so I would most likely buy 3 different hooks.. :roll:

But I think u could do a pretty good job with a normal halfdiamond, hook and a (snake)rake..

by **maldotcom2** » 11 Oct 2004 3:58

Probably for a BARE MINIMUM newbie set, id go with 2 different tension wrenches, and a short hook, long hook, small diamond, and a snake rake.
But this will pretty much take you only so far, if you get more into lockpicking you'll very soon find you want more of an option.

by **poisoned** » 11 Oct 2004 4:13

I have about 10 different tension wrenches and only 3 different picks..
I have small hook and a "deforest" pick (was it called a deforest I dont remember but its the one thats like a hook and a halfdiamond mixed together) both are southord and then I have a long HPC hook.. I had the 9-piece SO set but I sold most of the picks to my friend couse I really didnt need them.. Of course I do have 2 different tubular picks and I will receive my SO pickgun in a few days but I am doing OK with those three picks..

by **Chronos** » 11 Oct 2004 9:38

Ok, well, heres what I am looking to get now as far as picks are concerned: a hook, ball, diamond, and rake. Than I am going to get a small tension tool. Does this sound good? I have never used proper lockpicks before, just a bent screwdriver and a bobby pin bent to sort of resemble a small hook pick.

by **toomush2drink** » 11 Oct 2004 11:35

Your selection sounds good but you will need more tension wrenches. If money is tight no problem as tension wrenches are probably the easiest thing to make for free.
Get the metal inserts from an old wiper blade from a car and you can make them from that by bending them with a pair of pliers. Look around the forum for ideas on the shape or copy the one you buy. After you have been picking a bit you will understand why it is important to have a few of these.
For picks i find myself using a small hook or a half diamond for pin by pin stuff or a snake for raking most of the time.

by **Chronos** » 11 Oct 2004 17:42

Alright, thanks, Just wondering though, what other kind of tension wrenches are there? The kind I am buying is a little flat piece of spring steel bent to a 90 degree angle. Besides a round tension tool what other kinds are there?

by **Murph** » 11 Oct 2004 19:18

Chronos wrote:Alright, thanks, Just wondering though, what other kind of tension wrenches are there? The kind I am buying is a little flat piece of spring steel bent to a 90 degree angle. Besides a round tension tool what other kinds are there?

There are various kinds, circular, some shaped like forceps, I have seen one made out of clockspring, and some are flat steel with prongs. I made a forceps type one and the common "L" shaped ones (that's what you described above.) out of windshield wiper spines and allen hex wrenches. Go to the lockpickshop.com or southord.com and check out their tension tools. Do a search in this site and you'll see some pictures too.

by **good_guy** » 11 Oct 2004 23:10

i have a 4 piece set that i bought from southord. The picks should be a short hook, medium (or large) diamond, and an s rake and you should be good to go. the tension wrench is your personal taste. the simple 4 piece kit works great and i can open many locks but i plan to buy another tension wrench.

by **toomush2drink** » 12 Oct 2004 8:45

The reason for diferent tension wrenches is that just one wrench wont fit all of the locks all of the time. Also sometime its not possible to pick a lock on a door if it is close to a wall with one wrench but if you make one and bend it to fit the application you can overcome this. Ie instead of the wrench being at 3o clock to the the lock face when its in position the wrench maybe at 12o clock instead.

by **S3rratedSp00L** » 12 Oct 2004 11:38

A hook and a half-diamond should do for beginning... then you can get another tension tool instead of the other pick.. For rakes, just spend the money for a grinder and some sawblades and make your own.. You will learn more that way.

...but you could just buy whatever loks good at the time to see how you like it..

If you have to have three picks, though, a hook, half-diamond, and some sort of rake should do.. I'd recommend trying or borrowing a few different types of rake if you have the opportunity and then buy yourself the kind that you like best.. (If you don't want to make your own)

Bare minimum, I would suggest a hook and a wrench, or a half-diamond and a wrench.

If you have a friend or two that are also starting out, you can each buy some picks that the others don't have and then everyone gets to try some of the more strange shapes to see what works best!

Happy picking!

by **Mad Mick** » 12 Oct 2004 18:02

For those spur-of-the-moment picks, where your normal tension wrench won't do, just have a small strip of wiper blade strip in your wallet. This can be bent as required for the job.

I only want to buy about 3 picks, which do I need most?

I only want to buy about 3 picks, which do I need most?

Who is online