What To Buy. Picks Sets For Beginners.

[Squelchtone]

I already have the 9 piece set from dx/dealextreme but the tension wrench broke on me. So I figured rather than just buying a new tension wrench, I may as well upgrade. Should I get the:

• 31-piece KLOM from dx
• or a SouthOrd set like the MPXS-14
• or the Bogotas which I just discovered today but everyone seems to love?
• or something else completely?

They're all somewhat similarly priced.

In the mean time you can just make a new wrench from and old windshield/windscreen wiper blade (they have stainless steel inserts inside the rubber to help it hug the window glass, just remove the stainless strip from the rubber, cut it to wrench size, and use pliers to put a bend in one end and you have your self a nice proper wrench, unlike that 'thing' that is included with the DX 9 piece set. =)

For pick set, I'd go with MPXS-14, that's what I started out with.

Squelchtone

[Royal2000H]

In the mean time you can just make a new wrench from and old windshield/windscreen wiper blade (they have stainless steel inserts inside the rubber to help it hug the window glass, just remove the stainless strip from the rubber, cut it to wrench size, and use pliers to put a bend in one end and you have your self a nice proper wrench, unlike that 'thing' that is included with the DX 9 piece set. =)

For pick set, I'd go with MPXS-14, that's what I started out with.

Squelchtone

Thanks for the response. I've actually been using the other half of the broken tension wrench temporarily. I've learned to put it at the top of the keyhole rather than the bottom (since it's bigger than what the broken side was).

Are the bogotas not as good as they're hyped to be? It seems like while most people started with other picks (the bogotas were yet to be available), they like the bogotas even more than a standard pick set. Or am I misinterpreting the common opinion?

[Squelchtone]

In the mean time you can just make a new wrench from and old windshield/windscreen wiper blade (they have stainless steel inserts inside the rubber to help it hug the window glass, just remove the stainless strip from the rubber, cut it to wrench size, and use pliers to put a bend in one end and you have your self a nice proper wrench, unlike that 'thing' that is included with the DX 9 piece set. =)

For pick set, I'd go with MPXS-14, that's what I started out with.

Squelchtone

Thanks for the response. I've actually been using the other half of the broken tension wrench temporarily. I've learned to put it at the top of the keyhole rather than the bottom (since it's bigger than what the broken side was).

Are the bogotas not as good as they're hyped to be? It seems like while most people started with other picks (the bogotas were yet to be available), they like the bogotas even more than a standard pick set. Or am I misinterpreting the common opinion?

Bogotas are in my wallet 24/7 and pulled out for use 10 times out of 10 before I reach for my actual pick set. They're deadly effective and made of black magic. The hand made ones by Raimundo are amazing, the Titanium ones Serepick sells based on the Raimundo design or good, but I prefer the ultra polished hand made ones.

Squelchtone

[Wizer]

I wish I started and learned to pick with Bogota hook and deforest.
I mean that if I could, I would like to learn the whole thing again, but this time with only Bogotas.
The techinique is so different that I find it hard to SPP with them. I can pick some locks with it, but on harder locks I tend to go back to HPC deforest.
If you started with Bogotas, and were introduced the normal picks (Rai calls them picks with popsicle stick handles) only after 2 years or so, you would be better with them than "normal" picks.
But then again, Bogotas were originally made to be a rakes and a classic 3-peak Bogota is the best rake I got.
-And I talking about the originals from Raimundo.

[Royal2000H]

But you guys aren't saying that Bogotas lose most of their value and ability when they're not handmade from Raimundo, right?

[Squelchtone]

But you guys aren't saying that Bogotas lose most of their value and ability when they're not handmade from Raimundo, right?

yeah, I think we are. That is unless you make your own, which many do, but make them to exact specifications and polishing methods. I truly believe they are as awesome as they are because of the mirror finish which makes them glide in and out of locks. Any shape or profile pick stamped by a machine out of sheet metal is gonna have squared off edges, where as the real Bogotas are fully rounded and allow for inserting into the lock not just at straight in an out at 12 oclock, but at angles as well. At least that's how I sometimes use them, especially when raking Medeco locks open.

Don't go buying picks such as the Southord Pagoda knock offs, they are just not the same in picking ability (TOTALLY MY OPINION) as compared to real hand made Raimundo Bogota rakes. Even the Titanium ones didn't seem to be as good at picking as I expected. Maybe because I have big hands and my Bogotas are custom made and have longer handles than the little titanium model.

my 2 cents, your mileage may vary,
Squelchtone

[Royal2000H]

Thanks for your insight! I wasn't even considering the SouthOrd Pagodas for a second. I was only looking at the Serepick, hoping it would at least provide most of the functionality of the originals since they seemed to be endorsed by or related to Raimundo. That makes the decision of whether to get the Bogotas a lot tougher. Might end up getting both the SouthOrd MPXS-14 and possibly the Bogota Titans. They still seem at least somewhat positively reviewed.

[jailersmith]

My two cents worth? I carry serepick bogota titans in my wallet. For pocket carry I use a small nylon knife case which holds an hpc jackknife pick set as well as 7 auto jigglers fastened with a Chicago screw. I use a toool beginner's pick set with blackdiamond euro picks replacing the original southern specialties picks added both Peterson prybars and a Peterson carbon steel sawtooth extractor minus the dipped handle. (39 years as a locksmith) The hpc thicker picks that came with the kit are tough.

[softie]

So all those kits are good for Lockwood padlocks/locks here in Australia? Do you guys get Lockwood locks over there?

[Squelchtone]

So all those kits are good for Lockwood padlocks/locks here in Australia? Do you guys get Lockwood locks over there?

Lock picks don't work by lock brand, (i.e. For Schlage you buy an MXPS 8, but for Lockwood you buy an MXPS-12, and for BiLock you buy Peterson, it's not like that) but that is a common question/comment we hear from folks new to this hobby. Traditionally when you're online buying picks you'll see regular size picks and then you see Euro or Slim picks which unfortunately don't do justice in their naming conventions. Keyholes are pretty much the same size anywhere you go, but in the USA for some reason they are very simple and you have much more room for normal size picks to insert and work. In Europe the lock manufacturers have all sorts of difficult keyway profiles so thinner picks fit in better and can work around all the extra warding.

Lockwood in Australia is it's own company and we do not have it here in the USA, but we have another Lockwood company that has been around for a long time. The Australian Lockwood keyways remind me of a more difficult Yale Y1 keyway, so you will be better off with thinner Euro picks, just know if you are a new picker and don't have enough experience to be a gentle picker, you will probably end up bending or breaking your wrenches and picks.

Hope this helps, happy picking!
Squelchtone

[softie]

Thanks for that information. I sit down and work out what to get.

[casper111]

That 9 piece set for $6, how good is it compared to southord slimline? I know that you get what you pay for, but it does look like they sold a large amount. I was looking to upgrading to a proper set and was looking at the SO slimline 22 set as it is 4 pounds dearer on amazon than a 15 piece set. I'm not into picking for a long time and don't have a large collection of picks, so would it be worth getting the $6 dollar set. So in summary, are the $6 set a good buy, and is "deal extreme" a reliable site.
Thank you.

[whoami]

Hello everyone, I am going to buy my first lock pick (set?) today or tomorrow, for minimal use on the same lock no more than 10 times. It is going to be used to pick a Falcon lock (if that helps). I am hoping to spend no more than 20 or 30 dollars on it, and it needs to be able to be shipped to Canada. What would you recommend?? Thanks for the help.

[Squelchtone]

Hello everyone, I am going to buy my first lock pick (set?) today or tomorrow, for minimal use on the same lock no more than 10 times. It is going to be used to pick a Falcon lock (if that helps). I am hoping to spend no more than 20 or 30 dollars on it, and it needs to be able to be shipped to Canada. What would you recommend?? Thanks for the help.

Falcon sfic lock sounds like youre going into an apartment building or office building... Why the need to pick? We're not breaking in anywhere are we? 10 times seems like an awful lot of visits, I usually only need 2, one visit to bug the place, 2nd visit to remove the bugs..


Squelchtone

[mihalski]

Hi,

I've just read through this thread trying to figure out which beginner lock pick set to get and I noticed that Toool has elegised a new set on which nobody has yet commented. It's called the "Tremendous Twelve Toolkit".

Has anyone used this? How does it compare to the others discussed here? Does it look like a good set for beginners?

Thanks!

Regards,
Michal