New to lockpicking. Is my pick any good?

[Dmeff]

Hi. After a long time of lurking the forum and internet I decided to actually give lockpicking a try.

I've fashioned myself a Hook pick using a hacksaw. After a while of playing with it, the tip broke so i "fixed it" by bending the end.

Before:


After:



I know it's probably not the best pick ever, but I've managed to open a very tiny and easy lock (3 pins) . It's too tiny to fit a tension wrench, but it's so easy i can pick it while applying tension with the pick itself (And that's why it broke )

So, the questions would be:

A) Is the pick any good? Would it work with a harder lock?

B) Next time i make a pick, should I make it harder or would it break too easily? How could i make it harder?

PS.: Lockpicking is fun!

[Kypicker1]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I too am a new member but have followed this forum for some time. I would suggest making a short hook and half diamond pick to go along with the pick you already have. You can find templates for all kinds of picks in the lock picks-manual forum. As far as hardness of pick I'm not exactly sure but think you change to a different stronger hacksaw blade. A pick doesn't need to be extremely strong because it is just lifting the pins. My guess would be that it broke because you weren't using a tension wrench. For most locks a tension wrench is a must. Hope this helps.

[GWiens2001]

Good work on the pick. Have made and used many from hacksaw blades.

When making the pick with a grinder or dremel tool, make sure to keep the metal cool by dipping it in water every second or two. If the metal begins to discolor, it has overheated and lost the temper. Then it will break easily when used.

Keep up the great work!

Gordon

[Dmeff]

Ha! That sounds very likely, Gordon. While I was using the grinder, the blade got bright red. I'll bear that in mind for the next one.

Thanks both for the tips. I'll try finding a decent lock to practice with.

[Murderbydeath]

I also highly recommend using a tension wrench with your pick, so you might want to thin out your pick a bit to allow for use of a tension wrench. I can recommend from firsthand experience that the wiper blade insert suggestion you see all over the place is fantastic for bottom of keyway tension, which is what most beginners will want to start with anyway. I'm still a beginner myself, but I've definitely used wiper blade inserts before, and they work great.

Keep at it! Mad respect for a DIY picker.

[GWiens2001]

Also can use the wiper inserts for top of keyway tension. Just use a single crimp on the part that goes into the keyway to help increase holding power.

Gordon

[Dmeff]

Yeah, I really need to get myself one of those. I managed to pick a much more complex lock using a small crewdriver as a torsion wrench. It worked perfectly, but my hand got cramped because the position of the hand on the screwdriver was mad uncomfortable.

I'm having an unhealthy ammount of fun with this. Thanks a lot everyone.

[Miss_Stang_67]

If you brought the steel to bright red you would either need to start again on a fresh piece or re harden and temper (kind of a pain in the butt though). Here's a link in case you are curious www.technologystudent.com/equip1/heat1.htm

Ive made a lot of my own steel tools for jewellery making over the years and modified tons of tools. It's a bit of a lengthy processes but you wind up with exactly what you want. Just check the type of steel you're using because some alloys should be quenched in oil instead of water.

[KarkarnRed]

I've yet to try to make my own picks but it is in my to-do list. Seems like a lot of fun and the pick you've made looks really similar to one of the ones I got from Gosso.