Peterson Pick Questions: Slender and Gem

[jedidove]

I decided to scrape together the cash to give a long-overdue chance to Peterson picks the other day, and decided to buy a couple of what I consider to be the more interesting models: a slender gem, a slender reach, and a DCAP lifter (all government steel with plastic handles, not really any options here). I'm very happy with my variety of Ray's tools for raking, and figured I owed myself some better SPP tools ...of course, one does not simply buy a few single picks, and I ended up with a pry bar, a pry bar lite, a masters tri-fold case, and a number of other assorted odds-and-ends tools I'd been meaning to pick up So is the life in our hobby.

In any event, I had two quick questions for the Peterson fans out there.

1) Is there a big disadvantage to using the slender picks for general purpose? I'm on a bit of a budget, and my feeling was that the slender picks would be usable in standard keyways, but I'd regret it later if I tried it the other way around.

2) How do people typically use the gem pick? I've heard that it is wonderful for exaggerated pinning (bordering on post-MACS), but at a glance I can't see what features make it good for this that other picks like the reach or postal don't have. Do people use it like a half-diamond with a height-boost, i.e. manipulating pins with the point of the pick? Or, do people angle it excessively, using the farther-from-the-handle flat side of the point as if it were the flat "top" of a hook?

[jedidove]

Regarding #1, I'm operating under the assumption that one knows how to treat picks properly and won't heavy-hand them.

[mbetter95]

I'm no expert, but I know that most surgical instruments which need to keep a sharp edge are usually tempered steel.

[MrAnybody]

1) Is there a big disadvantage to using the slender picks for general purpose? I'm on a bit of a budget, and my feeling was that the slender picks would be usable in standard keyways, but I'd regret it later if I tried it the other way around.

2) How do people typically use the gem pick? I've heard that it is wonderful for exaggerated pinning (bordering on post-MACS), but at a glance I can't see what features make it good for this that other picks like the reach or postal don't have. Do people use it like a half-diamond with a height-boost, i.e. manipulating pins with the point of the pick? Or, do people angle it excessively, using the farther-from-the-handle flat side of the point as if it were the flat "top" of a hook?

1) The Slenders are not my everyday picks as they don't offer the rigidity of Petersons Standard or Euro profiles. They are very usable in standard keyways, but they not the first I pick up. I have all the profiles of Slender, Euro (with the exception of postal and ball picks) and DCAP, and I won't be without any of them. They all have their day.

2) I use it in the ways you describe, but another variation I find I sometimes use is to push forward with it to set a stubborn pin. Granted, this sometimes leads be to over set, but with some tension control it can work nicely for me. I also use the I find no use for the postal, but I do love the Reach. The Gem definitely doesn't cover the same need as my Reach, that's for sure.

[FarmerFreak]

I've got 2 peterson picks, a slender gov. steel hook and gem. I got them roughly 4 years ago. So yes, sometimes people do just order a couple of picks! When I got them they came with the foam handles, which I replaced with metal ones because foam sucks.

For a while they were my go to picks. Since then I have gotten some incredibly awesome homebrew picks. At that point I decided to thin the height of the shafts down on the peterson picks. You see, the shaft of the peterson picks gets higher and higher the closer to the handle. On some tight keyways that becomes a seriously debilitating problem, now my peterson picks have the same shaft height all the way across.

1)They will work just fine in pretty much any lock they will fit in. Kwikset, Schlage, Assa, Medeco, etc..

2)Use the point of the gem on the point of the pin. Exceptions, a deep cut that needs to be lifted a little bit before the point of the gem can get underneath it. Then yes, as MrAnybody says push/pull the pick to get the pin to move up. And Medeco, tilt the pick and push pull towards the sides of the pins to rotate them.

[jedidove]

Awesome, thanks for the replies!

MrAnybody: Ok, this is about what I expected. I can foresee myself picking up non-slender (probably Euro) profile versions of these in the future... provided I end up liking them. Even if just for the change to the rubber handle, they'd be worth checking out. On that note, do you see any value to the standard picks over the Euro profile? Since they're both the same thickness, I don't see why there would be a significant change in feel/rigidity, and I'm sure the Euro profile vertical thinness is almost always a welcome feature.

FarmerFreak: So, you raise a good point. My understanding was that the slender ones used the US profile. At least, that was true "back in the day" when they came with the foam handles, as you point out. Now however, I noticed that Peterson has changed things up and is only offering these with plastic molded handles. Additionally, taking a look at the pictures https://www.thinkpeterson.com/picks.html, comparing the standard, Euro, and slender, it looks like the slender ones share the Euro profile. Perhaps they changed that up too? I'll have to check it out when I get mine.

[spandexwarrior]

do you see any value to the standard picks over the Euro profile?

The euros with the thinned shaft are generally better for all but the most open keyways but one thing about the plastic vs. rubber handles (now only on the standard gov't steel picks) is that the rubber handled picks are steel the whole length of the handle where as the plastic ones just go a bit past the first hole. You can't really remove the steel from the plastic handle anyway but with the rubber ones, you can cut it off if you were going to make a custom handle or something.

-Brian

[jedidove]

So, taking a second look, it seems like the Euro profile pick in gov steel only come in plastic handles :/ If one is to trust the pictures, then at this time, the only difference between the Euro and slender gov steel picks is the thickness.

[MrAnybody]

Awesome, thanks for the replies!

MrAnybody: Ok, this is about what I expected. I can foresee myself picking up non-slender (probably Euro) profile versions of these in the future... provided I end up liking them. Even if just for the change to the rubber handle, they'd be worth checking out. On that note, do you see any value to the standard picks over the Euro profile? Since they're both the same thickness, I don't see why there would be a significant change in feel/rigidity, and I'm sure the Euro profile vertical thinness is almost always a welcome feature.

I've not tried the standards, but I'd agree with you that there should be no significant change with them versus the Euros, and that the vertical thickness is an advantage rather than anything else.

So, taking a second look, it seems like the Euro profile pick in gov steel only come in plastic handles :/ If one is to trust the pictures, then at this time, the only difference between the Euro and slender gov steel picks is the thickness.

Yep, that's correct. I'm very happy with the plastic handles.

[spandexwarrior]

It's the thickness (.025 for the regulars and .015 for the slenders) but also the height of the shaft of the pick. The slenders do not have the thinned down shaft like the euro's do. I assume this is because it would make them too weak.

-Brian

[spandexwarrior]

It's the thickness (.025 for the regulars and .015 for the slenders) but also the height of the shaft of the pick. The slenders do not have the thinned down shaft like the euro's do. I assume this is because it would make them too weak.

-Brian

Forgot to mention, this is different than what is shown in the images on the Peterson website, but I received a batch of picks last week and the slenders still have the full height shaft.

-Brian

[jedidove]

Alright, this figures. Agreed, I was kinda surprised by the notion that the slender ones would *also* be Euro, from a strength perspective.

All things considered, I'm going to pick up the Euro counterparts and a short hook (hook #1) in each to round this off. What was going to be one or two picks turned into a new full pickset

[boggif]

For me Peterson slenders are a special tool that I use only when I really need a thin pick. On some special cases it may give you the manouverability you need. I prefer someting more robust for general use.

[huxleypig]

My opinion here is it very much depends on what locks you are going to be regularly picking with them and so, therefore, what country you are from.

I have learned with slimline Southords and more recently I have used the slimline Peterson's.

As a general rule, unless I am picking a big keyway, I go with my slimlines and probably kill more than I need to because of it. If I am picking something that requires more strength, like an Assa Twin then I revert to the thicker picks.