RobertFontaine wrote:Why do many manufacturers seem to provide almost entirely useless hunks of metal, redundant or rarely-to-never useful picks in their kits?
Because some people like buying large kits. Something has to go into large kits. I could stick to four picks and not really miss anything. My suggestion would be to buy single tools, not kits. Or maybe buy a really simple kit starting out, but then buy single tools after that once you have figured out what works for you.
As to manufacturing costs and such, whether they are stamped or cut in some other way, the dies and tooling and equipment has to be spread over the production, which I am sure is small for quality picks compared to mass market consumer goods. There is a lot of overhead in any factory. I really do not think that the higher-end tools are overpriced. There are a few companies making good stuff and that competition probably moderates the prices. There are not many pursuits that can claim to be in their golden age right now, but I would say that picking is--from someone who first started playing with lock picking in the 1980's, this is the golden age. Just finding a pick set was an accomplishment back then. Never before have so many good tools, with on-line reviews and demos, been so easy to aquire as it is right now. I'm not complaining about it.
