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Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Having read the FAQ's you are still unfulfilled and seek more enlightenment, so post your general lock picking questions here.
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Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby xAndrew » 30 Jul 2016 12:05

Hello everyone,i want to know if this is a good pick lock set for European locks,it's pretty cheap,i've seen jackknifes for like 40 $,i want to know if this is a good quality,not easy breakable tool.::: http://www.dhgate.com/product/high-qual ... |781902986 ::: If not,i want a cheap pick set for a begginer so i can pick doors and locks (my doors and locks) :D I want a cheap delivery for Romania,my budget is : 25 $ and a cheap delivery. I want a jackknife or a small pocket lock pick set. Thank you :) (to work on european locks and doors)
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby kwoswalt99- » 30 Jul 2016 19:36

That's a crappy set for sure. The picks are usually made of soft metal and bend easily.
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby Tyler J. Thomas » 31 Jul 2016 11:55

I keep RCS' folding pickset on me at all times. Really helps for picking unexpected things at work - mainly desk locks. My only gripe is that the body is aluminum and scratches easily. Other than that it's top notch. Plus they make it down the road and only use materials made in the USA.
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby xAndrew » 1 Aug 2016 12:04

Thanks for the advice,i found those 1 day ago do you guys think its good ? I mean the reviews are good at the lock pick set : http://www.tmart.com/12pcs-AML-AML02009 ... 56636.html /// And i want to know if this auto jigglers set works on european cars http://www.tmart.com/NEJE-10-Piece-Lock ... 36715.html I'm pretty intersted on buying these 2 items,they look pretty good for a bigginer,what do you think ?
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby nine4t4 » 2 Aug 2016 12:57

1) you get what you pay for

2) Jackknife sets leave a lot to be desired. A good EDC set doesn't take up that much space, and has full size picks which will give a better feel. While the Southern Specialties is a nice set, the Chinese attempts are crap. They use the cheapest steel they can, and they tend to be a bit on the thick side. If you're working with Euro locks, then you may be frustrated with the chunky picks

3)The above applies to the pick set. I question any set that has a snowman. The fact that they say stainless steel and IRON?!!! should ring a bell. It's probably spring steel, but IRON?

4) I think that making picks should be part of the procedure. There are plenty of places to learn and you can do it with a some files and sandpaper. A hook or two and some sort of bogota can be done in an afternoon. I eventually purchased picks, but my homemades give me more pride than owning Peterson's
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby kwoswalt99- » 2 Aug 2016 13:18

nine4t4 wrote:3)The above applies to the pick set. I question any set that has a snowman...


Peterson sells sets with snowman picks.
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby mseifert » 2 Aug 2016 14:19

Even the "Snowman" pick has its place... It is just not commonly used..
When I finally leave this world.. Will someone please tell my wife what I have REALLY spent on locks ...
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby sisk » 2 Aug 2016 21:55

Isn't the snowman pick kinda like a bogata for wafer locks? Anyway that's the impression I've gotten. I don't own or plan on getting one any time soon. Anything I have that one could open could probably be opened quicker with my bogata or Octo.
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby mseifert » 2 Aug 2016 22:28

sisk wrote:.....Anything I have that one could open could probably be opened quicker with my bogata or Octo.


That is kind of what I meant .. I lot of people consider it a gimmick pick.. Kind of a why carry 10 picks when you can do everything with 4 ..
When I finally leave this world.. Will someone please tell my wife what I have REALLY spent on locks ...
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby mseifert » 2 Aug 2016 22:28

sisk wrote:.....Anything I have that one could open could probably be opened quicker with my bogata or Octo.


That is kind of what I meant .. I lot of people consider it a gimmick pick.. Kind of a why carry 10 picks when you can do everything with 4 ..
When I finally leave this world.. Will someone please tell my wife what I have REALLY spent on locks ...
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby nine4t4 » 3 Aug 2016 14:35

kwoswalt99- wrote:
nine4t4 wrote:3)The above applies to the pick set. I question any set that has a snowman...


Peterson sells sets with snowman picks.


I know they do, but look at the size of the kits before the "filler snowman" shows up. If the snowman was so essential to a kit, don't you think it would show up in the EDC's. They don't even have it in the automotive set, and wafers are ubiquitous as automotive locks! Maybe you're just being a contrarian or a devil's advocate, but I think the point they throw it in is more of a "Why not?" as opposed to filler.

I was referring to the use of the snowman to fill out the low end kits. If a set only has 7 or 8 picks and 2 of them are the ball and snowman...not the best deal, unless the remainder are exceptionally useful and quality made.

The snowman's presence doesn't mean a kit is automatically garbage, as you point out Peterson will throw them in. But on smaller kits it's kind of a red flag.
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby safecracker33 » 3 Aug 2016 14:40

I like the full or double sided snowman, for raking double sided wafer camlocks :D
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby ltdbjd » 3 Aug 2016 20:08

I carry the SouthOrd jackknife set on my key ring. It's okay if you need something to pick with and there is nothing else you have access to. But even then, it's just okay.

I've lost a couple tension wrenches carrying the set, and I had the locking nut so tight to keep from losing the tension that I needed pliers to open it. The other issue is that you pretty much lose all sense of feel with the pick since you're not holding a pick - you're basically holding a pocketknife with a pick sticking out.

I'd echo what everybody else said. Get an actual set of picks to use. The jackknife isn't bad for emergencies, but I'd wouldn't get them with the expectation that you'd be using them on a regular basis.

As for the snowman, one caveat is that if you're too aggressive with it on a wafer lock, you run the risk of bending a wafer if it gets stuck between the circles.
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby Ian_425 » 5 Aug 2016 16:00

Jack knife sets are pretty cool, great to keep in a tool box or whatever. That being said, they are no where near as good when it comes to feedback during picking. If you are learning I would get a more standard pickset. If you don't want to spend a ton of money, you could get something like a southord kit. Make sure it has atleast a standard hook and a half diamond. I have been using both for single pin picking for a while now.

You will be a better picker if you learn with a proper pickset instead of a jack knife set. Not to mention you will learn faster using a normal set, you will be able to feel the "feedback" that you hear so much about, you won't get much feedback from the Jack knife sets.

I have been really big into making my own picks lately, it is a very rewarding process.
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Re: Jackknife lock pick set good quality ?

Postby Zed Ex » 17 Oct 2016 17:52

xAndrew wrote:Hello everyone,i want to know if this is a good pick lock set for European locks,it's pretty cheap,i've seen jackknifes for like 40 $,i want to know if this is a good quality,not easy breakable tool.::: http://www.dhgate.com/product/high-qual ... |781902986 ::: If not,i want a cheap pick set for a begginer so i can pick doors and locks (my doors and locks) :D I want a cheap delivery for Romania,my budget is : 25 $ and a cheap delivery. I want a jackknife or a small pocket lock pick set. Thank you :) (to work on european locks and doors)


Judging only from the reviews (not from personal experience) I'd go for Mad Bob's Jackknife. It's somewhat over your budget but the Chinese ones look so fragile that maybe it makes sense to get something better.
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