Peterson: Worth the cost?

[FancyPants]

I personally run Sparrows, because as a Canadian, two other factors come into play when pricing out Petersons - additional shipping and the exchange rate. To mirror what somebody else in this thread said, while he had a good time with the exchange rate, I do not I keep a set of a bunch of Peterson hook variations floating around but very rarely pick them up.

That being said, I've never been a big fan of how fat the picks were. I believe they have their uses, but I think my tiny little Sparrows have spoiled me. I've heard good things about the Peterson with the dimple on the tip for twirling around Medeco pins specifically. I've had a good experience with their TOK bars, too.

[nine4t4]

When you see guys using Peterson's and they make picking look easy, remember it's not the pick, it's the time they invested in practicing. I think I started picking locks around 4 years ago and I only bought a set of Peterson's a few months ago. If you're an okay guitar player spending more money on a guitar isn't going to turn you into a virtuoso player. You'll have the same ability with a better tool

Up until then all my picks were homemade, or Sparrows. I like the Peterson's, especially the .015's, but I can't say that it's night and day. As soft and flexy as Sparrows can be, there are times where my older picks feel better (an old pair of jeans?). And other times, the Peterson's are the tool I want.

The Gem, hook 1 and Deforest are definitely worth it. I don't think the rakes offer much over other makers (unless you're OCD and need the handles to all match). The prybars are very good (Sparrows' copies were too thin). They are a bit pricey, but when you consider how long they can last (without abuse), it's not that bad a deal.

Your best value is to get the smallest kit that has all the stuff you want, or that only requires buying one loose pick.

[gademsky]

I seem to like Peterson the best but just bought a group of Chinese made picks and a case for 21$. Company called Goso. There were probably 20-25 picks and a few turning tools. Just got them yesterday and for money they seem all right. As a beginner I am heavy handed and have broken a number of expensive picks....we will see how the cheap ones last. The handles seem OK. The case is big and if nothing else for the price can be used as storage for my broken picks and extra tools.

Here is a list of all the pick makers I could find....
Peterson, Madbob, ILCO, HPL, Rytan, Sparrows,Southard, Goso. There are 7 on the list, can anyone add to it?

[Tyler J. Thomas]

I seem to like Peterson the best but just bought a group of Chinese made picks and a case for 21$. Company called Goso. There were probably 20-25 picks and a few turning tools. Just got them yesterday and for money they seem all right. As a beginner I am heavy handed and have broken a number of expensive picks....we will see how the cheap ones last. The handles seem OK. The case is big and if nothing else for the price can be used as storage for my broken picks and extra tools.

Here is a list of all the pick makers I could find....
Peterson, Madbob, ILCO, HPL, Rytan, Sparrows,Southard, Goso. There are 7 on the list, can anyone add to it?

HPL? Or HPC?

LAB used to make picks (maybe still do?), DINO, Southern Specialties.

[gademsky]

HPC ....sorry, my typing skills are really bad.

[sisk]

I seem to like Peterson the best but just bought a group of Chinese made picks and a case for 21$. Company called Goso.

I bought a Goso case and they threw in a bunch of bad picks for free.

Seriously though I got their 24 piece kit just for the case. It was quite an upgrade from the case that came with my Southord kit and cost about the same as some other cases I was looking at (Wish has it for significantly less than Amazon). If you're too heavy handed you're probably going to find it impossible to set pins with Goso picks. They're made of tin or something equally soft, so they'll just bend instead of lifting pins if you're using too much tension. Which, I suppose, is better than breaking since you can bend them back.

[mastersmith]

I have picks from a dozen or so manufacturers. The reality is that what works for me may not work for you. I have been a locksmith for a bit over 4 decades and just recently tried Peterson picks for the first time. I can tell you, I am impressed. I am also impressed with Sparrows. I have a set of the highly lauded Falle picks, and I couldn't open my refrigerator with them! Maybe one day I'll give them another try. I grew up on HPC, definitely nothing to write home about, but durable. I like Rytan, especially their miniature line. A few years ago I started looking to make my own tools and did some web browsing. It brought me to this site and Keypicking. The information I got from these 2 sites has been invaluable to me starting a new hobby. And yes, I find my home brew picks to be the best of them all, for me. So back to the original question, are Peterson Picks worth the money? If they work best for you, then yes. If you don't try a sampling of the others you may miss out on YOUR best pick! Good luck with your search. I might add, the search has been what made this so much fun, or at least contributed mightily!

[ltdbjd]

Bosnian Bill didn't have anything good to say about GOSO. As somebody mentioned, it takes nothing at all to bend them.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bzppp1ncqR0

[AngryHatter]

I think the pry bar is magic.
Compared to a regular wrench I can pop locks in much less time.

In fact, it feels as though there is only one or two pins to be moved rather than all five individually.
I don't have to monkey the pick into position, either.
Never tried their picks although I would if I needed new ones.

[Ralph_Goodman]

I think the pry bar is magic.

Agreed. It is certainly one of their most important contributions.

They also make some amazing lock specific bypass tools.

[ratlock]

I like the Multipick, elite range. I own petersons GSP , which I like. I own sparrows, mad bobs , fail safe, south ords. and a few home mades. But keep going back to multipick.

[ratlock]

......and Yes Petersons is worth the cost.

[gumptrick]

One of the things I like most about picking is that compared to many hobbies the tools are actually quite cheap! Even the "high end" brands like Peterson, Sparrows, Multipick are quite reasonably priced in my opinion.

[paces]

I only have one Peterson hook govt steel pick and I love it. but I do this for fun and not for a living

[AngryHatter]

Well I tried their picks and I am sold.
I am not sure if it is the edges of the picks but they feel as though I get more info from them than another tool.

Much easier on my hand than my Southord that I have been abusing or the last two years.

Yes, worth it.