Why is there limited information on "Government Steel"

[mikenflorida]

As a newbie I have one set of picks and yes they are cheap. Yup, broke one too, being too heavy handed. Now on to the question. I get emails from lock picking sites and one that came in today gives their recommendation for a set of picks. These are supposedly the strongest because they are made of "Government Steel" and say it's similar to 420 stainless. Why don't they just say what steel it is made of? Are they trying be deceptive? I don't get it..... BTW, I do have a set of higher quality picks on order, but they are not "Government Steel".....

[Squelchtone]

Marketing.

Makes them cool sounding and special.

You have probably seen this video, but here is Bosnian Bill talking about it.

https://youtu.be/3coJOzvQnp0

[mikenflorida]

I had not seen the video. Thank you.

[Publius]

As Squelchtone mentioned, "government steel" is purely a marketing term for 420 hardened stainless. This article gives an in-depth rundown on the various metals used in making lockpicks if you're interested in some additional context. No affiliation with the site, just something I've bookmarked for reference.

[sign216]

Publius,

Thanks for the interesting article. I'm an old school guy, so I prefer carbon steel over stainless for most applications, but I can see stainless's value here. The salt from your skin must be a constant threat to the metal.

Joe

[stratmando]

How about Monel and Hastelloy for Picks?

[Publius]

To my understanding, both Monel (alloy of primarily copper + nickel) and Hastelloy (primarily nickel + molybdenum) might be great choices for picking tools that require extreme rigidity and corrosion resistance. However, both are quite expensive compared to even high-quality stainless steel and tend to be reserved for industrial equipment deployed in highly corrosive environments where even stainless isn't up to the challenge. Might be overkill given that the average lock-picker wouldn't be likely to encounter conditions where these high-end alloys would provide a practical advantage over stainless steel IMO. Can't say I've ever actually run into picks made from these metals, which isn't to say that they don't exist or that you couldn't try making them yourself if you could source small quantities of these metals, which might also be challenging.

[stratmando]

Think they would sell. Would you buy Titanium?, Some want the Best, Coolest. Not for the Frugal.

[stratmando]

It won't let me Edit, in the '70's, I built Custom Circuit Boards and Electronics to install in Stratocasters, Used Op Amps(Operational Amplifiers). Had 2 Inputs(inverting and non inverting Inputs, would amplify the difference of the 2 Inputs, but rejected anything common to both (Common Mode Rejection), Noise, Hiss and Hum. Super Clean, Powerfull. Very Common in Pedals today. I was using 2 9 Volt Batteries, take a positive of one battery, and negative of the second battery, connect, that would be your ground, then you also had a Positive 9 Volts, and Negative 9 Volts to power them. DC is Clean.
I used 2% Tolerance, Flameproof Resistors. Were more
Expensive. added maybe $5 with the Better Performance Parts. Gibson, Fender, ALL the companies Electronics used 5%(Gold Band)at best. Lowest Noise, Best Slew Rates whatever, I was a Teenager, They were Corporate, most profit for the least cost many times, Most of the Time, Resistors didn't make it sound any Better, just knew it was cooler?

[Publius]

Yeah, I don't doubt there would be a market for picks in these types of alloys if someone made them available. Definitely would be a cool factor. Heck, I might even buy 'em...

[sign216]

This is funny; I suggested old fashioned carbon steel, and others say advanced Monel or Hastelloy. I guess there's no pleasing everyone.

Let me ask a real question: stainless (the usual choice) is softer than carbon steel. Does that issue come up, or is it a non-factor?

Joe

[stratmando]

Nothing wrong with Carbon Steel, does rust easier. Seems more Brittle, A little give is not bad, a lot of locks take a Strong metal to work in a small space. You can have all the room in the world, is nothing if the tool doesn't have the Strength for it's size, Bowley.
Haven't seen a Bogata in Carbon Steel, but sure some have made some.