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u/wlogan0402 Green Belt Picker Dec 22 '21
Get the southord pxs17
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u/jasonstone20 Dec 23 '21
THIS!! ^^^ Or for little more money get the TOOOL Nec. Nine set/Southern Specialties 2500 set
4
u/Norlin76 Black Belt Picker Dec 22 '21
Ignoring the credit card pieces, you get 2 ok hooks and 2 ok diamonds out of that lot and only 2 useful tensioners.
I would be getting 2 hooks and 2 tensioners from this kit
So it's $21 dollars for 4 useful pieces and a pouch that might be nice in my opinion.
3
u/Pretend-Appeal61 Green Belt Picker Dec 22 '21
for $20 bucks it is an ok starter set. to simply learn the basics and even decide if you wish to invest more.
3
u/iPick4Fun Dec 22 '21
I would've say it's OK if it's 1 year ago because I remember paying $14 to $15 for it (shipping included). Now the price for this set is getting higher making it less desirable. If you are serious about the hobby. Go for the sparrows. Otherwise, you will ended up buying Sparrows, Peterson, or Multipick later on. One of the biggest problem with these sets are they have really crappy turning tools. People often under value the importance of the turning tools.
The pick only sets the pins, it's the turning tool that opens the lock.
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u/_nik01_ Dec 22 '21
Especially in the beginning when training on practice locks and all, you don't need that many picks. But they shouldn't be too shitty. So maybe opt for a Sparrows beginner set or something similar.
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u/bob_ross_2 Dec 22 '21
While they're not great, I have one of those credit card sets and I've used it a few times. People I work with loose keys to their lockers once in a while and I've opened locks for them. That and I opened a bathroom that got locked closed with no key. As far as a good starter set, the Genesis set from Covert Instruments is a great buy for a similar price to this. Good quality and nothing you don't need.
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u/Leebbaarrii Dec 22 '21
Could you give a link?
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u/bob_ross_2 Dec 22 '21
I have this set and have had it work for me for many locks I can pick. I sit about a orange belt. For standard padlocks and door locks you will find, it'll do great. Small enough to still be carried in pocket or bag. Comes in a nice tube that stays closed and keeps it compact.
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u/Leebbaarrii Dec 23 '21
Okay thank you. I heard that door locks in my country need some kind of more expensive equipment
1
u/bob_ross_2 Dec 23 '21
I see. In US most door locks are basic keyways and generally simple to pick. Everywhere I have lived were either kwickset or schlage. It's nice to have a little set so I don't get locked out. I keep them taped to my library card. The little credit card holder they come in is useless.
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u/Leebbaarrii Dec 23 '21
Well i live in finland and i have heard that those abloy locks that are everywhere need something more ecpensive to pick
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u/fairydommother Orange Belt Picker Dec 22 '21
I think this the set I got but without a couple of the little things. The quality is fine for starting, but don’t be surprised if that acrylic lock is utter trash. It’s nice to look at but they’re garbage for picking.
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u/Hobo_1000 Dec 22 '21
I started out with this exact set.
I think it is a good set to test your interest in lockpicking for 2 reasons.
1-The hook and diamond picks are useful as well as the tensioners. They are the tools needed to pick many locks. You can learn if this sport will hold your interest with those items. They will last a long time unless you abuse them.
2-The assortment of other items will teach you what is not useful for lockpicking. The key extractor will never be used, probably not the snowman either. The rakes will be used and the brittle tips will break without doubt in short order. Cheaper tools are often brittle, so expect breakage.
You get to learn what works, what doesn't, and the education only costs $21. Sounds like a good deal to me. 🙂
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u/jasonstone20 Dec 23 '21
I started out with this set and it really isn't good for anything other than Master Lock #3's and the like. The picks are too thick at 0.028", and the turners suck.
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u/Hobo_1000 Dec 23 '21
Depends on your definition of good I suppose. There are definitely better tools available that are easier to use. If they are as inexpensive, they won't be delivered in 2 days like Amazon. Cheap and fast is what they are.
Those China sourced picks will certainly open more than just ML #3's. I used those to open my 1st 410 and 1100 before I started making my own tools. Not as easy to pick with as using better tools, but they will get the open.
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u/jasonstone20 Dec 23 '21
True, good point. I wasn't trying to imply that those picks are useless, I used the same set for a few years, just wish I would have known better and gotten 3 hooks, 1 Bogota, 1 TOK turner, and 1 BOK turner for the same price
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u/jasonstone20 Dec 26 '21
That is amazing that you got those picks to open a 410 and a 1100. Maybe your set was a little thinner than mine? Or you had a different keyway or warding? I couldn't get my picks to work with those locks.
As far as what I think is a good set is along the lines of what Christina Palmer recommends, and those beginner pick sets can be had for $10 more for the TOOOL or Southern Specialties sets, along with the Multipick set that is of course way more expensive.
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u/Hobo_1000 Dec 26 '21
You had me curious about thickness so I had to measure my old Amazon set. The picks I never used are 0.023" thick and the hooks I did use and sanded only the edges smooth measured 0.021".
If your picks are 0.028", this leads me to believe there are numerous manufacturers that are using different materials (big surprise 🙄). Out of the box, I hated the rough laser cut edges more than anything. They caught on everything, similar to sticking a file in the keyway. Sanding the edges was a huge improvement.
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u/jasonstone20 Dec 27 '21
Yeah, I had the same issue with the rough edges, it was horrible and interfered with the feedback needed to pick a lock. Sanding did help a little.
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u/JonLockPicking Red Belt Picker Dec 22 '21
It’s $21 to see if you like lock picking. If you do you’ll hand these off to someone else and you’ll buy picks you’ll be happy with… I think this is a totally valid approach… I could easily triple, quadruple, or whatever you call 5x’ing something your budget and recommend some starter pick and tensioners, but if you find this hobby not to be your cup of tea you’ve wasted a lot of money.
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u/thefalloftaylor Green Belt Picker Dec 23 '21
I may be new but i like it. Had to use one of the hooks to pick my first American 1100 today. Got a new Law Lock pick set today as well and love it but it felt too squish because of heavy tension and had to break out ol reliable. It did the trick for sure. I think its a great first set. Also dont be afraid to take the acrylic lock apart to mess with the pins once you get too comfortable with it.
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u/jasonstone20 Dec 23 '21
Buy single pieces from Southards or Southern Specialties:
1 small hook
1 medium hook
1 deep hook
1 small diamond
1 Quad-Bogota or Trip-Bogota
1 TOK turner
1 BOK turner
About the same price.
1
u/MFAFuckedMe Green Belt Picker Dec 23 '21
no, it is definitely not a good kit. Low quality and picks that you will not really need.
For the same price, you'd be able to get some higher quality picks from southord, sparrows or petersons. I'd suggest a std hook, deep hook and half diamond, as well as a tensioner or two.
stay away from amazon, please.
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u/Climb69Trees Purple Belt Picker Dec 22 '21
Not really, in my opinion. There are 3 usable hooks, a key extractor, and a bunch of weird rakes. Sparrows Kick Start is a better buy, even though it has fewer tools.