Wow, Holy Grail of Lockpick Sets...

[Illusion]

Stumbled across this on Amazon.. Oh, and it's supposedly a "Beginners" set..!

• 37 Piece Southord Lock Pick Set
• Easy Picking Lock Pick Book
• Yale Cylinder Practice Lock
• Brockhage Clear Plastic Lock w/ Spool Pins
• Brockhage Lock Pick Gun (Down)
• Brockhage Lock Pick Gun (Up)
• Padlock Shims
• Skeleton Keys
• Padlock Comb Pick Set
• Warded Keys

And as a deal, if you spend more than £40 from that supplier - they throw in a free bumpkey. Price? £190. :|

The same supplier, coincidentally - does the Skeleton keys to regular mortice locks here for £10. Now mortice locks may be old, but I know a whole load of people who rely on them. As well as padlock shims although - as they say, don't expect it to work on high end (Abus style) padlocks.

I have noticed a fair few little penknife style kits like this - doesn't hold much advantage for my purposes - but I imagine some people would enjoy the flexibility that offers them. Whether they perform very well, I don't really know to be honest.

I'm now just deciding whether to get a comprehensive lock pick set - that's been imported and has good reviews, or get one a little bit pricier with not as many options and no reviews as it's made in this country, and thus is (apparently) a little bit thinner for the narrower locks we have. Choices Choices Choices!

[Biohazard]

Hey Moddy. That's a pretty nice complete set. Honestly though, those Southord tools are decent but there's no comparison between those and what you could make yourself with a $40 bench grinder and some hacksaw blades. I found the Southords to be too thin and really not up to my standards. As a novelty, a lot of the stuff in this set is cool. As being useful, you need:

-A shallow hook pick
-A deep hook pick
-A snake rake
-A half diamond pick (personally I hate them, I just stick to my hooks)
-MAYBE a half ball if you are going to open wafer locks
-3 nice, quality tension wrenches (made out of springs from windshield wipers), different widths

I guess I wouldn't mind having the warded keys, the skeleton keys or the padlock picks just to mess around with but you don't NEED any of them. For ops, forget pick guns and bump keys. Totally loud and useless. I heard the EZ Picking book is decent though, but the MIT guide to lockpicking is still good enough. That and info you can fish off lockpicking101.com

I made my own pen knife style lockpicks, I guess I'll post a picture here shortly. Can't beat the quality of what you can produce at home with good hacksaw blades, even the high end picks are not as nice IMO. If you really want to buy a set, forget Southord and get something better. I'd point you to something but just ask on LP101. I forgot who makes nicer ones. Make some extra wrenches too like I said before, all you need are 2 pairs of pliers. Hope this helps!

[Absent]

You made all of that? Nice...

[Xanatos]

Can't beat the quality of what you can produce at home with good hacksaw blades, even the high end picks are not as nice IMO.

[Illusion]

heh, I wasn't going to buy it! I was just shocked at just how comprehensive a kit you can pick up off the shelf, I agree though - most of it would be pretty defunct for our uses.

I must say; looking at your pic - they seem to beat any that I've seen on LP101. How long have you been making them?! Seeing just how good they can turn out I may have to look into it seriously.

[Ghost]

Nice pick set. I need to pick up a new set for opping, but maybe i'll experiment around with making my own instead.

[Marzka]

Quick noob question: How can I get my parents to let me buy a locpicking set online? I can't come up with a good excuse.

[Xanatos]

Got a friend who can buy stuff online for you? Give them cash and your parents never have to know.

Or you can try telling your parents you're interested in becoming a locksmith, but good luck with that.

[TheBurnedMan]

You might consider making them, that way there is no real record of your having obtained them and you dont have to ask your parents

[Zerg]

Walk to a convenience store and buy an Amazon gift card with cash. Make account. Buy. Intercept package.