C801 SouthOrd 9 Piece Lock Pick Set

This is a great set. I had no experience of lock picking and I can back the experts who will tell you that it just requires practice! This is by no means a comprehensive set but has more than enough to get you started. 2 tension wrenches are sound and provide enough variation in size for a beginner like myself. As far as picks go I only really ever use the short hook, s-rake, diamond and single-sided rake, after all you only need 1 pick and a tension tool to open a lock. This is the set you want to get for UK locks (as it's slimline) and smaller padlocks because they tend to have smaller (and often paracentric) keyways. Within about 40 minutes I had managed several basic padlocks and after a few days managed to pick a euro cylinder. As far as the hobby is concerned it is a great problem solving challenge and needs a lot of patience to learn the feel and touch of what you are looking for - you will either get it after a few tries or never be able to pick a lock in your life! If you properly want to get into locksport I would recommend that you start by learning to single pin pick rather than rake, raking works well on small padlocks but anything more than 4/5 pins will get you unstuck. Raking ultimately provides a better display of opening a lock very quickly to impress people though... Well recommended as a starter set. DR

Found this really hard to use. The instructions are not great so have been using Youtube videos to learn how to use the picks. I can see that other people have managed, but I'm struggling. Really great quality though, sturdy and great value for such a large set. Could do with extra instructions.

Perfect starter set, contains the most commonly used picks. These are slimline picks and so are ideal for use on UK and European locks. The only thing that might be a handy addition is more tension wrenches. A good value set.

Cannot use without instruction

This is a quality set of picks perfect for smaller UK locks and they have a good variety of picks & rakes which includes two tension wrenches, one large & one small. Having lost my backdoor key and not wanting to shell out for an expensive ‘locksmith’ I thought i'd get a set of my own picks as i'd also wanted to give lock picking a go. This is the set i'd decided on getting and i'm glad i did. It took me around 10-15 minutes of ‘practice’ on my door (6 pin UK cylinder lock) before it finally popped open. The picks are pretty strong for how slim they are. They do tend to dig into your forefinger after a while which kinda makes you want to give up, but a decent pair of gloves will sort that out. All in all, this is a fantastic little set of quality lockpicks which will do any aspiring pick artist proud.

Broke on first try, and I know how to use then

Lockpicking as a hobby? Not for me I'm afraid. It had potential from the puzzle-solving angle, but otherwise left me cold. However, I did make very good use of the picks, but not, I imagine, for what they were origially intended. Anyone who has made models from scratch, especially model boats, will have found a need for a variety of miniature tools at some time or another. Inadvertantly I have found my small set of lockpicks to have the potential for becoming such a collection of miniature tools. With the aid of a magnifier and a small grinding wheel I have so far modified three of my picks into two different shaped shavers for removing very small shavings of wood and a small hook for directing the rigging on a galleon. The other picks will be modified as required. On the face of it the picks give the impression of maybe being useful for marking small items on a lathe. However, I strongly believe and recommend that the picks are not used for this purpose as the temper and strength of the metal is not known and therefore provides the potential for a serious accident. The modified picks make excellent miniature model-making hand tools and that is the use to which I shall put mine.

Ok but careful as will bend easily.