some of my picks

[femurat]

Here is a set I made for a fellow picker: bicycle spoke and wiper insert tension wrenches, hook and half diamond "Gillette" picks made with street cleaning bristles.

Cheers

ps: Hey rerun12, sorry for the late reply, I usually trade one pick for one lock, pm me if you have a nice padlock to offer me

[femurat]

Here are two picks I made for two friends...

Cheers

[Oldfast]

lol... still love the way you use those Gillettes for handles!

Nice array of tensors. And, that hook looks deadly... and solid.

[selim]

Have alway's liked your handle idea, i bet it has good feedbak, did you heat the spokes up before bending ?

[femurat]

Thanks for the compliments guys

Yes those handles have a great feedback. The thing I like the most is their lightweight. You can really feel the pin weight when passing under it.
To shape the picks I use a wet grinder, so the metal keeps its original temper and strength.

About bending the spoke, but this is true even with other materials, I don't heat the metal at all. I start to bend and after almost 30 degrees I move the pliers half a mm away from the bend. I bend another 30 degrees and then move the pliers again and then finish the 90 degree bend. This way there isn't a single stress point to develop a crack in because the 90 degree bent is distributed in a wider area than if I make it all in one bend without moving my pliers. Thanks to raimundo for giving me this suggestion many years ago.

Cheers

[LockSafe]

When I first saw the bamboo handle on Femurat's original pick a few years ago, I thought that it looked uncomfortable and would be hard to pick with.

Then we met at LockCon 2013 and I saw it in person, and Femurat - nice to meet you mate, and was sure that it would be hard to pick with.
Then on the Sunday in the Dutch Open picking competition Femurat with his bamboo handles pick, scored higher than me.
I am sorry to your pick Femurat, I am sure now that he is comfortable.

[femurat]

Hey LockSafe, nice to meet you too.

Well the fact that I scored higher than you doesn't mean that my handle is more comfortable than yours... but at least means that it works! IMHO it's very comfortable but everyone has his own preferences. It depends on your picking technique also.

If you're into making things I suggest you to try and make one yourself. When you use a pick you made, the satisfaction doubles!

Cheers

[LockSafe]

I have made a few picks over the years mate.
Including a complete commercial set, I thought you had seen them.

[femurat]

You mean the huge set I saw on a round table close to the hostel entrance? lol

[femurat]

I eyeball the size and shape of the picks I make, so every one is unique. I have my favorite pick and I decided to make a copy of it. Of course it's not exactly like its elder brother, but it reckon it very much. Here they are, the bigger one is the oldest.

Shaped, sanded and polished





Fitted to its handle



After fire hardening the color is darker





There's nothing like making a pick on a Sunday morning 8)

Cheers

[WestCoastPicks]

Nice! Are you primarily a half diamond user?

[femurat]

Thanks I use almost exclusively half diamonds. I make and have other picks, but half diamonds work better IMHO.

Cheers

[Oldfast]

Those look great. For a long time I didn't think all too much of the half-diamond...
but they're powerful picks! It really took me some time to be able to fully utilize
them though. I think they take more practice than some of the other designs.
But I'd urge people to give it a thorough try. I regret not using 'em for so long.

Also, the way you have the pick off-set from the center of the handle; I could
see that maybe being helpful. I mean, it would make it so you're not entirely
in front of the keyway. Yeah? No? Anyway, they look like killers! Nice job!

[femurat]

Oldfast, now that you mention that the pick is off-centre, I'll tell you why. The bamboo is D shaped so to me the pick had to sits against the flat side. At first I was not very happy about it, but suddenly realized it works very well for my technique: lifting the pins by rotating the pick. It's super easy to follow the paracentric keyways this way. The pick is a bit off centre, so it travels exactly along the keyway curve. I'll call it a fortunate coincidence.

Cheers

[Oldfast]

Right?! That works out perfect!

Also, I see just a little bit of a glare at the base of the shaft...
is that some type of glue in there or did you simply wedge it tight?