Interesting news. The Dutch Toool division just released the locks for tenth Toool lockpick competition.
It does contain some interesting locks. A lot of people donate to the collection and my contribution are locks picked up in south–Africa and other countries.
Not all locks have been identified by Jos Weyers (who photographed all the locks). If you can help him identify some of the unknown locks that would be appreciated.
At the competition only manual hand picks are allowed. Electro-picks are not allowed. If they were, I know what tool to use. By far the best electro-pick on the market is made by Multipick in Germany.
I spoke with one of the developers at the Interkey locksmith show in Poland last weekend and got some impressive demo’s. They make the smallest, most powerful, most silent and (unfortunately) the most expensive electro-pick on my wishlist.
I hope Santa will not forget about me this year…
(more info on my trip to Poland via twitter: barrywels )
* Update 12 December 2012 VIDEO of the electro-pick
the no name is a corbin/russwin master ring if thats helpful. Has two shear lines, one for the user key, and a seperate one for the master key. Your blog is awesome!
I’v never understood why the price of some electric picks is so high?
In terms of pick per £ i don’t think the old Klom fares too badly.
Iv owned mine years and only had to charge it twice.
Electric picks are nothing but a motor, a trigger and a pick – like the throw-away razors that sell for $10. The price of the Multi-pick is an insult to lock people everywhere.
Rick & Escher: I do agree the tool is somewhat expensive (overpriced?). I think this has to do with the fact some very clever people worked on it and all want their share.
I also know of a big company that put a lot of money (R&D, Patents) into designing a new electropick but it just does not work that well. No matter what they try.
To me it seems multipick found the right people for the job.
But this is all just my personal opinion. And I do not owe one both picks. Too expensive and I have enough skills to open locks otherwise 🙂
Barry: To me $650 U.S. is more than a little over-priced, but then again if their market is professionals only I suppose that price is in line with Falle’s tools etc. For me, I will stick with the Chinese models ($39 delivered on DGate.)
I just had a thought that if one were to connect an electric pick to the power through a variable foot switch, it would be possible to vary the vibration rate either in stages or by inserting the pick simultaneously with applying the pedal. This might have the effect of finding that magic spot which opens the lock. Worth a try, but I don’t have an electric pick right now. Maybe someone out there can experiment and report back.
@Escher7: The “Multipick-Control” comes with an electronic control device where you can change the frequency. You can even store frequencies which work best to open a specific lock.
However, this tool is even more expensive than the MHP II and meant for professionals.
I was able to test the MHP II and I really liked it. Best tool I’ve seen so far.
Unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of money, too.
I just made an excellent electric pick from a cordless razor and a standard replacement snap gun pick inserted in a cut-off hobby knife. Looks professional and has lots of power, but it only opens a few locks. ( I will post a picture shortly on Keypicking.com.) Not sure whether my design is flawed or if my technique sucks. I wonder if even the high-end picks have a 50% success rate. If so, I am glad I didn’t spring for one of the big buck machines. I use batteries, but may be able to vary the rate with either a lower power adapter or a light dimmer switch. I am also going to look for a write-up on electric pick technique to see what I’m doing wrong.
I just made an excellent electric pick from a cordless razor and a standard replacement snap gun pick inserted in a cut-off hobby knife. Looks professional and has lots of power, but it only opens a few locks. ( I will post a picture shortly on Keypicking.com.) Not sure whether my design is flawed or if my technique sucks. I wonder if even the high-end picks have a 50% success rate. If so, I am glad I didn\’t spring for one of the big buck machines. I use batteries, but may be able to vary the rate with either a lower power adapter or a light dimmer switch. I am also going to look for a write-up on electric pick technique to see what I\’m doing wrong.
Sorry for the double post.