JimyLongs made a small batch of custom lockpicks and shared them with his friends to get feedback on the design and to make them better. I was fortunate enough to be included in the European distribution and testing of the picks.
The pick making process is pretty involved from selecting the right materials to endlessly simulating and tweaking the design. Jimy had the picks laser cut and it was not without issues. It turns out laser cutters can be too powerful and ruin the picks in the process. Furthermore Jimy build his own injection molding apparatus for the handles.
Let’s have a look at the picks. 🙂
The set contains three picks; short, medium, and long hook in 0.5mm. The picks are full tang tempered & polished 1095 carbon steel with characteristics similar to High Yield SS 301.
I like the picks very much. They give great feedback as they are very stiff. No chance I’ll snap the handles like I did once with a Southord Max (Sad image). Can’t wait to bring these picks to a meetup and gather more feedback for Jimy.
To wrap this one up let’s compare the profile of the long hook to other picks in my kit.
For me the thinnest profiles work best (LLT & SSDeV). Each of these picks have their uses.
That’s all for this post. See you in the next one.
Photos CCBY4.0 Jan-Willem Markus Toool Blackbag.
I actually really like the mixed “wood” effect of the handles! Looks a bit like the really old Bakerlite found on classic equipment.
Interesting post and I can definitely identify with Jimmys issues with laser cutting. it takes experience to dial in the settings to get it optimal for cutting 301 and I imagine that’s no different for 1095. Even cutting the same material but a different shape can have different results. Older C02 laser machines are probably not ideal. A modern Fibre machine can cut these all day without issue or heat effected zone. In the aerospace industry they cut the same materials with lasers for engine gaskets and things like that and they pass rigorous aerospace standards. Either way I feel honoured to get a mention on Blackbag
Thank you for sharing your insights on the different types of lasers. As for the mention, I like your work very much as it was something we had not seen before and the quality is superb. I’ve bought a Tipene hook set with the mandatory hybrid pick at first release and upgraded to the Valyrian Euro set. I’m also biassed as Tipenene is a good friend that knows his way around lockpick design.