lockpicking @lemmy.ml Poiar @sh.itjust.works 10mo ago

What/where to buy when in the EU

Hi all,

I'm new to the hobby, but already know that this is something I can really get into.

I have purchased a cheap (but good) Chinese set, and want to "upgrade" to something nicer + aquire some more single picks.

I am ready to throw in around €140 (+/-) for a better quality set, but I'm having a really hard time with finding any EU shops that sell picks that are well-reviewed by the community.

I hear Peterson picks are some of the best. Also Sparrows I feel like I hear a lot of people talk about.

That said, I'm not against purchasing outside the EU, but do know that everything will have added + 25% VAT + (usually) expensive shipping + If I exceed ~€150 for the set (not including shipping) I will have to pay 12% of the total amount (shipping included)

I will listen to all types advise, including being pointed to other forums

5 comments

Does your country have a TOOOL chapter? If not the TOOOL nl community can point you in the right direction
- It seems like only English and German/Dutch speaking chapters exist. I'm based in Denmark.
  
  Still, I'll try reaching out to them. Thanks for the tip!
Sparrows are generally garbage, Peterson are OK-ish but overpriced and the company's a bit shit. I'd maybe go for Moki's minimalist set or one of the Multipick sets. Multipick's often seen as one of the best if not the best maker of picks, but they'll definitely cost you.

Here's a doc that has basic info on what you'll want to look for when buying picks, and an overview of the most popular vendors, compiled by an LPU member (Lockpickers United, started off on /r/lockpicking but there's a Discord server too).

If you join LPU's Discord, you can hop on to #lockpicking-serious or #lockpicking-lounge if you have questions
- The resources you've sent already seem to be a great help in my lock picking research. Thank you for your thorough response 👍
  
  You're welcome, happy to help.
  
  I'd say the main thing to keep in mind is that you're probably not going to need any very exotic profiles for a while (if ever, really), so don't go too crazy with the picks – yet 😁 Moki's Minimalist set is a good reference, start off with 0.6mm picks at least, and you can get similar profiles in 0.4mm too if you want to be able to pick locks with thin keyways (they're pretty common in Europe) and can fit them in your budget – or at least say a 0.4mm medium and deep hook. After a while you'll learn enough to know if you need something that you don't have. Having a large variety of tensioners is probably much more important than having a large variety of picks, but again you'll be fine for a while with a basic set of a few TOK and a few BOK tools like in the Minimalist.