A lock pick set is the starting point of every locksport journey. Every kit below includes the three tools you actually need on day one — a hook, a rake and a tension wrench — plus a case to keep them organised. Most sets ship with a transparent practice padlock so you can watch the pins move while you learn.
Guide
Lock Pick Sets
Beginners are often sold 30-piece kits full of picks they will never touch. In reality, 90 % of pin tumbler locks open with three tools: a short hook for single pin picking, a snake or Bogota rake for fast openings, and a tension wrench that fits the bottom (or top) of the keyway. Our sets are built around that core and add variety on top of it — half-diamonds, city rakes, double-ended tension tools — rather than padding the count with duplicates.
Every set on this page is checked for three things before it goes in the catalogue: stainless steel picks of 0.5–0.6 mm (thin enough for European keyways, stiff enough not to bend), handles that do not rotate in the hand, and a tension wrench that is actually usable — the number one reason beginners fail is a sloppy tension tool, not the pick.
If you have never picked a lock, choose a starter kit that ships with a clear acrylic padlock. Seeing the driver pins set on the shear line is the fastest way to understand the feedback you are feeling through the pick. Expect your first open within an hour.
A folding jackknife set keeps five to eight picks in a single handle. Great for everyday carry and for travelling, less ideal for learning because the picks are shorter.
Once you are comfortable with single pin picking, a larger set gives you specialised profiles — deep hooks for high-low pinning, offset picks, wafer rakes for cabinets and mailboxes — and usually adds a leather case.
Owning and using lock picks on locks you own is legal in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, the Nordic countries, Czechia and most of the EU. The UK requires that you do not carry them outside your home without a good reason. We keep a country-by-country summary on our legality page, updated when laws change. We ship to every country listed as legal and we do not ship to countries where picks are restricted (for example Japan).
Each order includes our illustrated beginner guide (PDF) explaining tension, binding order and how to read a false set. Pair it with the step-by-step tutorial and the belt ranking progression — you start on a 3-pin practice lock and move up one difficulty level at a time, exactly the way the r/lockpicking community does it.
Not sure where to start? Read which lock pick set to buy first, or jump straight to our beginner lock pick sets.
