StormLockPicks Aluminium Billet Handle Set Review

Storm Aluminium Billet Handle Set, a set on Flickr.

In my last post, I mentioned finding Storm’s picks a little uncomfortable for extended periods of picking.

I placed an order for a set for a friend’s birthday (his opinion: “My God these picks are amazing!… Seems like I can feel what’s going on in the lock much better.”), and tucked in the packet was a note of thanks and an extra 6E pick, wrapped in a digicamo swatch, and wearing a very smart handle set.

The handle is milled out of aluminium, and then anodised black with the Storm logo in white. There is a well machined window that lets you see the pick model: not strictly necessary, but a good addition. The shoulders of the handle match the shoulders of the pick, and gives it a comfortable mass.

These cost about £10, and given that my picking is a hobby/source of good sport, I’d filed them away in the ‘very nice but not strictly needed category’. I was absolutely right, and absolutely wrong.

They do absorb a tiny amount of feedback, but what was lost there was gained in a much more relaxed and pliable hand, making for faster, surer picking, even with my relatively unpractised hands. This improvement comes from the increased size, and the increased mass.

The only operational downside, is that you lose the classic, easy to carry, slim pick profile, and possibly on harder locks a tiny sensation of a pin.

You can see photos below, and find the handle options here. Unsurprisingly, these are a big improvement over my heat shrink plastic wrapping.