Regular readers will recall that when I became interested in lock sport I brought myself a cheap Chinese set of tools. This let me experiment with various different styles of tools. It also provided me with a plastic see-through practice padlock.
Today’s post is about another set of Chinese-made tools that I own. Like my other kit, these are made by Goso. A very similar kit is marketed under the name “KLOM”. These have different handles, without “GOSO” on them, and I have seen different handle colour options offered. Some of these KLOM sets seem to have an additional turning tool and/or a turning tool different from the Goso model. My other Goso set seems to be a copy of the Majestic brand. I would have assumed this kit is a copy of the KLOM, but the Goso website sells the KLOM set! Comments on quality and finish only apply to the Goso set. I do not know if the KLOM set is the same.
I brought the nine-piece Goso set of since I wanted to develop my SPP (single pin picking) skills and wanted a selection of hooks.
These are not, by any stretch of the imagination, quality tools. They are punched out from thin steel with no attempt to remove any burrs or turned edges. Many of the plastic handles show seams and flash and vary as to which side the handle curves in relation to the tool head. The flaws with the handle are admittedly aesthetic and the handle orientation makes very little effect on the use of the tools. Burrs can be removed with a file and abrasive paper.
When I first examined the hooks I noticed subtle variations in shape and curve and some duplications. I’m no longer sure how much of this is deliberate and how much poor quality control! There are three, possibly four distinct hook forms. On the positive side, I have a fondness for these since I achieve my first ever SPP with one of these! By that criteria the kit has done what I brought it for. One of these hooks sits by my chair so I can fiddle with a lock during the advert breaks.
You get three other tools:
One tool is the most obtuse half-diamond I have ever seen. I have successfully picked locks with this but its general utility seems low. I cannot even think of anything useful to turn this into.
Another tool is a “dimple rake”, an odd inclusion in a kit mainly of tools for conventional cylinders. Oddly, most of the dimple pick kits offered by the same company don’t appear to have this rake included. I have no experience of how effective this rake is, not having any dimple locks available. In BosnianBill’s review of this kit he accidental snaps this while trying to demonstrate how soft the steel in this set is. (Ironically, one of the few tools from Goso kits he considered useful) The hooks all seem relatively soft and bendy. Not necessarily a bad thing when picking a narrow keyway.
The final pick resembles a giant version of a single-hump Bogota. Apparently this works well on wafer locks and some people buy the set just to get this. To my surprise this works well on some of my (non-wafer) locks both as a lifter or as a rocker. Later I noticed the hump is very similar to that of the Princess rake.
The final part of the kit is a turning tool. This resembles a stout bit of wire with flattened ends. This is actually a nice tool. The ends are a bit asymmetrical but it works fine. A little bit of file work could shape and size the ends to the user’s particular requirements so it is ideal for customisation.
Incidentally, I have seen a set of these picks without the handles offered at a higher price as a compact mini-lock pick set. This illustrates the plastic handles could easily be cut down, reshaped or removed. The selection of tool types for this application is a bit limited, however. I would want an half-diamond and some cylinder rakes too, so will stick to my pair of Bogotas.
How useful this kit is very much depends on your expectations and the price you pay. It is not a high quality premium kit and the standard of finish is poor. I brought mine from Withoutakey and consider the price of £2.99 to be reasonable for what you get, being less than that of many quality single picks. Note that many other sources are offering the same kit for several times the price, however. If you get one or two useful tools from the set and was not expecting state of the art, you come out ahead. My kit helped me learn SPP, which was what I wanted. I like the turning tool and may add the giant single-hump to my best kit.
If you have enjoyed this article or it has been helpful to you please feel free to show your appreciation. Thank you.The Books
