Best Lock Pick Sets for Beginners

I've been picking locks for over twenty years, and the question I still hear most is the simplest one: which set should I buy first? This page is my straight answer. Here are ten sets we stand behind, starting with the box I recommend to most people picking up their first lock.

The difference between them is what comes with the picks. Some add practice locks and a guide, some give you better steel and cleaner feedback, two are built to carry every day, and one is a complete professional kit. I've compared them on the things that change your first few weeks at the bench, not on how many pieces are in the case.

These are sets we use and recommend ourselves, from the same range we supply to locksmiths, the military, the police and the emergency services. Orders over £30 get free UK delivery.

This suits you if you'd like everything in one box, practice locks included, or you're buying a gift for someone who's curious about how locks work.

Here's what comes in every Lokko Beginners Box.

• Sixteen stainless lock picks have comfortable handles that are easy to grip while you learn.
• Six tension wrenches let you find the one that suits the keyway and your hand position.
• Two clear practice locks with keys, a see-through padlock and a double-sided cylinder, let you watch the pins move.
• A credit-card-sized spy pick set slips into your wallet.
• A protective carry wallet keeps the picks together between sessions.
• A 44-page digital quickstart guide with colour photos takes you from opening the box to your first open.

Most first-time frustration comes from cheap tools, missing tensioners, bad practice locks, or no clear way to connect what the fingers feel with what the pins are doing. This box deals with all four. Because the locks are see-through, you can watch a pin settle at the shear line at the same moment you feel it, and a lot of people get their first open within the first hour.

When you want the box to become a longer learning project, you can add the printed illustrated guidebook, three extra practice locks, or three progressive Eureka locks. I recommend the version with the printed guidebook.

The Lokko Beginners Box starts at £34.99, and the guidebook bundle is £44.99.

This suits you if you'd rather start with a small set of better tools than a case full of filler.

Here's what comes in every Serenity set.

• Ten core tools give you classic hooks and rakes plus top and bottom tension options, including a pry-bar tensioner for crowded keyways.
• The picks are 0.6 mm Starship-grade 301 stainless, the same grade of steel SpaceX builds Starship from.
• A leather wallet protects the tips between practice sessions.
• Our free starter eBook comes with every version.

I designed Serenity to answer the question we're asked more than any other: what's the best set for someone starting out? A first set should be compact, no-nonsense and well made, and it shouldn't need replacing six months later. Bare stainless gives you direct feedback, so you feel each pin lift and set instead of guessing. It's a set you'll keep reaching for long after your first clear lock.

Serenity starts at £26.99. If you want a practice lock and a proper book with it, the bundle with a repinnable practice lock and the Beginners Visual Guide is £94.99.

This suits you if you want one set to grow into, with slim picks that still fit tight UK and European keyways.

Here's what comes in the basic PRAXIS set.

• Sixteen picks give you eight profiles, each supplied in both 0.6 mm and 0.4 mm thickness.
• Each gauge has a short hook, medium hook, DeForest diamond, half diamond, three-peaked EDC rake, S-rake, city rake and W-rake.
• Five tension tools, four tensioners and a Z-wrench, let you work from the bottom or the top of the keyway.
• Every pick is Starship-grade 301 stainless.
• Our free starter eBook comes with the set.

PRAXIS is Bosnian Bill's set of choice, and it's the set we wish we'd had when we started picking. It does something a big case can't. Use the 0.6 mm picks for stronger feedback on everyday practice locks, then switch to the 0.4 mm picks when a narrow, heavily warded keyway leaves no room for thicker steel. There's no filler and no missing piece, so your next purchase can be a specialist tool rather than a replacement.

PRAXIS starts at £64.99 for the basic set. For learning, I'd choose the bundle with a repinnable practice lock and the Beginners Visual Guide at £114.99.

This suits you if you'd like a well-known brand in a compact set, with grippy handles that help you hold the same angle every time.

Here's what comes in the wallet.

• Fourteen pieces cover the common first jobs of lifting pins, raking and controlling tension.
• Black textured grips add comfort and tell your fingers which way the pick is facing.
• A carry wallet keeps the whole set together.

SouthOrd has long been a trusted name in lock picks, and the PXS-14 is the SouthOrd starter set we still recommend. It gives you a spread of proven profiles without paying for a big professional roll on day one. My advice is to start with one hook, one rake and one tension tool, then reach for the rest once the feedback makes sense. Pair it with a clear practice lock for your first sessions.

The SouthOrd PXS-14 is £29.99.

This suits you if you'd rather buy one complete professional kit now than build a tool roll piece by piece.

Here's what comes in the VORAX kit.

• Fourteen picks and rakes cover raking and fine single-pin work: a snake rake, triple peak, twin peak, worm rake, city rake, short hook, Euro hook, steep hook, high reach, offset hybrid, half diamond, and the SSDeV High, Long and Deep hooks.
• A laser-engraved SANDMAN pick and four comb flat bars come in the kit as well.
• Six tension wrenches are matched to the set, and one of them is made for tubular locks.
• A MultiCam Black Sherman case with a 3D patch holds everything.

The VORAX gathers the rakes, hooks and tension tools that handle most cylinder work into one considered kit, with the premium build and attention to detail Sparrows are known for. Open quickly with the rakes, then move to the hooks for precise single-pin picking on security pins. It's a big kit, so pair it with the Beginners Visual Guide if you want clear step-by-step help.

The Sparrows VORAX is £93.95.

Good picks get you halfway. The rest is understanding what's happening inside the lock while your fingers work. The Beginners Visual Guide gives you 178 full-colour pages and more than 200 cutaway illustrations of pin stacks, binding order, the shear line and every tool angle. Prop it open beside your practice lock, keep both hands on the tools, and glance across whenever you need the picture.

It starts with how a pin tumbler works and builds through single-pin picking, security pins, false sets and progressive drills, then goes on to dimple, wafer, tubular and disc detainer locks. It works with any of the ten sets above, and the paperback is £19.99.

You'll find plenty more locks to practise on in our practice locks collection.