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Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 3:11 pm
by SteveHGraham
The other day I was fooling with a project, and I realized I didn't have any picks to speak of. I ordered some cheapo dental tools from Ebay, plus a surprisingly nice pick from General Tools. I am out less than $15 for all of this. I thought the dental stuff would be neat because it covers a lot of bases for very little money and includes a little mirror. It may not hold up well, but it will probably be very useful until everything falls apart, and I won't be afraid to beat on it.

I felt like I should still get a real set of picks and hooks. I looked around, and I read that nearly every set out there is Chinese stuff that either comes out of the plastic handle (permanently) or bends when you try to use it. The one set everyone loved: Snap-On. I'm not paying 50 bucks for 4 little picks.

I saw that Grace made a set of picks, and I decided to try them. I'm wondering if anyone else has tried them.

I figured it was worth a shot, because Grace makes gunsmithing screwdrivers everyone seems to like. The picks look about the same. Square wooden handles.

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 3:51 pm
by BadDog
I had a variety of picks over the years, never had any that would hold up other than an old one, forget the brand. Finally I got a deal on a Snap-On set from a repo on the truck that came by weekly, and I couldn't be happier, still have them today. I'm really cheap and consider most anything Snap-On as grossly overpriced, but for picks that you really intend to use, I don't know of a good alternative other than maybe (no experience) the competitors at comparable price points. For something that tiny and fine pointed, I'm guessing it's just not easy or cheap to produce stuff that lasts...

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 7:02 pm
by SteveHGraham
It seems like no tool is so easy to make that most manufacturers can't screw it up.

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 9:14 pm
by NP317
I got my pick collection from my dentist.. The picks reach a stage where the office replaced them, but what I got all are perfect for my use!
Free too.
~RN

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 9:27 pm
by warmstrong1955
NP317 wrote: Mon Jun 18, 2018 9:14 pm I got my pick collection from my dentist.. The picks reach a stage where the office replaced them, but what I got all are perfect for my use!
Free too.
~RN
Yup!
Me too!
I have some real store bought ones, including some brass ones. Don't use any of them often. The old dental pickers....all the time. Got a pile of 'em, and if I need more, yeah....free! They normally just toss 'em in the garbage.

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 4:07 pm
by liveaboard
I got a couple of good picks from a discount bin at a DIY store. 1 euro.
When I realized their surprisingly decent quality, I went back to buy more, but the box was gone.
Whenever I'm in that city, I go back to the shop, only to have my optimism crushed.

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 5:41 pm
by Jawn
I've had this set for a few years and have been happy with it.

https://www.amazon.com/Pratt-Read-82061 ... B001BZZ33W

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 1:50 pm
by SteveHGraham
I like the knurling on the Pratt-Read picks, but I bought the Graces anyway.

They arrived. I took one and twisted and yanked on it. It looks pretty sturdy.

They appear to be surfaced with black oxide. They came nice and sharp.

I guess I have enough picks now.

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 3:10 pm
by BadDog
All of them I've used seem ok when you just "twist and yank" on them. Where they have always failed for me (except the snapons) is when you need the sharp point to hold strong. All my cheap ones get the point broken off or bent, thus failing to do the job I require. I'm sure they have a failure point too, but so far it's not been within what I consider to be my reasonable expectations for their function.

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 3:48 pm
by SteveM
I have a box full of, to paraphrase the late, great Frank Zappa, REAL dental picks, not Sears dental picks.

I have some cheapo flea market ones as well. There is no comparison.

The real ones are just amazingly strong. That little hook-shaped pick that the dentist used in "Marathon Man" (I can feel you cringing now) can pull an awful lot and hasn't broken. They also don't bend (they will flex a little, but bounce right back).

The REAL dental mirrors are also front-surface mirrors, where the silver is on the face of the glass and not the back, and that means you don't get the "shadow" you get from the reflection off the glass.

I'll bet you can find some used dental picks on ebay for cheap.

Steve

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 4:30 pm
by SteveHGraham
Let's see. The General Tools two-point scribe I bought is extremely stout, so I'm not worried about that. I didn't know General Tools made anything that nice. I got by with a much flimsier one for years, and I was very happy with it. In fact, I still am. It's out in the shop. I'm checking out the China dental picks (sold on Amazon with a big "USA" flag on the listing).

I'm sure I can destroy them if I put my mind to it, but prying around on a pair of pliers and applying a lot of force doesn't bother them. These will do nicely for my purposes.

The mirror is silvered on the back. I can tell because when I put it against an object, there is a gap between the object and the reflection. I think I can cope with that, for nine bucks.

I'm glad I didn't get the Gearwrench picks that fall out of the handles. That would have been fun.

Re: Anyone Familiar with Grace Brand Picks and Hooks?

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 5:34 pm
by Magicniner
I like my Snap-On picks but they were bought 20 years ago so buy new and YMMV.
I have a nice set of Teng Tools picks in a boxed set bought last year which also seem very good.