Ben has not been having good luck with picks, hooks, and probes.
His Craftsman pick broke like dry spaghetti…
And his Husky pick bent like a pipe cleaner. Some picks are designed with compound angles, but not this one.
I have long been a fan of Ullman hooks and picks, which I purchased under Craftsman branding at Sears quite a few years ago.
Milwaukee recently came out with a pick and hook set, and I believe it’s a safe choice.
I think that I would also feel comfortable with Mayhew, which has a mini hook and pick set for ~$16 at Amazon, and a 4pc set of larger Dominator picks and hooks for ~$33.
I’m also likely to trust Gearwrench as a safe bet. Their 7pc set is priced at ~$26 via Amazon. They’re calling this a “deal” price, but I’m seeing other retailers with $26-30 pricing.
There are very many brands of hooks, picks, probes, and other such tools, ranging from extremely budget-priced, to “you paid HOW MUCH?” from Snap-on and PB Swiss tools.
For very regular or even daily use, I might be inclined to look at more premium/higher priced brands, such as Snap-on. But for my personal use, $10 for 4 smaller-sized picks is perfect.
I have an inexpensive Tekton set (~$8 via Amazon) from around 2013 when I bought a bunch of random Tekton tools to get a feel for the brand’s quality. But for around same money, I’d probably just go with Ullman.
Picks and hooks can be used for general workshop and automotive maintenance use, for tasks such as scribing, aligning, removing O-rings, cleaning out grooves or crevices, retrieving and positioning wires, and some are advertised as being capable of piercing holes in soft materials, although that’s more of a job for an awl.
If you had to buy a new hook and pick set right now, or recommend a set to others, which brand would you pick?
These are the ones I’d consider:
- Ullman 4pc set (Under $10)
- Milwaukee 4pc set ($15-20)
- Grace 6pc set ($18-22)
- Gearwrench 7pc set ($26-30)
For daily, industrial, or specialty use, I’d be more open to pricier brands.
