Tipton Cleaning Picks with Shaped Ends, 4 Pack, Polymer, Stainless Steel, for Cleaning, Maintenance, and Gunsmithing

While aimlessly browsing through Amazon I ran across these and noticed the low rating. Surprised by that, I read a few reviews and thought I would throw in my .02.I've had these picks for about two years and I think they are a great value. Two of the picks have only been used a couple of times, one is used somewhat frequently and the fourth pick is used 100% of the time that I clean a firearm (long rifles and handguns). These picks make cleaning the internal slide rails, firing pin area, small .22 chamber areas, patterns in grip textures, around scope mounts, etc. very easy. After using these picks heavily for two years, I would become frustrated quickly if I did not have them while cleaning some areas.They are polymer so I don't use excessive force. But I do use reasonable force to scrape powder residue from dirty powder that builds up after a day of heavy shooting. These picks have held up well; no cracks, breaks, chips or bending that will not return to its original shape. I am aware that they are not stainless precision tools and I use them accordingly. I even threw one loosely in the bottom my briefcase to clean, and teach how to clean and oil, a coworker's personal protection handgun. After that it rattled around in my briefcase for a week before I remembered to take it out and its condition was absolutely fine.As a matter of fact, every time thatI clean a firearm I think that I should buy a set for my range bag but then forget by the time I get everything put away. Now that I took the time to write this review I'm going to order another set now before I forget again.

I use these picks for cleaning guns. These picks will get into the grooves and crevices (with a small cloth) to remove residue. Very useful for cleaning a 1911 pistol or an AR 15 bolt carrier. Very useful for applying oil to tight places (with a small cloth). Saves my fingers from wear and tear and cuts. The tips may break off after a lot of use, but the pick is still usable. I have other picks that are 10 years old, worn but still functional. Tipton makes good products.

These picks are not made of metal! A lot of the negative reviews here I believe were made by folks expecting the same kind of strength that a metal pick affords. I would bet dollars to donuts that these folks were trying to scrape hard carbon deposits off the back of their AR-15 bolts with this. This is not the intended purpose.These are soft and will break if treated like they were made of metal. However, softness means you can use them on any part of your firearm and not worry about scratching. If you give enough time for carbon deposits to soak in solvent so they get soft, these picks will easily remove all of that gunk. Additionally, if you put a solvent soaked patch in between the pick and a tiny crevice it will get into those tiny places with ease and remove the build-up. That's what these are for, not for scraping things that are harder than the picks. Do the math!

Very handy for cleaning your weapons. Being made of plastic makes them very flex able for fitting into tight spots, getting the job done without scratching your weapons. Can't beat them for the price.

There's not a whole lot to be said for such a simple product, but these are an excellent set of tools. The 4 picks are solid polymer so there are no worries about scratching the finish on whatever you're picking at, with each end molded into a different shape for almost every nook and crannie you could need to reach into. They are, however, not as stiff as a set of steel picks, or even aluminum. These are good for scraping/picking at soft things like carbon fouling, excess glue prior to it curing, etc. These picks will almost certainly break if used to pick or pry at something solid wedged into place. Think of them more like toothpicks and less like dental tools.The price has more than doubled since I bought these though and I don't understand why. At the time of this review they are listed for $12: they're not worth that. They're just sticks of injection-molded polymer. My set still had some flashing in places I needed to trim off before use. I paid around $5 a couple of years ago and that feels about right: for $5 they're a great tool to have around, but I'd not pay any more. Local sporting goods stores may have them for even less.Edit 04/06/17: one month after posting this review they're back down to $5 a set. So if you see this listing and the price is over $5, wait a while and see if they go down.

I think this would be best for using non-metal parts, like the polymer grip or stock of a gun that you want to clean. I tried using the picks like I would would with metal ones (thinking these would be super-hard thermoplastic), and sure enough, they all broke promptly. This would be good for cleaning out apertures (think HK MP5 sights), pmags, polymer stocks/rails (think Magpul), etc., but definitely not good for getting gunk out of the moving metal portions of your gun. Since I hardly ever have the need to clean any of those components with picks, I think this is something that you really wont need in your range bag. Tipton makes good steel picks -- just get those even though they're more expensive -- these will wear out, break, and end up costing more in the long run.

Used these to clean a variety of long guns and hand guns. They work great for pushing pads into tight areas and I don't have to worry about scratching.

Being in the military cleaning weapons is necessary and just being a good soldier. I bought these to help me get to the hard to reach places all Quartermasters and any armory personnel seem to always find, regardless of how clean you think it is. They are a polymer plastic, they are lightweight, flexible and NOT METAL. So they will break, just like a metal pick, if you put to much pressure on them. That being said they are great in that the flexibility helps with getting the stuck on carbon deposits in the hard to reach places. They are easy to add to your rifle cleaning kits since they are i bit long for a pistol kit.