David d. sends the following:
Speaking of oddball but interesting stuff, here's a guy with a sense of
mission and 'way too much time on his hands. If I had to do this, I'd NEVER
get climbing. Some different approaches pick shape, though...
http://www.summitpost.org/article/179394/so-you-want-to-sharpen-your-tools-e
h.html
Generally good info, although I disagree with his "bipod" idea as shown in figure 25, at least in his photos with that pick--the first tooth will cause the tip to "rocker" off small holds, not what you want for thin edges. Figure 26 shows a better pick for mixed. I also don't like notching the top of my pick so far down toward the tip, makes it get stuck in ice and likely weaker for agressive camming. It's the top of the pick above the pick clamp that contacts the rock during stein pulls, that's most important. But overall good info and nice piece, thanks to Dd for the tip and JScoles for putting the article up (and no cursing as suggested in the article, grin!).
-WG