List of locks to practise on in the UK

[taylorgdl]

Have just got 4 reconditioned cylinders for 10UKP from my local locksmith.
1 x Yale
1 x Abus
1 x Union
1 x ??? has capitol G and key sign on front.

All good for practice, but the abus has 4 mushrooms, is this normal ?

[wtf|pickproof?]

Yes, Abus puts lots of spools in it's locks. 4 spools and a regular #1 pin seems to be standard for Abus.

[luckey]

Thanks for info on UK locks. I am new but have just repinned a 5-pin yale lock one pin stack at a time and picked it at first with a paper clip but they rapidly degrade. Now using a modified hair clip, which works well. Using part of a windsceeen wiper insert as a torsion wrench, and a fat feltip to plug the plug. In Poundland you can buy packs of 3 or 4 padlocks for - would you believe- £1! Not bought them yet as I wanted to repin and pick all 5 pins in my yale first. Did this tonight so am well pleased. If anyone in UK replies can they tell me of any reliable shops to order picks from. I will no doubt find this info on this brilliant site but just thought I would ask to try and connect with people. Thanks a lot.

BE lucky, LUCKEY!

[zeepia]

Dicey just showed us what you get when you purchase the cheapest locks in the market:

http://youtu.be/PAnRnK3mVCs

There might be also good ones around but in my opinion you would learn more if you bought something else than "the most incredible bargain ever"

Good luck with those Yales and your next locks!

[MrAnybody]

Thanks for info on UK locks. I am new but have just repinned a 5-pin yale lock one pin stack at a time and picked it at first with a paper clip but they rapidly degrade. Now using a modified hair clip, which works well. Using part of a windsceeen wiper insert as a torsion wrench, and a fat feltip to plug the plug. In Poundland you can buy packs of 3 or 4 padlocks for - would you believe- £1! Not bought them yet as I wanted to repin and pick all 5 pins in my yale first. Did this tonight so am well pleased. If anyone in UK replies can they tell me of any reliable shops to order picks from. I will no doubt find this info on this brilliant site but just thought I would ask to try and connect with people. Thanks a lot.

BE lucky, LUCKEY!

Hi lucky,

I'd really recommend giving those Poundland jobs a miss. They will undoubtedly be pretty useless hunks of metal. Have a flick through the Yellow Pages for your local locksmiths and see if he's got any junk stock. If they are friendly to your needs, thy can be a great resource in many ways. There's also 'Rick the Pick' (a UK locksmith) here on the forum. I also pick up good stuff on Ebay.

For picks: I've bought kit from UK and US sites.
www.withoutakey.co.uk they do occasional discounts (sign up for their newsletter), free shipping over £30. They have a nice selection of sets.
www.sks.co.uk great people to deal with.
www.ukbumpkeys.com I'm sure you've come across these guys. A while since I had stuff from them, but they were fine.
www.lockpickshop.com has cheap shipping to UK and you can have a 10% forum member discount. Really nice dealing with them.
www.peterson-international.com their standard shipping to UK is $20 so I only use them if I make an order big enough to offset that.
www.southord.com as above.

Hope this helps. I'm a Brit based between UK and France. I'm happy to help if any other questions come up for you.

[MrAnybody]

Lucky,

Check your PMs.

[benjour]

Hi folks,
I've been practising with a Sterling 5-pin rim cylinder recently and I've got the technique for this particular lock down to a tee. I'm currently picking it in about 10-20 seconds. I'm wondering what would be a suitable step-up would be. If anyone has any suggestions (and any ideas where to get one relatively cheap), that would be very much appreciated
Thanks all,
Ben

[MrAnybody]

Hi folks,
I've been practising with a Sterling 5-pin rim cylinder recently and I've got the technique for this particular lock down to a tee. I'm currently picking it in about 10-20 seconds. I'm wondering what would be a suitable step-up would be. If anyone has any suggestions (and any ideas where to get one relatively cheap), that would be very much appreciated
Thanks all,
Ben

If you've got it down to 10-20 seconds, then you could go for a Yale 6 pin cylinder. You'll be getting a couple of security pins in there. There's usually a few kicking around cheap on Ebay. 3 or 4 quid including postage for a used one.

There's no shortage of other options, but since you're confident with a 5 pin, I'd suggest going for a cylinder with a couple of security pins. Also a step from that could be an Iseo or Zone.

[benjour]

Thanks for the help Mr Anybody. I'll have a look to see if I can find one floating around on ebay. I was contemplating security pins, but wasn't sure whether that would be too much of a jump for someone of my calibre
I'm presuming Yale would be a more preferred choice than Iseo or Zone?
Thanks again,
Ben

[MrAnybody]

Thanks for the help Mr Anybody. I'll have a look to see if I can find one floating around on ebay. I was contemplating security pins, but wasn't sure whether that would be too much of a jump for someone of my calibre
I'm presuming Yale would be a more preferred choice than Iseo or Zone?
Thanks again,
Ben

I was thinking that if you've got the knack of feeling out pins stacks to find a binding order, and some idea of using tension, then I'd say go for it dude!

The perfect thing would be to do a progressive lock. Check out methods on Youtube to gut a euro cylinder, and then reassemble it with one security pin only (the rest as empty stacks). Then get an idea of how the plug counter-rotates when you feel out the stack. Then move on from there to get onto a binding order that includes a security pin, until you get to 2 security pins and 3 normal pins. Then you're really flying!

I'd also recommend buying a cheap desk vice if you haven't got one (with a vacuum base). It makes a world of difference. Ebay around a tenner.

I wouldn't put a Yale above Iseo or Zone. They're all similar. They just include security pins.

Actually, now I think about, I'd really recommend going the progressive way. You also get the funk of taking thing apart and putting things back together! ..... And it working!

[benjour]

Fantastic! Cheers for the guidance. I think now I'm starting to get an idea about locks, how they work, tension, picking etc... at the moment I'm only ever using SPP, haven't really bothered with raking and the time I've tried I've not been wholly successful
I've been trying to find the easiest method of re-pinning a rim cylinder. At the moment I've got a Sterling rim cylinder and that's got a neat little clip at the top of the cylinder which makes access to the springs and pins so simple.
Yeah, progressive pinning has certainly helped me already! I have done that with the Sterling cylinder so I have a good idea about how handy it is
I'm yet to purchase a desk vice, although I'm out of the house for much of the day (and will be out more as of next week) so practice may have to be done whilst holding the cylinder
I'm having a look on ebay and struggling to find any decent deals on Yale cylinders... There are essentially no used ones that I can find... TERRIBLE TIMES!
Thanks again,
Ben

[Squelchtone]

Hi, has anyone seen a padlock like this before? It's quite unusual, because it has circular internal profiles inside. Does somebody know how it works?

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/SMALL-BRASS-PADLOCK-MADE-BY-SECURE-Pat-No-840994-MADE-IN-ENGLAND-1-KEY-/00/s/MTUwOFgxNjAw/$%28KGrHqRHJE8FBz%28KugF5BQmisvON3Q~~60_57.JPG

[MrAnybody]

Search for "warded padlock" and you'll find plenty of material on how it works.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warded_lock

Is that what you need?

[Krosis]

Search for "warded padlock" and you'll find plenty of material on how it works.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warded_lock

Is that what you need?

Thanks for the link. I've read this before posting here, it didn't seem right for me. But your response made me sure.

What I thought was that the obstacles for the key are actually moving (some of them) so rotating the proper parts (discs) would unlock the padlock. For me it sounds clever but probably to advanced for a 2 pounds lock.