Types of locks...

[Ice]

"Long time listener, first time caller..."
(I've always wanted to say that! )

Just curious... the General Info/FAQ forum asks newbies (me?) to introduce ourselves there, but then it says only Moderators can post! Hmm... am I missing something here? heh

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Instead of jumping into the world of lockpicking and asking a lot of (stupid?) questions, I'm curious about learning about locks themselves first. I've found various stuff on the web about picking types of lock, techniques, etc but not too much on the actual locks themselves. I've gone through the MIT guide and some other pages I found on the web, but still am pretty knowledge-less.

What are the different types of locks? ...serrated pins? ...etc. Can anybody point me in the right direction? I don't expect you to sit here and explain everything, but hoping you would know where I could go to find this info. Cheers!

[CitySpider]

THIS is what a first post should look like. Thank you.

On to business: I don't think that "let's learn about all the locks out there" is the best way to go about it. It's extremely helpful to learn what's inside the lock before you try to pick it, but there're just WAY too many.

The way I do it is just research any lock that I see, that I haven't learned about, or that I read/hear about, that I haven't learned about. It's not nearly as systematic, but it works.

Start with the lock on your front door, then the one on your back, then any you have lying around your house.

[Mad Mick]

Good post.

You can't really do no better than read the wealth of information contained within this forum. Using the search button will invariably bring the results you wish to know about. If, after searching, you don't get the answers you need, by all means ask.....there are many users with a great deal of knowledge who are only too happy to help, if you have first tried to help yourself.

Hope this helps you out.

[toomush2drink]

The mit guide shows a lot of the basic principles which are the building blocks for a good foundation in lockpicking. When you dismantle any locks watch out for those flying springs !! (another reason to fully understand how a locks works to prevent this when taking them apart)

The people on this forum are a friendly helpful bunch so search first as most things have already been covered.

toomush

[Ice]

Thanks for the replies!

I've been searching around on the net for different types of locks, like for wafers, serrated pins, cylinder locks, etc., not with the intention to pick them but seeing what exists out there. I still don't really know what some of these things are, but as everything it's a slow process.

I'm curious about the electronic card locks. I've read some stuff about them in the past, but I wonder how they work mechanically. I'd guess that they're near-impossible to pick, as you'd probably need to plug a computer into them, but they look interesting just the same.

[CitySpider]

In THAT case, if you're just looking for generals, then research wafer locks, pin-tumbler locks, tubular locks, warded locks, combination locks, and lever locks. There're more, but those're the most common (unless I'm forgetting something).

[Ice]

I found this recently and think it's a nice complement to the MIT guide... it doesn't take you through some of the basics, but yet it does - showing you actual pictures of the actual lock, the pins, key, and the various parts. It explains a little about wafers, schlage, Medeco and warded locks as well.

I admit, the pictures are an eyecatcher as it's always nice to see something than just read about it. I don't know if it's any good to you all but I found it interesting...

http://dp.penix.org/locks/cl.html

[technik]

known about this link for a long time. Good stuff

[quicklocks]

i visted loads of lock makers and looked at what they had to sell sometimes they post exploded diagrams (to show off how secure they are but i just think this gives people help to defeat them).

[technik]

ICE, definately check out www.howstuffworks.com and go to the How Lockpicking Works section. Heaps of cool animations, and is really good.
Check it out

[toomush2drink]

Just a tip search for spool pins on this site as there is a lot more about them than serrated pins. I know there are a few pics too.

toomush

(no link provided for a reason, if you haven't the patience to search you haven't the patience to pick locks)

[Ice]

technik - I actually read through the howstuffworks site just after I went through the MIT guide a while back. After reading the MIT guide, the howstuffworks article was somewhat repetitive but had nice animations.

toomush - yeah I've been searching the web (mostly) and these forums for a while... one thing I find about these forums is that they usually talk about locks with those pins, rather than about what those pins are directly. Nonetheless, it's all good info.