American Lock REI Series 700...HELP

[Squelchtone]

The REI is a code stamp from when the lock was manufactured.

rrkss is correct.

For those interested, here is a key to figuring out when your American Lock was made.

First letter is the month of manufacture:
Jan=Z
Feb=Y
Mar=X
Apr=W
May=V
Jun=U
Jul=T
Aug=S
Sep=R
Oct=Q
Nov=P
Dec=O

Last two letters are for the year of manufacture:
1=N
2=M
3=L
4=K
5=J
6=I
7=H
8=G
9=F
0=E

Your American Series 700 with date code of REI was made in September, 2006.

My American Series H10 with date code of VFM was made in May, 1992, and my American 5200 US with a date code of VEGk4 should be May, 2008 but it is not clear what that extra k4 stands for.

enjoy decoding your locks,
Squelchtone

[nhoj_yelbom]

great info!

[viduata]

I'm posting to an old thread because I think I'm badass right now.

So, I got one of these 700s today, and after two hours of picking, I beat it. The second time took about 10 minutes, and the third time took about 2 minutes.

If I could recommend one trick:

I use VERY light tension and s-rake it until it falls into a false set. Half the time, this will happen on the in-stroke, so the rake will get stuck and you'll have to try again. Once you get a false-set on an out-stroke, you'll probably find that all of the serrated pins are at the shear line, and all you need to pick are those bastard spools.

Remember that each spool end has a tiny serration in it, so be gentle and slow, and you'll hear a teeny little click followed by big a k-chunk, and then you can move on.

Anyway, great lock, and very challenging. SPPing it can be maddening, though.

[v12v12]

Oh MAN I... HATED this lock for a long time! Same type, same major frustration at 1st... try the raking then manual pick method as described above; it's how I got mine to pop! Also, yeah there's NO shimming ball-bearing locks :-/

I even contemplated getting a bumper or the Peterson kit for this lol! It was such a PITA lock for me... Namely bc at the time, I didn't have a top/dual-tensioner. The false set really annoyed me back then... now it's sorta like a check/save point that you can reach and know exactly what comes next and how to approach it Vs playing around in the dark hoping for it to suddenly click open (love that feeling!)...

Good luck man!

[Anon1]

need to pick a american 700 YEL lock and we dont have the right equipment and we need to know if there is any type of house hold items that we can use need awnser in 3 days

[Squelchtone]

need to pick a american 700 YEL lock and we dont have the right equipment and we need to know if there is any type of house hold items that we can use need awnser in 3 days

Call a locksmith. No amount of household items will help you if you've never picked a lock before. It takes some understanding of how a lock works, simply jamming paperclips into a keyhole won't unlock it.

Also, why the 3 day window? Is that when the rightful owner comes home??

Squelchtone

[Oaklandishh]

you will need:
1 lb of ground beef/turkey
5 garlic pieces
.5 cups bread crumbs
1 egg
5 slices of bacon

First cook the bacon until it is chewy, but still done. mince/saute the garlic in the bacon grease. next mince the bacon, and add all ingredients into a bowl and mash together. now lightly oil the pan and make the meat into balls. place the balls on the pan and cook until inside is no longer pink. If your lock is not open at this point, you are still a winner because you have tasty meatballs.

Hope that helped.

[vov35]

we're not allowed to talk about DE here...

[femurat]

Hey Oaklandishh,

it's clear you're a novice picker! I have a different technique... tomorrow I'll teach you

Cheers

[femurat]

To open this lock you'll need to read the instructions in italian and with your head at 45 degrees.

Enjoy

[Squelchtone]

The REI is a code stamp from when the lock was manufactured.

rrkss is correct.

For those interested, here is a key to figuring out when your American Lock was made.

First letter is the month of manufacture:
Jan=Z
Feb=Y
Mar=X
Apr=W
May=V
Jun=U
Jul=T
Aug=S
Sep=R
Oct=Q
Nov=P
Dec=O

Last two letters are for the year of manufacture:
1=N
2=M
3=L
4=K
5=J
6=I
7=H
8=G
9=F
0=E

Your American Series 700 with date code of REI was made in September, 2006.

My American Series H10 with date code of VFM was made in May, 1992, and my American 5200 US with a date code of VEGk4 should be May, 2008 but it is not clear what that extra k4 stands for.

enjoy decoding your locks,
Squelchtone

UPDATE: I emailed Master Lock / American Lock to ask what the extra letters/numbers at the end of the date code mean, here is their reply.



mystery solved! updating this thread for future members.

Squelchtone

[Nightingangel]

Hey, I'm playing around with an American 5200, which, unless I'm mistaken, uses the same cylinder as all other American AM2/4 keyway locks. I've pulled all but three pins, two that are serrated, and a third that's spoolrated. I've noticed absolutely no counterrotational force when trying to pick the spoolrated pin out of a false-set, even when the plug is not rotated to the full extent possible, and using significant pressure on the pick. How do you get past this with the Americans?

I just picked 2 5200s, one 2 days ago, 1 yesterday. I noticed on one it gave me slight response for the spools, the other almost none. Feather tension was the key for me. But some are just different I suppose.Also, the false set on both was very small, if I didn't feel the core move I wouldn't have known by looking.

[GWiens2001]

Nice. Not all false sets are dramatic. Picking is a skill of feel more than visual cues on some of the better locks. Used to practice picking at night in the dark. It helped my picking as it made me pay attention to the tactile feedback from both the pick and the tension wrench.

Gordon