Beginner's Lockpicking Exercise - by digital_blue

[illusion]

I guess you could just have "skills" as a heading - there should be no confusion over that - personaly I'd leave it as it is, because ht e topics underneith it explain it pretty well.

[digital_blue]

Yes, but I wanted to differentiate it from the "General Skills" below it - those skills having nothing to do with locksports.

db

[illusion]

Yes, but I wanted to differentiate it from the "General Skills" below it - those skills having nothing to do with locksports.

db

on second thought you are right - since "locksport" is the accepeted term for hobby pickers then this would seem right...

"lock manipulation skills"

[digital_blue]

Funny you say that, because I had toyed with "Lock Opening Skills", but I thought I'd use it as an opportunity to introduce the term "Locksports" to a newbie. I think it's important to differentiate what we do as hobbyists from the work Locksmiths do. Hobby pickers should come to understand that pretty quickly.

db

[illusion]

"lock opening" would give it a sense the main purpose is to get the lock open full stop. I guess it not the kind of message to promote pciking from a hobby side.

is there something wrong with "lock manipulation sport"??

[digital_blue]

Yes. Manipulation is typically used to describe combo locks, not pin tumblers, wafers, etc.

db

[vector40]

Put a space in there, at least.

[Country_Kid]

Sorry to interupt your little conversation here but this new format that you people (to be politically correct) are working on is a good idea. That page with all the headings really helps to navigate to where you want to go. And granted there are newbie's that will post HELP!!!!!! and thats it. (No I havent done that )Almost all new people think it is just like in the movies and want the 3 step guide to success (I found out the hard way). This format you people talking about will help myself and others that are willing and wanting to learn.

[digital_blue]

That's good to hear Country_Kid. Thanks for that. Enjoy the site!

db

[elem]

it's off to get a re-keyable tumbler and some tools then.

[dhoyda]

It's a shame that no noob will ever find the thread by themselves. They'll have to ask "What's the bext way to learn to pick? (Or should it be "wots tha best wey to lern to pik?") and then we'll have to direct them here anyway.

But, all in all, good guide Db.

Im a noob and I found it on my own....

[illusion]

Well most n00bs just make a new thread and act like right tossers expecting people to spoon feed them, what they could, themselves have found if they used some common sense.

Although I'll grant this thread is a sticky though.

[KottonKang]

I am new to this fantastic world of lock picking and i must really compliment digital-blue for this easy yet very effective lesson on how to understand how the basics on how to "feel" what the lock mechanism is doing. After reading the MIT guide and a ton of post that were recommended by the start here if your new post's, i felt this would be the perfect lesson to start practicing my newly aquired knowlage... Im so impressed i decided to make this my first post.

[LlamaMaster]

Great tutorial, I haven't done it yet (I only registered here about 12 hours ago). But I was just wanting to check something. Some places I have read that you start at the back pin. Is this because it will be the tighest pin because it doesn't get 'used' as much? i.e. Every time you stick a key in the front pin gets used like 5 times, and so therefore becomes looser and so making the back pin the binding pin?

And also on this idea,

So how's this strike ya?

viewtopic.php?t=10715

db

I have gone to that page already and I really like the idea, but maybe you could link to tutorials (like this one which is really good) and others for different types of locks.

This post is made by a 'noobie' and doesn't contain smilies.

LM

[J.Bargs]

Another question here on the begginer's exercise--- You do this with a "feeler pick" (the "hook" pick), but once you get reasonably past this and start to tackle bigger, better, badder locks do you want a real variety of hook picks to tackle a variety of pin sizes and specialty hook/other picks for security pins?