A good practise lock for New Zealand?

[aeonlakes]

So I found this site and a few others, got intrigued, read around and then ordered a "lockpick 101 International" set from lockpickshop.com. While it's winging it's way over I've made a simple hook pick from a hacksaw blade and a tension tool from an old allen key. (Tried to attach a photo but "the board attachment quota has been reached"). Every padlock we have in the house and the deadlock on the front door ("Interlock" branded, euro profile, 5 pins) fell within the first 24hrs.

Guess that means our locks weren't up to much...

But the real question is, what would be a good choice for a practise lock for someone downunder? Bear in mind I'm an utter noob, so know little about available brands. Something I can dismantle a practise with adding a pin at a time? Advice on a better lock for the front door would be gratefully received as well!

[keysman]

...But the real question is, what would be a good choice for a practise lock for someone downunder? Bear in mind I'm an utter noob, so know little about available brands. Something I can dismantle a practise with adding a pin at a time? Advice on a better lock for the front door would be gratefully received as well!

Try here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1744

[aeonlakes]

In case anyone else in New Zealand finds this post, I found a double cylinder euro profile cylinder in the local Bunnings which seems a good buy. Made by http://www.sylvan.co.nz it is 1. Cheap at NZ$16 and 2. Has individual grub screw for each pin, which means you can remove or replace the pins out one at a time with just an allen key. No need to remove the plug and use a plug follower.

Currently practising with 4 pins...

[SnowyBoy]

So with all this reading around on lockpick sites you never once saw anyone say 'Don't pick locks in use!'?

Is any one else getting tired of relaying this message?

[aeonlakes]

My house, my home, my doors, my locks, all on my freehold and bought with my money. If I'd broken something I'd have been paying for the damage and no-one to blame but me, myself and I. Ownership confers the right to do whatever the hell I like with my stuff so long as it doesn't adversely affect anyone else. If I'd said I went round the neighbourhood opening up all the holiday homes that would be another issue. But I haven't picked a lock I don't own or had express permission from the owner to pick. I've done nothing illegal nor adversely affected you or anyone else, so where is the problem?

If it helps, I agree that mucking around with a lock in use is unwise. In my newbie ignorance I might break it and have to pay for a replacement. That's why I asked about practise lock options in that initial post and why I posted what I'd found, in the hope that it might be useful to someone else down here. So why bother going off at me after the followup post?

[SnowyBoy]

My house, my home, my doors, my locks, all on my freehold and bought with my money. If I'd broken something I'd have been paying for the damage and no-one to blame but me, myself and I. Ownership confers the right to do whatever the hell I like with my stuff so long as it doesn't adversely affect anyone else. If I'd said I went round the neighbourhood opening up all the holiday homes that would be another issue. But I haven't picked a lock I don't own or had express permission from the owner to pick. I've done nothing illegal nor adversely affected you or anyone else, so where is the problem?

If it helps, I agree that mucking around with a lock in use is unwise. In my newbie ignorance I might break it and have to pay for a replacement. That's why I asked about practise lock options in that initial post and why I posted what I'd found, in the hope that it might be useful to someone else down here. So why bother going off at me after the followup post?

That's all very well since you have explained yourself but, people out there do screw locks up, and important locks that are not to be tampered with which could fail one day due to their messing around with it previously.

Lets suggest that you screwed with your front door lock using your make shift hairpins and other home made picking utensils only to have a fragment break off in there without you knowing. Then lets say you have an 'emergency' later that requires you to open said lock to escape. Oops, the key doesn't go in all the way..... why? Because you screwed with a lock in use. An extreme example granted, but only ignorance would dismiss it as a possibility.

[aeonlakes]

I'm not discounting what you say and won't be picking my new door locks. However many modern New Zealand houses are built for a long summer with "great indoor-outdoor flow" (as our estate agents like to say) so most of our windows are ranch slider doors. Rapid egress is not an issue — for us there are at least 2 options in every room. Secondly, if I hadn't tried I wouldn't know just how badly our original locks sucked so it's difficult to feel too bad about it.

If someone posts "Help me open this <brand X high security> lock" or "How do I get into this safe at work?" as a first post then it's easy to see why as a community you'd want to shut them down. Posting about something that's merely inadvisable rather than illegal surely deserves education rather than exasperation?

[NanoDuke]

Grab yourself a Master #140. That should keep you entertained for a while.
I bought mine from BigW/Kmart for under $10 and to this day is still my favourite lock in the price:security ratio.

[SnowyBoy]

If someone posts "Help me open this <brand X high security> lock" or "How do I get into this safe at work?" as a first post then it's easy to see why as a community you'd want to shut them down. Posting about something that's merely inadvisable rather than illegal surely deserves education rather than exasperation?

I fear that if I had approached you with an education we would still have had you saying 'My doors, my locks, my money'... we get it all the time & it gets pretty boring educating people on something that should really be common sense. You seem like an intelligent guy though, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

Discipline, patience, & ethical behavior are highly regarded in lock sport. If you show these qualities from the start, you are more likely to receive help.

[SnowyBoy]

Grab yourself a Master #140. That should keep you entertained for a while.
I bought mine from BigW/Kmart for under $10 and to this day is still my favourite lock in the price:security ratio.

Perfect! At least you can sit down somewhere comfortable and pick >_<

[Squelchtone]

Grab yourself a Master #140. That should keep you entertained for a while.
I bought mine from BigW/Kmart for under $10 and to this day is still my favourite lock in the price:security ratio.

That's a good padlock to pick. I also like the Master 532, but its heavier and not as easy to keep in your pocket as a No. 140

If you want more security pins and a nice well made padlock ABUS 55/50 is a great choice. Small, easy to hold, great feedback, low price, available around the world, and nice security pins.

Cheers,
Squelchtone

[aeonlakes]

Thank you for the suggestions. I've just been given a small box full of discarded padlocks, so that will keep me quiet for a while.

[andy17]

In case anyone else in New Zealand finds this post …

I have and thanks for the info. I'll be heading to the hardware stores after work today to try to find it.

Cheers, Andy17

[andy17]

Just an update for any other Kiwis passing this way – I found the lock aeonlakes mentioned. It comes in silver and gold. I got silver and it's listed as Euro Double Cylinder 6 Pin (S725DBL/6.SNP). I purposely didn't look at the keys when I bought it so I wouldn't have any hints for picking, though in retrospect I should have chosen one with the widest range of pin heights. It's not a difficult lock to pick and it has no security pins.