My personal review of "Steel Bolt Hacking"

[quicklocks]

i would be very upset with this person and if it were my site i would remove the ad. because if he has added this ad without permsion then that is a act of computer hacking and i think there is laws about that sort of thing. if this person is using his skills as a computer network person to do this, whats stopping him using the info on this site for illegal perposes
this is my personal rant!!!!
i have a thing about hackers sorry.

[Varjeal]

It wasn't a matter of posting any pics...I just noticed that the terminology section in his book fairly closely matched that of the FAQ I posted on this site. Granted, he theoretically could have gotten the info in a lot of places, but his section started with the same term the FAQ did, and used all of the terms. (With a couple of additions, and some "tweaking".) He also did not insert the add onto this site without permission. I'm sure he and Mr. Picks came to some arrangement (either paid advertising, commission, or other ways) to have the ad listed here.

[Mr. Picks]

We added the book cover to the left navigation because we we're excited to see another lock picking book out on the market one that is fresh and new. I hope to get a few reviews from other people on the book from people not as experienced as Varjeal basically to see if this even caters to a newbie person

We'll see how long we keep up the book picture.

[Varjeal]

That is a good point. If anyone relatively new to lockpicking has purchased this book, PLEASE post your review/experience with it.

I should also mention that with the use of PayPal, the author did very well with shipping, only five days to get to Canada. Not bad at all.

[Eyes_Only]

From this review and my own personal experience, after buying and reading/veiwing many different books and videos on lock picking, I have come to one conclusion that has repeatedly been posted on this site, the only book (and video/CD) worth buying is "Locks, Safes and Security"/LSS+.

[Red]

Of course you are right Eyes_Only... the book is the definitive book on the topic and covers everything the mind can imagine.
However, there are not a lot of the members here that can afford $220 for this masterpiece nor would most understand the text. Let me add "Locksmithing" by Bill Phillips as an excellent and affordable (beginning) option to those interested in the trade.

[dougchick]

Fella's, why are you busting my balls here?

I wrote this book to help my friends, and computer people that visit my website, that are interesting in learning the basics of lock picking and turn it into a hobby. As you know there are not a lot of resources on the Internet. This book is not for seasoned lock pickers, it is a starting point of computer people that are considering joining locking picking contest as computer related conventions, like DefCon. And for a book on beginners I think I did a good job.

I can understand the criticism though, when I read books about hacking or computer security I’m often infuriated, and feel that the author spent wasted time on info that I already knew. I’m just as hard on these authors as Varjeal has been on me, so I can’t be too offended. I said…too offended.

I only printed a couple hundred of these books for review. I am still working on the second edition and am open to suggestions.

Douglas Chick

[Chucklz]

Varjeal wrote:

One my pet peeves.....the blatant rip-off of the terminology thread on this site, and then has the audacity to "copyright" the info.. Yes, I do know that a couple of the terms have been changed and even one or two added, but wouldn't you find it kind of interesting that the terminology section begins with the EXACT term that is listed on this site.

I think that about sums up our reasons for being upset. Regardless of your copyright, the work you presented was apparently, not your own. How do you expect us to react to someone who is profiting from our hours of research and work? As someone who has contributed to a FAQ thread, I would be quite upset to have my work "borrowed" for someone else's profit.

Bad spelling/grammar in a book thats supposed to go through an editing process would be particularly irritating. While almost no one expects perfection in an online post, If you buy a book, you can reasonably expect at the very least careful work.

Misinformation-- seems to be all too common in our hobby. While Varjeal only gave a taste of the kinds of "information" given in your book, any misinformation iwill tend to be far more annoying to members here than no information at all. It can already be seen that a good portion of posts here are to "fix" bad information.

[dougchick]

The guy that writes the book isn't even a lock smith

The author, Douglas Chick, is a seasoned Network Administrator / IT Director that manages a network that spans across 20 states. What All Network Administrators Know, gives advice on "Getting A Job With No Experience", helps answer the question of "What Do Network Administrators Make" and explains all the equipment in a typical server room. In addition to technical questions this book gives valuable insight on Company Politics, How to Work with Computer Users, and How to Interact with Computer End-users. If you are considering a career in computers or you are already in computers and want to know what else you should know to become a network administrator, this purchase is worth every penny.

I wrote the book to get other computer people interested in lock picking to help build a larger lock picking group in the US.

Doug Chick

[dougchick]

Varjeal wrote:

One my pet peeves.....the blatant rip-off of the terminology thread on this site, and then has the audacity to "copyright" the info.. Yes, I do know that a couple of the terms have been changed and even one or two added, but wouldn't you find it kind of interesting that the terminology section begins with the EXACT term that is listed on this site.

I think that about sums up our reasons for being upset. Regardless of your copyright, the work you presented was apparently, not your own. How do you expect us to react to someone who is profiting from our hours of research and work? As someone who has contributed to a FAQ thread, I would be quite upset to have my work "borrowed" for someone else's profit.

Bad spelling/grammar in a book thats supposed to go through an editing process would be particularly irritating. While almost no one expects perfection in an online post, If you buy a book, you can reasonably expect at the very least careful work.

Misinformation-- seems to be all too common in our hobby. While Varjeal only gave a taste of the kinds of "information" given in your book, any misinformation iwill tend to be far more annoying to members here than no information at all. It can already be seen that a good portion of posts here are to "fix" bad information.

I'm not sure about what mis info that you speak, but I will am open for suggestions.

[dougchick]

Varjeal wrote:

One my pet peeves.....the blatant rip-off of the terminology thread on this site, and then has the audacity to "copyright" the info.. Yes, I do know that a couple of the terms have been changed and even one or two added, but wouldn't you find it kind of interesting that the terminology section begins with the EXACT term that is listed on this site.

I think that about sums up our reasons for being upset. Regardless of your copyright, the work you presented was apparently, not your own. How do you expect us to react to someone who is profiting from our hours of research and work? As someone who has contributed to a FAQ thread, I would be quite upset to have my work "borrowed" for someone else's profit.

Bad spelling/grammar in a book thats supposed to go through an editing process would be particularly irritating. While almost no one expects perfection in an online post, If you buy a book, you can reasonably expect at the very least careful work.

Misinformation-- seems to be all too common in our hobby. While Varjeal only gave a taste of the kinds of "information" given in your book, any misinformation iwill tend to be far more annoying to members here than no information at all. It can already be seen that a good portion of posts here are to "fix" bad information.

I'm not sure about what mis info that you speak, but I will am open for suggestions.

Actually, the lock picking terms section of the book was a compiled from several sources and it wasn’t my intention to take anyone’s work. I contacted every person from the resources that I used and asked their permission. I even contacted this site. But I didn’t give that much thought to terms and definitions. I contacted Varjeal and explained my position and offered to give him credit in the next print, as I have everyone, or remove it, as I only printed a few hundred copies. As for profiting from other people’s labor? These types of books don’t make any money and I doubt that I will get my money back. If you knew me, you would know that I'm a good guy. I just can't spell worth a shit

[Chucklz]

A great man once said, "It's a mighty poor mind, that can only think of one way to spell a word" But, he is more than a hundred years dead. A poorly edited manuscript does not instill any confidence in the reader. If you need someone to read a draft for spelling etc, just ask a few friends, or even me.

About your information gathering techniques, a citation, or some form of credit should be given, regardless of what permission you have.

About misinformation, I have only what others have said to go on. If you want to share a manuscript for peer review, I would certainly be willing to help you refine what you have written.

I guess that coming from the world of scientific work, I am a bit biased towards a fairly rigid interpretation of what a book should consist off, so appologies for anything that seems too harsh

[Varjeal]

These are some samples, hope this helps in future editions. (being serious, not sarcastic):

1. key set pin pg. 17= bottom pin. As long as I've been a locksmith I've never heard this term until I first started visiting this forum.

2. Hull pg.23=shell or bible (sometimes cylinder or housing). pg. 23

3. Set pins pg.23=Top pins or drivers. Again, I've never heard the term "set pins" before.

4. pg. 24 "pin and tumbler model of locks"= pin tumbler. I honestly don't know why some call them tumbler's. The proper name is pins.

5. "Some locksmiths don't have the touch to pick a lock....". :evil: Maybe I won't say anything about this.....

6. pg. 28 "use your pick to depress the unlocking levels locked at the top of the inside of the lock...." I didn't even understand what this meant...unless he was talking about levers or bypassing wards...

7. pg.41 The Schlage bottom pin pictured is NOT a high security pin.

8. pg. 44 "Some locks, like Schlage locks, have two sets of pins."
(Though not shown here, the picture shows a four pin lock with a master pin in each chamber.)
a.) Any lock that is rekeyable can have more than a single set of pins.
b.) 4 master pins allows for more than 2 shearlines. In fact, it will allow for 16 different shearlines, thus allowing 16 different keys to operate that particular lock.
c.) Not all Schlage locks have two sets of pins, and most have at least 5 boittom pins.

9. pg 45. "It's true that double set pins can make picking a lock a little challenging". 16 possible shearlines in a lock makes it easier, not harder to pick.

10. pg. 62 "Kwickset"=Kwikset.

11. pg. 66 "Paperclips are the locksmith's friend". Umm..actually, yes they are.

12. pg. 73 (describing how to pick a single-sided wafer lock) "....wiggle frantically while turning your torque wrench and open." Wiggle frantically??? C'mon....how about something like "depress or lift wafer until a slight movement of plug is felt."

13. pg. 75-76 on tubular lock picking...I'm not going to quote it, but I've never individually moved the feelers of a tubular picking tool to depress the pins. Has anyone else? Is that the way a Southord works? *serious, not trying to be sarcastic* I thought you used it the same as my HPC and gently pushed and twisted (holding the tool perpendicular) until the lock opened or the feeler picks were pushed too far back.

Well...that's enough I think. I hope with the new edition we'll see some improvement.

I must give Mr. Chick props though, for his work on this project. It takes a person with a backbone (and I'm being serious, not sarcastic here) to attempt to fill an information gap like the one we all would like to see disappear. Best of luck in future endeavors.

[dougchick]

These are some samples, hope this helps in future editions. (being serious, not sarcastic):

1. key set pin pg. 17= bottom pin. As long as I've been a locksmith I've never heard this term until I first started visiting this forum.

2. Hull pg.23=shell or bible (sometimes cylinder or housing). pg. 23

3. Set pins pg.23=Top pins or drivers. Again, I've never heard the term "set pins" before.

4. pg. 24 "pin and tumbler model of locks"= pin tumbler. I honestly don't know why some call them tumbler's. The proper name is pins.

5. "Some locksmiths don't have the touch to pick a lock....". :evil: Maybe I won't say anything about this.....

6. pg. 28 "use your pick to depress the unlocking levels locked at the top of the inside of the lock...." I didn't even understand what this meant...unless he was talking about levers or bypassing wards...

7. pg.41 The Schlage bottom pin pictured is NOT a high security pin.

8. pg. 44 "Some locks, like Schlage locks, have two sets of pins."
(Though not shown here, the picture shows a four pin lock with a master pin in each chamber.)
a.) Any lock that is rekeyable can have more than a single set of pins.
b.) 4 master pins allows for more than 2 shearlines. In fact, it will allow for 16 different shearlines, thus allowing 16 different keys to operate that particular lock.
c.) Not all Schlage locks have two sets of pins, and most have at least 5 boittom pins.

9. pg 45. "It's true that double set pins can make picking a lock a little challenging". 16 possible shearlines in a lock makes it easier, not harder to pick.

10. pg. 62 "Kwickset"=Kwikset.

11. pg. 66 "Paperclips are the locksmith's friend". Umm..actually, yes they are.

12. pg. 73 (describing how to pick a single-sided wafer lock) "....wiggle frantically while turning your torque wrench and open." Wiggle frantically??? C'mon....how about something like "depress or lift wafer until a slight movement of plug is felt."

13. pg. 75-76 on tubular lock picking...I'm not going to quote it, but I've never individually moved the feelers of a tubular picking tool to depress the pins. Has anyone else? Is that the way a Southord works? *serious, not trying to be sarcastic* I thought you used it the same as my HPC and gently pushed and twisted (holding the tool perpendicular) until the lock opened or the feeler picks were pushed too far back.

Well...that's enough I think. I hope with the new edition we'll see some improvement.

I must give Mr. Chick props though, for his work on this project. It takes a person with a backbone (and I'm being serious, not sarcastic here) to attempt to fill an information gap like the one we all would like to see disappear. Best of luck in future endeavors.

I think that with the evolvement of computer people in the art of lock picking, the language will change a bit. True I am not a locksmith, by trade I am however, a very talented puzzle solver, as a lot of computer people are. When researching the book, most of my terms came from a mix of hackers and locksmiths.

My friend in San Diego introduced me to lock picking as an up coming sport for computer people. I quickly found that I had an exceptional talent for picking locks and opening combinations. To my utter surprise there were no books to start a would be practitioner on his or her way to learning lock picking so they could attend a lock picking event. So I decided to write one myself.

So far I have received a lot of praise about the book, actually thanking me for writing it. However, these words of praise were from beginners. In 4 short weeks I have personally got a lot of people involved in lock picking. Which was my hope. To see your review frankly shocked me, as I have not received any criticism. But from the view of a professional I can see your point. I will revise the book and make try to make it locksmith friendly.

Varjeal, if you email your real name, I’ll make sure you are in the credits on the next print.

Doug

[Varjeal]

No credit, thanks...my handle is my lockpicking "name", and I prefer to keep it that way. (no offense).

Best of luck in future endeavors.