humbled

[cheesehead]

I got called out on a lock out at one of my companies residential apartment complexes this afternoon. It was an old weiser deadbolt - standerd 5 pin piece of crap. I thought to myself, "sweet - I'll have this open in no time!" I was totally wrong. the lock was all beat up, sticking, and gave me absolutely no feed back. one pin was so fouled up it actually felt like it was serrated. and I failed to bring any lock lube on top of things. long story short, the guy's wife showed up after I had been working on it for about 10 mins, and we just used her key. Of course, now it's driving me insane that I got beat by a weiser...I have an overwhelming urge to go back over and work on it until I pick it - but since that would be unethical, I guess I'll have to live with my shame, or at least wait until they lock themselves out again.
I need a hug...

[Shrub]

I carry a manual pickgun for such situations, a few pulls with some lube in and the locks tend to free quite nicely.

[illusion]

Gummy locks are funny really. I've found some to pick easily, and the anti picks to not function at all because of all the grime. I've also found somtimes, that the feedback is limited, and if you lift the pins too high they tend to stay overlifted rather than falling back down.

You might want to try intentionaly making one or two of yorr locks dirty, so if the situation you were in repeats itself, you will be ready.

[cheesehead]

I've been thinking about it all afternoon - and since I'll probably never get a chance to truly go captian ahab on that particular lock - I came to the conclusion that I was just going to have to replicate the situation with one of my practice locks. I'm planning to start fouling one up good tonight. My only other alternative would be to accept defeat, and plunge my half diamond deep in to my temple. but since I'd hate to leave a mess for someone else to clean up, I guess I'll stick with the lock idea...

[Shrub]

If the lock is that bad, go back tot he owners and tell them so and offer to swap it out for a new one free of charge as long as you get the old one, its only an idea if you desparatly want it.

[conker]

it happens to us all... like one time I could not get past a cheap lock that I later opened using a flat screwdriver. It was so rundown the pins were stuck in the position that it would open, you just had to turn the cylinder. But I spent an hour trying to pick it, when i just needed to turn it!