YAY! Just Picked My first Lock.......

[boots024]

It wasn't that easy nor was it that hard. My first lock; a Brinks with security pins. Picked with a FPS8 took me about 35 mins. I didn't think I was going to get it. I kept getting the lock to shear a tiny bit but couldn't get that security pin to shear. Then I let off a little tension........Then POP when the lock. I'm hooked. I'll post pick of the lock and my set a bit later.

[boots024]

Picked again in 10 mins this time. I'm getting a good feel for this....... Or so I think.

[Scott_93]

Nice one pal, the feeling you get when you pop a lock is something that never goes away and as you may have guessed the key is as little tension as possible.

Happy NDE

Scott.

[LocksmithArmy]

congrads welcome to the love of picking...

whats next... a master... door knob... american... abloy lol the choices are endless(depends on how much money you want to spend)

dont pick your own door though

[boots024]

Thanks LocksmithArmy & Scott93

Interestingly enough, I have picked the brinks w/security pin, and a master no. 5. Yet I cannot pick this master no. 3, and I have no experience. Although I don't think I got lucky on the others, it just goes to show I definitely need much practice. It's cool though; I'm in it for the long haul.........

[LocksmithArmy]

study and read are the best advice for someone just beginning.

i could tell you that you may just have a hard bitting combination on the master 3 you have or maby your first two locks had easy bittings but it wont help if you dont know what makes the bittings harder than others.

i have 3 master 140s here that i am playing with my new bogotas on. i can pop 2 in a second or 5 buth the 3rd wont open...(i can pick it but not with the bogota) it just has a tougher bitting.

there are tons of books running around this forum so see what other people like(some people here have written books coughmhcough)

and iff you dont wanna pay bookstore or amazon prices put a wanted ad in the buyselltrade forum. people around here are always willing to help.

keep it up youll get it

[rrkss]

The key to the Master #3 is light tension. Use less tension than you would use with the key to open it. Once its picked, the plug will noticibly move, then add more tension and the padlock should open.

[raimundo]

before your tensor enters the lockcylinder, it passes the outer cap lamination of the laminated lock, this lamination is rough on its edges as you can see, the punch press made a cut/break edge that is rough. this edge also impinges on your bottom of the keyway tensor,
additionally if your tensor has sharp edges, it could be cutting into the cylinder wall which is brass and softer than the tensor. if this is the case, you should be able to locate the marks if you have good eyesight,
the lamination bind will leave scratches on the edge of the tensor blade.

These may not be part of your problem, but they are things to be aware of.

when you take the pick out, is the tensor loose enough to fall out of the lock, if so, its not binding on anything
If you try to shake the tensor blade out of the lock and its not falling, you have a binding problem, A STUCK TENSOR IS NOT HELPING ANYTHING. change to a wider or less wide tensor if you are having this problem.