new guy in town

[fragapick]

hey everybody, just got into this...man s it ever addictive! i bought a 14 piece lockpick set and a master no. 140 padlock to practice on. after about a day i was able to pick it within about 15 seconds and now i'm looking at the door to my room. its a yale 5-pin but it isnt a circular doorknob but a pulldown lever instead. i spent the rest of the day trying to no avail and now here i am! i can't hear the pins setting and i'm kinda stuck (not in that way, i still have a key! ) is this lock a lil' too complex for a beginner such as myself? are there any tricks for these certain models? once again thanks for having such an informative site that i can be a part of.

[marso]

Cylinders, if i am correct are normally the same for round door noobs and pull down ones. Yale is a good company and i have heard people on the forum say they are a pain. I would suggest practicing and keeping at it. Keep having a break after 20 min and try to picture how the lock is working. If it does not work either remove the lock or buy the same sort. You can then try working on it in your hands (easier to feel and tip upside down to hear if pins are set) and if it is still giving you grief you can throw it. Oh yeh you can also take it appart and see what is causing you grief and also try the one pin at a time thing.

I think if you keep trying you will get it. But every so often pick up the lock you can pick and play with it, gives you confidence and the precious feel you need.

[Quin]

its a yale 5-pin but it isnt a circular doorknob but a pulldown lever instead. i spent the rest of the day trying to no avail and now here i am! i can't hear the pins setting and i'm kinda stuck. are there any tricks for these certain models? once again thanks for having such an informative site that i can be a part of.

Welcome aboard!

Yale are a pain and if their normal locks are anything to go by I would say it will have mushroom pins inside to try to prevent picking. I don't know they have for certain but it seems to be a trait Yale like using. Do a search on the net for the model number of your lock and see if you can find out if they do.

Yales are pickable (I've seen them picked using reverse picking) but if you've just started you might want to start on something easier.

Are you in the UK? If so I'll give a good list of start off locks.

[Chris]

Hi.
I'm a newbie and I had a lot of trouble opening a Yale, partly because my pick was too big, but mainly because it had 2 spool pins. People mention mushroom pins in Yales, but I subsequently took this lock to pieces to see why it was so troublesome to pick and found the spools. I knew there was something different about these two pin stacks before I dismantled it, because they had a kind of "gritty" feel about them. The pins would rise just so far and then baulk, but in a gritty kind of way instead of a solid resistance. (Locks seem to talk but I don't know their language yet!). I guessed they were probably spools or mushrooms and defeated them eventually by using feather light torque - but it took a long time. There's probably better (easier) ways round the snag but this one worked for me on this particular lock. With the very light torque I found that the "feel" for what's happening inside the lock is much less positive and pins already set will drop if you go too light. Also found that if you can't feel / hear pins setting, you can very gently feel for them (the bottom pin suddenly went slack when the spool crossed the sheer line). I've read that Yale vary the stacks that they put the spools / mushrooms in, so you'll need to feel around for them. Don't give up. Good luck. Chris.

[quicklocks]

Yales are pickable (I've seen them picked using reverse picking) but if you've just started you might want to start on something easier.

Are you in the UK? If so I'll give a good list of start off locks.[/quote

hi i live in wales and would love a list of locks to practice on

[fragapick]

thanks for the help guys, i'm gonna work on it some more today after bball practice. if i cant get anywhere with that i'll just buy some more padlocks and get some more practice in. i'll probably end up buying the same model for my door and taking it apart, i just dont know where the model number is (its a door to my dorm) and i can't really take it apart without paying a hefty fine! and i live in the US, but thanks for offering the list of locks to work on Quin, maybe some US guys have a list of locks to start on?

[marso]

Normally we list locks to start on as "practice locks" do a search and you should find a heap. Quin it would be kewl if you made a list and posted it in the european lock section? Normally you look at the finish on the lock, the shape of the keyway and this should be a good start to finding the same lock. Having said that I have three different locks made by different manufacturers, each being one step harder than the next with the same keyways. Best of luck and let us know how you go.

[Quin]

Here are some good ones to start with but bare in mind I was picking and not raking....

Ross
I think you could probably open them by looking at the lock (ask it nicely and the lock should pop). About 4UKP

ERA
A good one to start off on (5 pin). About 7UKP for the barrel

Bird
Getting slightly harder now. I opened one 3 times in a couple of minutes but yesterday couldn't open it at all. Not sure on price, not my lock and I've only had it a couple of days.

Yale
Its catch phrase should be "Go ahead punk, make my day"
Cost me about 14UKP for the barrel. I could have got it cheaper but everywhere was shut and a friend just lent me his spare picks so I was anxious to get going.

[Quin]

Pah you posted that message just after I posted. Ill add a list to the Europe one as well and leave this one as his hello message.

[randmguy]

Fragapick: Chances are good that it does not have any spool/mushroom pins in it if your dorm is more than a year old. I'm a university locksmith and I have found very few locks with special pins (probably because we all buy the same LAB pins). Institutional Yales are made with very tight tolerances and generally not maintained. I'd recommend cleaning and lubing the lock before trying again.

[fragapick]

randmguy, thanks for the info on that, i'm definintely gonna try putting some lube into the lock, which brings me to my next question...what kind of lubricant should i purchase for this? i was thinking WD-40 with that little spray straw, but the smell might get a little bad, especially with the size of my com. room. any preffered kinds of lubricant?

[Chucklz]

WD-40 probably could get gunky after a while. Silicone/Teflon sprays are preferred by many members.

[fragapick]

yeah thats what one of my friends was telling me. About these Silicone/Teflon sprays...are there brand names? also, where can i get some of this stuff?

[Chucklz]

Tri-Flow leaps to mind. WD-40 actually makes one as well.

[unclepappy]

Don't worry about it. The master was a bit of a pushover. Those little locks I believe are 4 pins and no mushroom drivers. The yale too is a bit hard because of the shape of the keyway. Try turning your picks on a bit of an angle to follow the keyway. You'll also find that the master locks are more forgiving with your use of tension. Try using a lighter hand when applying tension. Use your hook pick but before you do, take a file and knife edge the back of your pick slightly, not sharp. This will help stop the pick from binding. Then only slightly round the top of the pick with a file. Just enough to take off the sharp corners. That will help the pick move smoothly. Do the same with your half diamond pick. Then alternate between the half diamond and the hook. See how that works for you.

Cheers