My First Time Attempt at Picking a Lock MASTERLOCK NO.576

[Nick51690]

my first time i had ever tried to pick a lock and i did...then i improved my time to only 5 secs...BUT NOW I CANT SEEM TO PICK IT AT ALL...its a 5 pin lock

http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a362/ ... 37c318.flv

[th3anvil]

What I do when this happens is put down the pick and lock and walk away for an hour. Usually it is because I'm getting frustrated at not being able to pick the lock, then I tension harder, then I drop SPP and rake harder. It's all in your head.

The video was ok. The camera was a bit shaky but you kept the plug and the pick in sight. I hate vids where the person's hand is in the way!

Take care and Happy Picking

[bluestar]

Another thing you can try is shake out your hand, try to relax (e.g. think of something taht makes you happy), and take another lock. Perhaps leave it for a week and then try again.

Good luck!
bluestar

[Eyes_Only]

What I do is after I've been working on a single lock for a while and can't seem to be able to get it open, I take a 30 minute break, get something to drink and then pick a easier lock. This will reboot my confidence that I can still pick and then if I don't feel all drained and shakey I go back to the one that was giving me problems.

[Afisch]

Know the feeling, for the past couple days i haven't been able to open locks with my picks which i have opened with paperclips and other random objects in the past, real frustrating. Gona try doing DB's exercise a couple times on those locks and see if i can see what i'm doing wrong, because currently i haven't any idea.

[gotakey?]

I have to agree......My mother in law gave me a lock because she thought I couldnt open it.....alas I did......w/ a screwdriver and a safety pin....fast forward a few months or so and..BAM! i cant open it for the life of me w/ real tools. go figure..I can open a lot of stuff but not this one, so now that lock gives me something to work towards. when that one is mastered Ill move onto another one Im having trouble with. Its just the nature of the game till you got it all figured out.....and then theyll be something harder and more fun to master.

[le.nutzman]

Take breaks regularly. I know that when I pick my now infamously dubbed "DG" Masterlock padlocks, if I can't open it within the first 5 minutes, I take a quick break and re-evaluate what i'm doing. Most of the time, for me, it's tension. Too much usually.

That being said, tension is probably the number one thing that regardless of your level of skill, is always going to throw you for a loop. When I say tension, i'm referring to the amount of tension pressure required to turn the plug, i'm also referring to the tension wrench itself. Several seasoned people here have readily stated that you get a different feel with the variations of the tension wrenches, from flexible to firm. Placement of the tension wrench also will dictate how much pressure you need to apply to the tension wrench.

Probably the single most helpful aspect when looking at tension is to do the following:

Place your pick in the lock and then place tension wrench in the desired position, raise all the pins and apply enough tension that it would hold all the pins up then back off gradually until the pins fall but the plug still turns ever so slightly. That's the tension you want for that lock. And it will change from lock to lock, some locks require more tension than others.

When all else fails, return to the basics. Go back through and do the exercises that DB has shown in his walk through, you're probably overlooking something, and it doesn't take long to do the exercises. Hope this helps.

[robin11]

The video was ok. The camera was a bit shaky but you kept the plug and the pick in sight. I hate vids where the person's hand is in the way!

I agree that that video is quite interesting but please keep the locks and picks in good focus without hands between and try to make camera still not shaky - All the best for future

[Nick51690]

thanks for all of the comments since i posted this ive only been able to pick that lock 4 times can u believe that man im still a rookie and i need a lot of work....i posted the video on the first day i received my tools from lockpicktools.com so yea

[robin11]

thanks for all of the comments since i posted this ive only been able to pick that lock 4 times can u believe that man im still a rookie and i need a lot of work....i posted the video on the first day i received my tools from lockpicktools.com so yea

Oh thats great that you are learning fast, so keep trying and all the best for your future endeavour.