Curious bout own skill

[Project]

okay i have been practing on some very cheap padlocks. I can wiz through them pretty easily, and now i just finished this Magnum lock i think its by masterlock. But neways i was just curious. The way i managed to pick this lock was to pick as many as i can. The cylinder would rotate about 5 degrees. This was the part that took me the most amount of time to figure out. I had to release the tension and guess which pins to move up, add tension, release, find next pin. I managed to open the lock consistently with this method. Is this a GOOD technique to use and is there any way to find THAT PIN, cause i guessed the lowest setting pins

[salzi684]

The lock acted like that because it had some sort of security pin, most likely either a spool or a mushroom. The easiest way that I have found for dealing with these pins is to use standard tension and then pick the lock like usual. Once the plug has made that slight rotation relax the tension a bit and go back and push on all of the pins. When you hit a pin that has a security top pin behind it you will feel your tension wrench start to turn the opposite way from which you initially turned the lock. Push that pin up and allow the tension wrench to come around until the pin clicks. If the plug rotates to the position it rotated to the first time you have more security pins to deal with, in that case repeat the process described until the lock is open.

[CitySpider]

I didn't think Magnum padlocks (which I'm pretty sure are not made by Master, but I might be wrong) had security pins?

[salzi684]

How else would you explain the "rotate 5 degrees and stop"? From my experience the only times locks have done this, assuming you are picking the lock in the correct direction, is when they have some sort of security pin. I must admit though, I don't have any experience with "Magnum" locks, and up until now have never heard of that brand before.

[yungning]

i have a Magnum No.240 lock, and i am pretty sure it has 2 or 3 security pins.

[CitySpider]

How else would you explain the "rotate 5 degrees and stop"?

Not saying they don't have them -- I've never taken one apart. I just didn't think they did. If Yung says they do, I'll believe it.

However, responding to this question out of context: I actually have a lock with tolerances so poor that setting one pin allows it to move visibly. It's not five degrees, but it's definitely noticable. Perhaps it could be something like that.

Just some thoughts.

[GilbertGrape]

Yeah, i have a padlock thats like that....SUPER cheapo. I dont even know the brand of it, its the very first lock i ever picked. it so crappy though, it rotates more and more after each pin is picked

[Project]

well its not a super cheap lock, it was bout 8 dollars at home depot. and on the box it said masterlock on it... does anyone have a 50mm shackle magnum padlock. I dont have a picture but it has a blue plastic thing on the bottom with MAGNUM in gold. trying to figure out if it has security pins or not, cause if it does, WOW I UBER

[CycloneJack]

I have the same MAG. I am pretty sure it has a few sec. pins.
One way I have found to pick these fairly quickly is set the 3rd,4th and 5th pin one at a time and rake the last two in the front with the end of a hook.keeping consistent tension.

[Exodus5000]

Just thought i'de throw this in there:
I like mushroom pins way better than spools. Mushroom pins I find since they're tapered slightly create a very definate movement to want to turn the plug back to a locking position, where as since a spool looks more like an "I" it will want to move back only slightly before it catches on the tip of the "I" part. I have such a difficult time just finding these pins...

[CycloneJack]

I agree, mushrooms are much easier to deal with then serrated. I have a black and decker padlock with 2 or 3 serrated pins and it gives me a hell of a time!

[Hojo]

Go and get yourself a I-Core lock that you can re-pin easly I have 3 of these and I dont need any other padlocks because I just put some mushroom or spool pins in when I want them so its a harder pick, take a look at these:

[frollard]

bad images - gonna have to host somewhere else, we however, can just copy the urls, and go straight to them...

[Hojo]

Some problems have been happening with the site and things just dont want to work....So mabey I might have to close it down...but I did change where they were on the site so mabey these will work






if they show this stupid message about not remote linking just right click on them and select proprties and follow the url in there if they still dont work try adding www. or taking it away at the front....Stupid site might need to close it down if it keeps this up...

[Luke]

HOJO that isnt an I-Core, its a rekeyable padlock!