First 5 pin picked and the fun leading to it

[Brother Paul]

Well i read the guides here and the mit guide for about 2 weeks while practicing as suggested (mostly on a few pad locks i had around ) i made up a few home made picks while i waited for the ones i ordered to arrive . 3 days ago i went and bought a "Brinks Double cylinder Maximum Security" Dead bolt ( this gave me 2 locks yay !) and 6 of the 7 day pill boxes for sorting your daily meds. when i got home got my 2x4 ready and marked my pill boxes p1 - p5 Housing and p1 - p5 cylinder so when i took the pins out i could keep track what went where, i made the tools needed to repin my locks Etc Etc.( I love organizing and making kits for task and making stuff ) i went through the practice steps 1 pin then 2, 3 etc getting the feel for what pin was binding < Hard) and finely today with the lock i had left as it came i started to pick it , i tried 4 times with no luck stoping and taking a break when my hands cramped or i got aggravated
but 7 min into the 5th try I Got it a security pin that was false setting and the lock OPENED ... well this might not mean anything to anyone else but im very pleased with myself . anyway im off to start over @ step 1 again . PS i was useing a hook pick and SPP useing a fulcrum lift . ty to all who post/Guides helped me a LOT

[loki-aka]

You should be pleased with yourself. It sounds like you have made all the basic moves properly; reading the guides, the MIT, acquired a decent first practice lock.

Keep practicing with the lock, but, this time make it a bigger challenge by changing pin positions- in general, place shorter key pins next to longer ones.

After a while, and still more practice, think about getting a padlock. Drop us a message when your ready to choose
your next lock.

Good luck.

-never pick a lock you don't have permission to open-

[wakeboard1290]

Great to hear of your success BP!

Keep at it, nothing is as good a teacher as practice and knowledge

[Brother Paul]

i picked up a ERA Lock off E bay with key this has a 6 pins, 2 plain pins and 4 spools pins , it took me about 30 min but i picked it it was very aggravating but i feel very good about this , i picked it a second time and shaved about 3 min off my time ( embarrassed) well anyhow im happy with myself,, if anyone had heard of this lock can you tell me about where on the toughness scale this lock is ? , also should i be able to pick this lock faster or is this normal for my lvl ?

[wakeboard1290]

If you're SPP, that lock should take about your time for a beginner and anywhere from 3-6 minutes for someone who knows their stuff. I'm sure there's people out there who are far beyond either of our skill who could open it even faster than that. As for skill level, just keep picking a variety of locks. Your skills will expand exponentially. Oh and if it's the type of ERA lock I'm thinking of, one of those regular pins is actually an anti-drill pin

[Brother Paul]

If you're SPP, that lock should take about your time for a beginner and anywhere from 3-6 minutes for someone who knows their stuff. I'm sure there's people out there who are far beyond either of our skill who could open it even faster than that. As for skill level, just keep picking a variety of locks. Your skills will expand exponentially. Oh and if it's the type of ERA lock I'm thinking of, one of those regular pins is actually an anti-drill pin

,thanks for the info man,

i got the thing in 10 min today its a pretty good time increase , for the next couple days ill keep it up then ill try repining it for different pin locations ,, and see how i do

[wakeboard1290]

Good job! Keep up the practice, soon you'll be getting it open in a minute or two