Too Cheap of a lock?

[amc31b]

i bought a "Fort Knox" 50mm pad lock at the dollar store, in hopes of it being a cheap practice lock. basicallty, it looks like a rip off of the masterlock padlock. anyways, i used the key to open it to make sure it was working before i started picking. and to see if the key was a "high low" cut. the first thing i noticed is it had almost a half turn of play in the plug. the plug seemed like a very loose fit and the 4 pins seem to have almost no spring. i was already thinking i could open this lock with no effort.
i was defiently wrong. the loose plug to cylinder fit seems to make it impossible to find the right torque. also the lack of tension on all 4 pins seems to make picking the lock more difficult to pick. i have picked my 25 dollar "design house" deadbolts around the house, a cheap little "mountain security" pad lock, and even a "fortress" padlock with secuirty pins. and for some reason this 1 dollar lock seems it cant be picked.
so my question is: is the loose fit and design of this cheap lock a feature that is made to prevent picking? or is this lock just such a POS and so poorly designed that i cant pick it.
i'm sure some of you have ran into this type of problem/lock. let me know what you think or if you have any different ideas about picking.

[serrurier]

Do you know where it was made?

Chances are it was made in China and I would be very surprised to see this feature being made on purpose..... and as soon as they discover this the price will sky rocket !!!!!

Furthermore, can you put up a picture of it? I would like to acquire one and give it a try?

[helix]

From the dollar shop?
Sounds as though it is just a POS.

[amc31b]

Yes, this pad lock was made in china. how do you post pictures here? i'm new and really wouldnt know how to do that. FYI, the lock is made of steel laminate plates and has a blue rubber edging around the bottom of the body. it looks just like those plated(the ones where the body is made of several thin, steel plates) masterlocks.
i would agree that the lock is just a peice of crap, but the flaw makes it frustrating to pick or rake.

[helix]

To post pictures to this site, read this:

viewtopic.php?t=6558

There is a bunch of other cool stuff in the FAQs section
that you should probably have a look at too.

[amc31b]

Ok thanxs for you guy's input, but i figured it out. the loose plug to cylinder fit made the torque required to turn the plug very high. i really had to crank on the tension wrench. that much torque on a normal pin tumbler lock would have bent the tension wrench. also, the loose plug to cylinder fit made the plug actully move down and out so i also had to apply a slight upward pressure to the tension wrench. other than that, the lock picked very easily.
all in all, this padlock was just another learning experience. now i know how to pick even the cheapest padlocks. Hopefully other pickers can learn from my learning experience.

[Robojubei]

A friend challenged me to pick a padlock he's not using anymore, and it's almost exactly the same as yours. I actually did bend one of my tension wrenchs : \