First Pick Purchase On Order

[HorizonSon]

Here is the list of my first order I placed:



Peterson Pry Bar - 0.050
Peterson Pry Bar - Lite 0.040
Tension Wrench - Long Twist Flex
Tension Tool - Double Wishbone
Tulip Tension Tool Straight
Short Hook Pick with Metal Handle
Large Diamond Pick with Metal Handle
Long Hook Pick with Metal Handle
Small Diamond Pick with Metal Handle
S Rake with Metal Handle
Key Extractor with Metal Handle



Please let me know if I chose wisely

[easy-e]

Looks like my first order but I went with picks without handles. I wish I had found the Pry Bar's earlier...they are fantastic!

I use a short hook for the majority of the locks I have. Buying a big set isn't always a great idea so I think you make a very wise decision with your purchase!

[HorizonSon]

Thank you for the reply . I was starting to feel invisible

Looking forward to kick-starting this fun, all-weather, hobby!

[easy-e]

Good luck!

There are tons of "What should I buy threads" but you seem to be on the right track. There is no right or wrong way to go, it mostly boils down to personal preference which can only be determined by experience and trying different brands and profiles.

[fgarci03]

My personall choices would ditch the twist flex tension wrench, the large diamond and the key extractor. But hey, it's a PERSONALL CHOICE!

I think you chose well to tell the truth. I still don't have pry bars and I'll be getting them soon I hope.


Looking forward to see your picked locks

[HorizonSon]

I can open a lil black masterlock, which has one (or more?) spool pins, with a modified bobby pin and a tension tool... But the cheap, made-in-China, Wally-World lock gives me hell

I modified the bobby pin before I knew of ideal configurations (was a year ago).

Just now picked them back up again, this last week, with same results as before... Looking forward to practice, practice, practicing with real picks and nice tension tools

[fgarci03]

I don't own any masterlocks so I can't tell you how many spools they have.

About the cheap one giving you hell, it happens to me. I have cheap 4 and 5 pin locks that give me hell to pick, but I can pick an American Padlock with serrated pins/spools in under 3 minutes most of the times. The cheap chinese are very difficult to me because of the extreme tight keyway mainly. But their feedback is also not very accurate...

The world is full of strange things

[Luissen]

I don't own any masterlocks so I can't tell you how many spools they have.

About the cheap one giving you hell, it happens to me. I have cheap 4 and 5 pin locks that give me hell to pick, but I can pick an American Padlock with serrated pins/spools in under 3 minutes most of the times. The cheap chinese are very difficult to me because of the extreme tight keyway mainly. But their feedback is also not very accurate...

The world is full of strange things

I've been given hell by "Gooldor" and "Tri-circle" locks because the keyway, but mechanically, they're not particularly well made. When I broke my Tri-circle 261's keyway, I raked it accidentally with the back of my long hook

[GWiens2001]

The cheap padlocks, whether they are from a discount dollar/euro store, Walmart, or grocery store frequently have a plastic shell. That can make things difficult, especially if you use too much tension.

Took one apart in this thread. Did so for fun. But please keep the discussion away from destructive entry if you look at that thread!

Gordon

[HorizonSon]

Have yet to receive my purchased picks. However; I've been practicing, and had a bit of a "break-through" last night. My success rate has gone WAY up, and time taken WAY down: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."


The little Masterlock seems to have two spool driver pins in position 2 and 4. I'm successful (on average) about 1 out of 5 attempts; and get a "false set" 2 or 3 times out of 5, from the spool pins.


The cheap Wally-World lock needs an incredibly light hand. It does not appear to have security pins. Though; between the rough pins and weak springs, I have next to no feedback Granted, I am using a modified bobby pin, LOLz... My success rate is about the same as the Masterlock: roughly 1 of 4~5 attempts.

[fgarci03]

You said you get a false set 2 or 3 times out of 5.
I may be wrong, but you sound like to reset everything when that happens. Is it what you do?

When you get a false set from the spools, it actually gets easier to pick the lock. You need to find the pins which are in false set and properly set them.
To do it, you need to try to lift each pin a little bit more, and decrease the amount of tenstion a little bit. When you do it, 1 of 3 things may happen: nothing at all (which means it's a set pin, so leave it alone); feel the pin lift further without any setting (which means this was a setted pin and you have used to much force to lift it further and have oversetted it); or feel a small counter-rotation in the plug (which means it's a spool). This is what you should be looking for. Keep lifting it untill it clicks and returns to a false set. Do that as many times as necessary untill there are no more spools.

In the process you may feel some already setted pins falling down. That means you setted them with the wrong binding order (it happens with spools) and need to set them again after setting that spool. So not everytime you set a spool after the false set, it returns to false set.

It's not necessary to always use light tension, I use medium tension to find the binding pin and decrease it while I lift it untill it sets.
The only thing you need to watch out for now is not oversetting the pins.

[HorizonSon]

Thank you for the excellent advise

It sounds like I'm on the right track, based on your reply.

As for not resetting the pins. The #4 is a spool AND the first to bind So I usually release tension to a full reset. Though; I have "backed off and continued" when the #2 spool was "false set" I've only successfully done that 2~3 times thus far.


The cheap Wally-World lock has a very tight binding order


I am happy to report that I am getting them (on average) on my second or third attempt as of today


Think I need a few new locks, as I now know these two, too well :p

[fgarci03]

I've only successfully done that 2~3 times thus far.

My advice is for you to keep getting to that false set on purpose and practice what it feels like to properly set it. The amount of tension and lift force needed.

Think I need a few new locks, as I now know these two, too well :p

Absolutely agree! With new locks you find new challenges and always learn something new. Even if they are easy ones.
So, expand your confort zone, and in a few months you'll be picking most locks right out of the box

I am happy to report that I am getting them (on average) on my second or third attempt as of today

Congratulations on that!