Can beginner locks be TOO cheap?

[cheveedodd]

I got tired of waiting for my Sparrows order to show up. I don't have a bench grinders, but I do have a router and a set of carbide de-butting tools. So, I made a pick and tensioning wrench. I got my first open!


This is a cheap lock I found at a discount store. Everything I have read says to use the cheapest lock you can find. The keyway is huge and my crude pick fits great, but I can't help but feel like every single open has been by luck. So, I switched to a Master No 3. The keyway is much more restrictive, but there is a TON more feedback in this lock. With the cheap China lock, I can't feel the pins at all. The springs feel so light that there's no difference between set and unset (at least for a Newby.) With the Master lock, the spring tension is very noticeable.

So, is there such a thing as a lock that's TOO cheap for a beginner?
I can zip the lock and could shim it if I owned shim, but there's almost no feedback. Just curious.

[cheveedodd]

I'm an idiot. Wrong forum. I blame my age.

[Luissen]

I'm an idiot. Wrong forum. I blame my age.

don't worry, one of our overlords will find it, and move it accordingly.

as for too cheap, padlocks are kinda meh, especially the cheap ones with loose tolerances. At once point, I had picked a generic, "Guard" brand Master No 3 clone to the point where one of the smaller pins had rotated 90 degrees and got caught, since the metal was so soft.

[GWiens2001]

Yes they can be too cheap. Look at the edge of the keyway where the flat part of the key goes. If you see gray or white inside the keyway, it is plastic, and is too cheap.

Gordon

[cheveedodd]

Thanks for the replies.
It doesn't look like plastic, but it's just so loose there is no feel at all.

[KPick]

Thanks for the replies.
It doesn't look like plastic, but it's just so loose there is no feel at all.

Those die cast locks suck!

I have one in my collection of "too pick" locks and to be honest, the feedback is rather bland and bareley noticeable. Typically because I can break the plug by applying too much tension to it. SO, I just rather TOK it and take my time picking it.

These can be TOO cheap in my humble opinion dear sir, but I suggest you get yourself a masterlock, "security", brinks, for your first lock, THEN you will learn the source of great feedback and successful endorphen rushes.

- Kpick