home made picks.

[antaean3000]

No need to point fingers either Solomon

True, but you can never be too careful. Anyway, the reason we tell people not to pick locks in use is because if someone takes our advice and breaks something, it can cause a whole hoo-ha. The rules of locksport are simply that you 1. don't pick locks which don't belong to you and 2. don't pick anything without the owners permission... there isn't anything about locks being in use or not, but the general consensus is you stay away from them unless absolutely necessary. You can do whatever you want to your locks, in use or not - we just can't give you advice on how to pick them.

You're more than welcome to pick the lock to remove it, since you lost your key. You don't seem to be getting anyhwere fast with the locks you have though, so you need to get a better idea of what you're doing before you go near it. Maybe when your picks arrive you'll have more luck... I'd say after a while you'll be able to pick those locks easy, so if you get locked out again by all means go for it. But for now, I really would recommend you just cut the thing off and leave the picking as a hobby until you get better at it.

The only reason i am not getting anywhere with my locks is because i do not have any tools. I ordered tools i paid for tools ,tools not show up.
Why? who knows maybe the seller wanted to take a week off.

When you talk about we i guess you talk for everyone here.

I know the rules of lock picking iv read them in many books.

but you can never be too careful

I dont know what your trying to get at are you saying lock picking is associated with criminal activity?

If so many you should read this
http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/security/lock-picking5.htm

Which says

Lock picking is an essential skill for locksmiths because it lets them get past a lock without destroying it. When you lock yourself out of your house or lose your key, a locksmith can let you back in very easily.

Lock-picking skills are not particularly common among burglars, mainly because there are so many other, simpler ways of breaking into a house (throwing a brick through a back window, for example). For the most part, only intruders who need to cover their tracks, such as spies and detectives, will bother to pick a lock.

Correct me if i am wrong solomon but you seem to have a good knowlege of picking locks. How do we know that you do not missuse lock picking?.
How about many of the other users? you could be training people to do bad things? Heck why stick to this site take youtube for example many lock pickers on there including from people from ukbumpkeys how do we know that any of you guys are not out there doing bad things with your picks?.

[antaean3000]

I am very insulted by your original comment.

[LocksmithArmy]

this should not turn into a pissing contest... calm down bro.
no need to get offended, we have had many people come in and lyye about there intentions from the start, Im sure solomon did not mean to offend you he is just covering his own and this site. we do not want to help criminals, not saying you are, but im sure you can understand the precaution...

I cant say I like ukbumpkeys ether... they took over 2 months so ship a simple product and I still havnt recieved another product I ordered 3 months ago(they say its in the mail though)

but that is a personal choice wheather you shop there again or not.

again just stop taking it so personal. solomon has been very helpful so far so there is no need to attempt retribution when he stops answering questions...

your picks will arrive and you will begin to learn and when you hang around long enough you will see the would be ill doers stop by and realize why some people have not stopped in this conversation...

sorry to jump in like this... i just got tired of reading one complaint after another.

calm down and give it a bit to resolve... youll get that lock open bro...

[antaean3000]

this should not turn into a pissing contest... calm down bro.
no need to get offended, we have had many people come in and lyye about there intentions from the start, Im sure solomon did not mean to offend you he is just covering his own and this site. we do not want to help criminals, not saying you are, but im sure you can understand the precaution...

I cant say I like ukbumpkeys ether... they took over 2 months so ship a simple product and I still havnt recieved another product I ordered 3 months ago(they say its in the mail though)

but that is a personal choice wheather you shop there again or not.

again just stop taking it so personal. solomon has been very helpful so far so there is no need to attempt retribution when he stops answering questions...

your picks will arrive and you will begin to learn and when you hang around long enough you will see the would be ill doers stop by and realize why some people have not stopped in this conversation...

sorry to jump in like this... i just got tired of reading one complaint after another.

calm down and give it a bit to resolve... youll get that lock open bro...

I respect that you guys dont want to help criminals but in all fairness you dont want to put people off of your site either. I mean do you treat everything like a suspect?

Take the site down if you dont want to attrack so called criminal lock pickers.
GOing back to what solomon said about me wanting Auto picks in my sets.
Auto picks are something i would never use. I dont own a car nor am i legaly qualified to drive i sure would not be picking locks on a car that i owned.

Maybe i should give this site a miss. I am a sensative person and i dont take personal attacks very well hence why i am offended.

If i was a criminal for one thing it would be a dump move signing up and talking about it online. 2: why would a criminal do any kind of reasearch online when it would leave them wide open to be caught 3: why would a criminal pick locks? I mean come on. Live in london like i do try and pick a lock for criminal intent and either cctv or a passer by would see a criminal and report them plus the police would pin carrying picks with intenet on you
you would be screwed. Most criminals are ehow said would just put a brick through a window.

So WTF? guess logic is not something many people use in this day and age.

[Solomon]

I'm aware that criminals don't pick locks, and there are many reasons why not. Regardless, every now and again someone will decide to take a crack at it for some reason. So, any time something seems a little off, we tend to get a bit cagey. Don't worry about it, it's not a personal thing. It's the situation more than anything else. Most people who need to get into something will bust the lock off or call a locksmith... it's very unusual for anyone to go to the trouble of ordering pick tools and learning how to use them just to get into a simple lock.

I can see that you probably looked into picking as an idea to get it off and became interested in the hobby, which is cool. I was probably a bit more little harsh than I should have been, but I wanted to see how you'd react. Looks to me that you're a genuine person, so I apologise for offending you. That wasn't my intention, I hope you can see that. And you're right, we don't want to put people off the hobby. You just never know who you're dealing with on here sometimes, that's all.

[antaean3000]

I'm aware that criminals don't pick locks, and there are many reasons why not. Regardless, every now and again someone will decide to take a crack at it for some reason. So, any time something seems a little off, we tend to get a bit cagey. Don't worry about it, it's not a personal thing. It's the situation more than anything else. Most people who need to get into something will bust the lock off or call a locksmith... it's very unusual for anyone to go to the trouble of ordering pick tools and learning how to use them just to get into a simple lock.

I can see that you probably looked into picking as an idea to get it off and became interested in the hobby, which is cool. I was probably a bit more little harsh than I should have been, but I wanted to see how you'd react. Looks to me that you're a genuine person, so I apologise for offending you. That wasn't my intention, I hope you can see that. And you're right, we don't want to put people off the hobby. You just never know who you're dealing with on here sometimes, that's all.

Fiar enough i am sorry if i was harsh also.

I am interested in lock picking as a hobby i see locks for sale at b&q which are labled pick resistant and i think they are to advanced for me and these simple cheap locks i own ,the two master locks and the squire's and this unbranded tesco lock along with the old cabanit locks in our garage which are kind old and rusted but they are a start and i am just very impatient in waiting. Waiting for my picks to show up to me is like a child waiting for christmas day to arrive.

I am sure my set from ukbumpkeys will show up but the more weeks past the longer i will have to wait to learn and just orfering a 8 peice set slimline set from devonlocks will be a start and i can learn about these different locks i have. Maybe they are easy but maybe i will find them hard to pick maybe i wont.

Only time will tell. See people on youtube have raked master locks and squire
but i dont think raking will help you learn much i maybe wrong.

But anyways i must get 50 winks.

One thing about me is i find things that i take a interest in first it was computers then it was amature radio then it was art and now iv taken a interest in picking. Iv stuck at my other interests and done quiet well
i have a hunger to learn about things that interest me. Who knows what i will take a interest in and want to learn next but i do hope its interesting as the above things.

Good night.

[Solomon]

Fiar enough i am sorry if i was harsh also.

I am interested in lock picking as a hobby i see locks for sale at b&q which are labled pick resistant and i think they are to advanced for me and these simple cheap locks i own ,the two master locks and the squire's and this unbranded tesco lock along with the old cabanit locks in our garage which are kind old and rusted but they are a start and i am just very impatient in waiting. Waiting for my picks to show up to me is like a child waiting for christmas day to arrive.

I know the feeling! Every time new tools arrive I get all excited and I really do turn into a child for a while. It's completely understandable that you have all these locks you wanna practice on and every day you check the post your picks aren't there. Stay positive though, it can't be long now.

I am sure my set from ukbumpkeys will show up but the more weeks past the longer i will have to wait to learn and just orfering a 8 peice set slimline set from devonlocks will be a start and i can learn about these different locks i have. Maybe they are easy but maybe i will find them hard to pick maybe i wont.

I'm sure it will. Look on the bright side, now you have 2 sets! Those slimlines will be great for smaller locks and cylinders with heavy warding... and the goso picks will have extra strength for those stubborn locks with stiff old springs.

Only time will tell. See people on youtube have raked master locks and squire
but i dont think raking will help you learn much i maybe wrong.

Master locks all seem to rake open easily, some even require you to rake them because they just plain won't SPP. Raking is a skill in itself; it doesn't teach you as much about what to feel for as SPP, but it's definately a start. Some people can develop raking into a fine art... a few of the guys at SSDeV and TOOOL can open some really impressive locks in 10-20 seconds with careful raking.

One thing about me is i find things that i take a interest in first it was computers then it was amature radio then it was art and now iv taken a interest in picking. Iv stuck at my other interests and done quiet well
i have a hunger to learn about things that interest me. Who knows what i will take a interest in and want to learn next but i do hope its interesting as the above things.

Completely the opposite here. I've never stuck at anything, but as for picking, I can't get enough of it. I did give up on it when I first started but I was quite young. If you stick at it the way I did when I got back into it again, you'll be really good at it within a few months. We're all here to help.

[antaean3000]

I will have two sets and that will be cool.

I tracked my southord pick set and its currently in london at the sorting office ready to be delivered so hopefully they will be here tomorrow. That way i can start my new hobby.

I expect the weather will be a bit naff tomorrow so i will take the time to try and pick my master lock. hopefully since they are slimline they will fit in my smallest master lock iv locked that to my waldrobe handle so i know where it is.

if i can learn to get 1 lock open any lock of mine i will be pleased with myself.
If i get that master lock open then it will just go to prove that the main master lock iv used for years which is a bigger version of my smaller master lock is not very secure.

I would love to own a lock which would be hard for anyone to pick.
Iv seen locks advertised online which are electronic and have a key which opens by sending a encryped passcode to the lock which claims to be unbreakable i wonder if that would be secure enough to use on a garage hehe
Saying that one thunderstorm and the lock gets struck i bet it wont ever open.

[unlisted]

...

And here is where I step in with my personal comments, and than my comments as a moderator:


(personally) to the OP- something smells fishy, and I did not eat fish for dinner. Also, you really do need to learn something called PATIENCE- even with your dealextreme reference, it is a moot point- all they are is a middle man.. if their supplier is on backorder (which happens quite often with them) regardless if you paid for the expensive shipping, your still waiting for the supplier to ship to dealextreme. Now, do I think the company you bought from has dropped the ball? Certainly- they should of responded to your email or call- within 3 business days. If its a one man operation/company, what do you think would happen if that person got sick, or were waiting on a supplier if they ordered the items on a friday afternoon?

OP- I also find your posts generally leaning towards being negative. You also say your offended easily. Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe your not ready to be a member on a forum like this? You are more than welcome to take a break, and come back, or just lurk for a while.. (again, this is not a personal attack, I am just reviewing what you have posted in the past)

Also, if you have so much time to kill, and cash, go buy some hacksaw blades and make your own tools. I bet you will get even more satisfaction if you unlock a lock with something you created yourself...

I am finding more and more (mostly younger) persons in this day and age are expecting instant service/gratification- Heck, I can remember waiting a week or two for a letter from a pen pal to show up when I was a kid- who only lived 150 miles away...


(as a moderator) To the OP- Chill out. I am not taking sides, but you do not need to BYPASS the word filter (actually, its against the rules) - like others have said, your story does kinda change, and here, this is a bad sign. You are also a new member, which also sends up the warning flag when stories change. Even if your intentions are all honest and true, you omitted information from the get go, which leaves others to question your motives/intentions. This is why some other members called you out on it. Again, I am not taking sides, I am just reviewing the details. (personally, I don't even look at usernames anymore, I just read the content of threads)

Now, to everyone else- CHILL OUT- and read below- PLEASE.


If ANYONE sees anything like name calling, rudeness, etc you are supposed to report the post- do NOT take matters into your own hands. Even if you are not involved and just stumble upon a thread like this- Click the report button (little triangle with the "!" in the middle of it) and report the post. You will not get in any trouble for reporting a post, even if it is a unfounded report. We have a system in place to take care of issues, please use it.

Now, I hope no one takes offence to what I have typed out, and everyone can play nice and get along again. OP- your best course would of been (and still is) to call a locksmith- one of our mottos is- we do not pick locks in use. What if someone notices you picking the lock open, and the police are called? could end up lots worse for you, even if you have legal rights to the lock. (just in hassle, plus any unsolved crimes locally could be blamed on you- or worse- a member of the public could take it upon themselves to stop what they think is a crime being committed...)

[raimundo]

OK, thats over, everybodys happy,

If you are buying picks you are dependant on a supply infrastructure that is there now but may not always be.
If you make picks, you can usually have what you need in an hour, you will become good at it, it will help you understand the whole puzzle. learning to be self sufficient will help you in other ways.

[Legion303]

learning to be self sufficient will help you in other ways.

Indeed it will. I hope the original poster takes these words to heart and learns to make his own tools. The first crappy burned-metal and crooked set you ever make will still beat any stamped metal set you can buy from DX.

-steve