Ever Lose Your Skills When You Need Them?

[Emrys]

This seems to happen all the time. Whenever I need to use my skills to open a door, I can't seem to do it. This ever happen to you guys? Pisses me off how I can pick disc detainer locks, medeco locks (1 time), American locks.......but a freaking Kwikset will taunt me!

I needed to use my skills to open the beer cooler at work when someone took the key home. I finally got it, but that Kwikset took me WAY too long.

I needed to open the door to my girlfriend's house when she locked herself out. Again, finally got that one, but took forever.

I needed to get in my car when I locked my keys inside with the car running. This one probably pissed me off the most since it was 3:00am. Couldn't get it. Had to get the girlfriend to bring the spare key.


This kind of thing ever happen to you guys? How do you guys beat it?

-Rob

[Spiffytexan]

This will solve all your problems, my friend: http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM835-5.html

Cheaper than a set of picks, too!

Enjoy!
Logan W.

[Spiffytexan]

Oops, nevermind...I bought these when they were $5, just 1 month ago! Prices have gone up a bit

[Safecrackin Sammy]

Your probably dealing with the stress that you HAVE to perform at something that otherwise would be a hobby.

Maintain a positive thought and use visual imagination to see yourself opening the lock.

Approach the task with an "I have already opened this lock" attitude.

Dont get discouraged if it doesnt open in ten seconds.
Persevere...

[freakparade3]

It's also very different when you are picking a lock that is mounted on a door. I'd wager that many of the best lockpickers here who only pick locks they are holding would have a lot of trouble picking a mounted lock.

[yono]

In lockpicking (your case) you're not alone my friend, it do crip, to me sometimes, it takes a little while to refucos especially when we want it quick, and did not expect the unexpected. our own ego mostly causes this all. its different from working for others than working for ourselves. in my approach, i treat each lockpicking job just a lockpicking.

[Emrys]

Yea, it's most definitely pressure that does it. I think the same thing happens when someone is watching us too.

I've used my skills before to unlock someone's car door for them after they locked their keys in it. I didn't expect to even open it, but I figured "eh, what the hell. If I don't get it, she's still gonna call a locksmith anyway. I just gotta be sure not to damage it". Bam, I got it in like 2 minutes and wasn't even expecting to. But, she wasn't around either so that had something to do with it.

To cope with this kind of thing I like doing exercises that put pressure on me while picking a lock. I'll time myself picking a lock and try to beat it. Or, I'll try to pick a certain amount of locks in a given time. I found this helps quite a bit, but I have to do it fairly often or it will stop working.

-Rob

[Engineer]

Happens to me too - You do seem to get "off" days.

Don't underestimate what freakparade says though - Many locks feel so very different when mounted than when picked "inhand". That is why professional lockies mount locks on wood when practising, as picking inhand can mean you have to learn how to pick again when you come up against locks that are mounted.

Practise against the clock as Emrys suggested, to make sure you can relax under pressure (and not tense up your arms and fingers). Also try practising as much as you can with some locks that are mounted to make sure you don't loose your abilities when you need them. Good luck!

[gtecha]

I find that whenever I start getting stressed about picking the lock or just overemphasizing unlocking it I invariably use too much tension and I'm not thorough enough. Today when I was high I couldn't get a lock open within 2 minutes while the day before while sober I was just focusing on the pins one by one, with little or no regard towards actually opening the lock. Yesterday I used 4 different locks of variable difficulties, all took under 30 seconds. Just try to enter a kind of lock picking zone, where you're totally in the moment feeling pins, as soon as the emphasis is on getting the lock open and not on concentrating on the process it becomes much harder to open the lock.

[raimundo]

Make yerself a well sanded bogota rake,

OH, and the magic words, dont forget the magic words, I can't tell ya what they are, its only for those in the super advanced section that you can't get to from whereever you're at.

[Emrys]

LOL Magic words, huh? I just make up new curse words when I can't seem to get it open. I think it intimidates the lock.

Never tried picking high. I wonder how picking locks drunk would do? I've done it, but I can't recall if I've had favorable results one way or the other.

A book I bought a while back, I believe the name is "Modern High Security Locks". It's pretty popular with decent info. There's one section in there called "Zen and the Art of Lock Picking", or something like that. He tells you how to get yourself in the right mind frame. Definitely very similar advice to what Engineer and FreakParade said.

One thing's for sure, I can never seem to open a lock when I'm pissed. This is one reason I really like lockpicking. I don't have a lot of patients but lock picking inherently teaches me to be more patient if I want the desired end result. Ah, the joys of lock picking. It's more than just getting free sh*t. lol JK JK

-Rob

BTW, never seemed to have too much luck with bogotas. Maybe I don't have the developed technique. I started out SPP early in my hobby and have pretty much stuck with it. I'll rake a little if I think I have the lock and it seems stubborn.

[le.nutzman]

Check out the Raimund's Bogotas sticky.....I want to say it's page 9 or 10, someone describes the use of a bogota as a jerky motion as if you had too much caffeine or coffee and your hand's just shaking uncontrollablly (don't ask how I remembered all that, just something that stuck out because a few posts after that Rai said the the person who posted that was pretty much on point).

Attitude is really what it's about. I've hit walls with field 5200s when I was in Iraq, couldn't pick it to save my life when I needed it and it ended up getting cut. Few minutes after cutting, i'd pick it in no time flat. For me it's about going into it knowing that even though i've picked many 5200s in the past, there's always going to be a lock that I just can't pick for whatever reason. If I pick it, yeah I'm pretty happy about it. If it can't, I don't beat myself up about it, just keep on moving on.

[5thcorps]

Picking in the field is always trickier than holding a cylinder in your palm. mount some practice cylinders on a simulated door. I cut up a spare door that was in my basement and mounted 6 different locksets in it for practice. It has been drastically useful for practice

[Interwoven]

Yea, it's most definitely pressure that does it. I think the same thing happens when someone is watching us too.

I've used my skills before to unlock someone's car door for them after they locked their keys in it. I didn't expect to even open it, but I figured "eh, what the hell. If I don't get it, she's still gonna call a locksmith anyway. I just gotta be sure not to damage it". Bam, I got it in like 2 minutes and wasn't even expecting to. But, she wasn't around either so that had something to do with it.

To cope with this kind of thing I like doing exercises that put pressure on me while picking a lock. I'll time myself picking a lock and try to beat it. Or, I'll try to pick a certain amount of locks in a given time. I found this helps quite a bit, but I have to do it fairly often or it will stop working.

-Rob

Yea, like 2 or 3 nights after I picked my first lock at my house (residential deadbolt and a door handle), I locked myself outside in the freezing cold (side door unlocked) and realized I wasn't as spiffy as I had thought. Took me about 10 times longer to get it. I think the shivering at the end was what helped pick it...haha.