Best practice locks?

[Massey914]

I'm looking to start out quick and spend 2-3 hours practicing a day. Would this be a good practice lock set for this?
http://www.lockpickersmall.com/lp/practicetools.html
The TriPik Package B to be exact.

If you have a better suggestion for a good price, let me know.

[nostromo]

It's a nice start. . .


. . . to your collection.


They get to be like coat hangers.


Ask Schuyler!

[Massey914]

What about the holder? Do you something similar to hold your locks while picking?

[Massey914]

use*

[Squelchtone]

What about the holder? Do you something similar to hold your locks while picking?

I use my hand to hold a lock while picking, sometimes when dealing with a heavy lock or when picking for hours I use an inexpensive table vise from Harbor freight. It's nice because it can hold mortise cylinder, knob (kik) cylinders, padlocks, and when you're not using it for lockpicking, you can clamp anything else in there that you're working on for a project or hobby.

Here's one I bought for $15.00, it suctions to your work bench, and can support the 4 pound padlock in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xg9ZOIehiU

Rubber jaw covers prevent your nice locks from getting scratched up when in the vise, wide metal base is heavy and sturdy. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=3311

And I like the original thing you linked to, but for $65, it's money thrown away. Get on ebay and find some Schlage or Arrow or BEST or Falcon cylinders, you'll be very happy with the prices, it's where many of us get both our cheap practice locks, and our multi-hundred dollar collector's locks. HERE is a sample ebay link I put together for you to search for knob, rim, and mortise cylinders

Squelchtone

[Josh K]

Just hold it in your hand.

I took a look at those when I started picking and after a couple of locks I realized they they aren't worth it.

[Bad_Jason]

I bought one those multi cylinder tri-stands when I first started and I used it once. I found it flimsy and uncomfortable when picking. I ended up buying a cheap table vise from home depot, which works great for stationary picking.

On Ebay, I recently purchased a lot of 11 pin and tumblers (2 Schlage, 3 Kwikset and six mystery cylinders) for 19 bucks and change (shipping included). When I first started, I found a lot of 20 misc. padlocks for ten bucks plus shipping. When the package arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see American, Brinks, Abus and all sorts of higher security locks in the box. Ebay is great resource... one man's junk, etc.

HTH,
~J

[Eyes_Only]

I use a PanaVise I got from a electronics store. Holds practically every lock I have securely so theres no need to be limited to what locks you can hold like you would be if you got those "start-up" kits from the lockpickersmall site.

And the PanaVice like other similar hobby vises come with a nylon or plastic jaw surface that will help prevent "crushing" or distorting the shape of a lock in the unfortunate case where one may tighten down the jaws on a lock too firmly.

[nostromo]

I've tried a whole bunch of holders for my Keyless Entry classes. Foam donuts, shaped plastic, drilled wooden stands, metal brackets, etc. Drill stand vises and whatnot aren't cost-effective when you need two dozen.

Right now I provide a 6" bar clamp (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=46806), a 1" and a 1 1/2" spring clamp (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=92874) to each student. For some folks that's too many things to fool just to hold a lock in place. They don't hold any one lock for long, btw, we go from 1 to 7 pin by 1 pin increments, and toss in some padlocks and whatnot, too.

What seems to work the best for a lot of people is simply holding it in the non-dominant hand with the cylinder face between the thumb and index finger. If you aim the top of the keyway toward the webbing between the thumb and index finger you can use the forefinger to apply pressure to the tension wrench.

For long sessions or when you want to make it easier to hold a lock, simply using the spring clamp in hand is helpful. For you, a pair of roundjaw 8" vise grips would probably fill the bill, and you don't need expensive ones unless you'll use them for other work.

[sphinx762]

massey914, I bought the pikstation deluxe from lockpickersmall.com as part of a build it yourself kit. It's nice and sturdy, and you can rotate the locks to any angle... but I travel a lot and never take it with me. I find the best way for me to hold the lock (practice lock, padlock, or mortise cylinder) is just like nostromo mentioned, in the non-dominant hand. I use my index finger to apply tension. It can get tiring on the hand after some time though, 2-3 hours is a lot for the hand holding method.

[Schuyler]

It's a nice start. . .


. . . to your collection.


They get to be like coat hangers.


Ask Schuyler!

Haha, I only just saw this.

I actually bought a lock stand from these guys a while back. I'll say this: It's a great product - that I NEVER use. I try to set it up for my classes to use it, no dice, to get use at workshops - no dice. I really do like the thing, it's just that no one (myself included) ever seems to want to use it.