I need a lock cylinder. From a door handle lock or deadbolt?

[liltwixis11]

Hi, I recently became interested in lockpicking; I bought a cheap set and everything. I was reading guides on here, and the one that caught my attention the most was viewtopic.php?t=10677, the beginner's lockpicking exercise. Being the noob that I am, I'm wondering whether it would be best to take the cylinder out of a door handle lock, or a deadbolt lock, or does it matter? Since I can't find any reasonable prices for cylinders (lock pick selling websites try to charge you $45 for one, as a training aid, blah blah blah), I thought it would make sense to just go to home depot and buy a $15 lock, then remove the cylinder. Which type of lock could I remove the cylinder from more easily? Thanks.

[Solomon]

By the sound of things you're in the US, so I'd suggest a rim cylinder like kwikset, weiser or schlage (or any of the cheaper variants). You can buy the cylinders by themselves without all the other hardware, which will be very cheap. For starting out I'd personally recommend a kwikset, as you don't even need a plug follower to repin them. There is a steel retaining cap on top of the bible which keeps everything in place, which you can simply pop off with a flat screwdriver. Makes repinning very quick and simple.

[pjzstones]

the absolute best place to get any kind of lock is ebay. just search 'lock cylinder' and you can find deals like this one

[liltwixis11]

I can't find many kwikset cylinders on ebay. The only good one I found is http://compare.ebay.com/brass-kwikset-r ... 0352753230, which, with shipping, would be about the same price as buying a lock. $10 for a door lock isn't bad http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053. Or I could get a combo pack http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1 ... ogId=10053. Sorry for not knowing all of this, I'm new to this and I appreciate your help. If buying those is a stupid idea, could you point me in the right direction? I live in Los Angeles. Would it be too hard to get the cylinder out of one of those?

[Squelchtone]

go to Wal-Mart and get a Brinks deadbolt for $11.00

Also, if at Home Depot or Lowe's, do not buy Schlage securekey or Kwikset Smartkey, they are not "normal" pin tumbler locks, and thus are not good to learn basic picking on.

Look at brands like Defiant at Home depot or the Brinks/MountainSecurity at Wal-Mart.

As someone said, ebay is the best, but if you want your locks right now, then the above will work.

This Locksport Visual Guide will help you take them apart and pin them up again so you can A. learn how locks work, B. learn how picks and keys work C. add or remove pins to make it easier or more difficult to pick while you practice.

The bonus of getting the Brinks deadbolt is that they usually have security pins in them which are great for practice picking.

Welcome to hobby picking, and have fun!
Squelchtone

[liltwixis11]

Thanks a lot! Does it make a difference whether it's a single or double cylinder deadbolt?

[liltwixis11]

Nevermind, that was a stupid question :p. single cylinder is only a key lock from the outside, double cylinder is inside and outside.

[Squelchtone]

Thanks a lot! Does it make a difference whether it's a single or double cylinder deadbolt?

Sure, if you spend another $4 and get the double cylinder, you have more locks to play with and key up differently for more practice fun.

no questions are stupid,
Squelchtone

[stratmando]

Yard Sales are great for Locks with no keys and Keys with no locks, and can be gotten pretty cheap. Ebay is always a good place to look.

[Fire Fox]

Look at brands like Defiant at Home depot or the Brinks/MountainSecurity at Wal-Mart.

Squelchtone - just got a Defiant lock and so far with two pins I find it really easy to pick. It's as if I just insert the pick and it's done. Seems it's easier than it should be.

[Solomon]

Squelchtone - just got a Defiant lock and so far with two pins I find it really easy to pick. It's as if I just insert the pick and it's done. Seems it's easier than it should be.

Well, what do you expect? You only have 2 pins in it. Less complaining, more pins.

[Fire Fox]

I didn't think it would be THAT easy.

10-4 ... I'm going to pin level 3.

[pjzstones]

Yard Sales are great for Locks with no keys and Keys with no locks, and can be gotten pretty cheap. Ebay is always a good place to look.

there was huge neighborhood yard sale (100+ homes) in my area this weekend. i stopped at about 30 of them and asked every one of them if they had any padlocks, locks, ect., and not a single one said yes. i did end up talking some one out of a trailer hitch lock though that was hanging on the wall of their garage and wasn't originaly for sale. i got a few other cool things so it wasn't a total was of time, but my main goal was to find some locks.
back on subject though, i find a lot of old deadbolt locks at thrift stores.

[Solomon]

I didn't think it would be THAT easy.

10-4 ... I'm going to pin level 3.

With only 2 pins in the lock they'll line up at the same time without even trying... all you need to do is get the pick at the right angle. Even a high security cylinder with only 2 pins will open very easily. That's one reason you never see 2 pin locks anywhere

Remember though, the idea of pinning the lock up one at a time is to learn the difference between pin stages. It's easy to open it without any effort at this stage, but you should still be aiming to set one pin at a time even though there are only 2 in it. It'll make life a whole lot easier once you get it fully pinned and move onto a new lock with an unfamiliar binding order.

[Fire Fox]

Remember though, the idea of pinning the lock up one at a time is to learn the difference between pin stages. It's easy to open it without any effort at this stage, but you should still be aiming to set one pin at a time even though there are only 2 in it. It'll make life a whole lot easier once you get it fully pinned and move onto a new lock with an unfamiliar binding order.

Thanks! I'll reassess and see if I can set each pin by itself.