Misapplied tension

[kowalski]

Hey all,

Pretty new to this. To get started I got a southord slimline set of picks and tension bars and a brockhage transparent practice lock.

I can set the pins now with a few minutes of patient work but then the plug doesn't automatically turn... except the first time when it opened as soon as I set the pins. If I maintain tension whilst removing the pick then carefully wiggle the tension bar, it moves and clicks into a different position. The plug then turns freely.

Maybe this is a common thing.


Peace,

kowalski

[gumptrick]

I don't have any experience with those plastic training locks personally. However I have heard and read from many pickers that they often "malfunction" for lack of a better term.

In my opinion they are good for visualizing how a lock works & understanding the basic procedure of picking but they are not very good for practicing on. In addition to the sloppy tolerances & tendency to not move very smoothly there is another problem: because you can see how the pins are moving you learn to rely on your eyes which is useless for picking normal locks. Instead you want to rely on your feel--your sense of touch. To do that you need an opaque lock so you can't use your eyes and "cheat". I'd advise the Master no. 3 padlock or an ordinary Kwikset deadbolt cylinder as great beginner's locks.

Another good training tool is to get one of the metal training locks that comes with a bag of pins. These you can easily re-pin to suit your needs. You can start with just one pin and then add pins as your skill develops. You can then start adding security pins to the mix and learn those too. There's a forum member here who sells a really nice one--Mr Wizard, I think--or you can also get them from elsewhere.

Once you get a little more experience try and get a variety of locks or multiple identical-looking locks and never pick the same lock twice in a row. The idea here is that if you constantly pick the same lock over and over again you start to rely on memory. You might think to yourself "oh, this one padlock has pin #2 set really high" and then fall back on your memory instead of going by feel. By having multiple locks and mixing up which ones you pick you make it harder to rely on memory and you must rely on feel instead.

[Squelchtone]

I'd like to see a picture of how you are inserting the tension wrench into the keyway and into which part of the keyway, and how you are pressing on it.

[billdeserthills]

I think the way I was taught is still the easiest way to learn the function on a pin tumbler
lock. You'll need a tweezers, a follower and a lock cylinder. Take apart the cylinder (in a bag)
and remove the top pins, springs and bottom pins and put one spring, and top pin back into the
cylinder(outer shell) also put a corresponding bottom pin into the plug (keyhole) & re-assemble the cylinder--
when you get used to the amount of tension you need to pick it, add more top pins, springs
and bottom pins. One day you will be able to pick all 5 chambers of the lock and you'll move
onto more challenging things

[kowalski]

Thanks for the responses.

I bought some locks from a local flea market and raked them open. The plugs turned easily without issue over my way of applying tension. So it seems probable that there is some imperfection in the practice lock.

Gonna work at opening these locks by single pin picking for a while and look in to how to dismantle one.


Peace,

kowalski