by jamesjones » 29 May 2019 21:38
Hi there,
I hope you guys can suggest something to help break through this wall...
I started picking locks not too long ago, I'd say 2 1/2 months. Got myself a good selection of Sparrows picks, in all 3 thicknesses and some tension tools.
My first locks were actually Master Lock ProSeries 6121. I had nothing else at the time but 3 of those. So after a few days of trying I managed to open them. Was quite the challenge for a first pick, let me tell you. They were old, very dirty and all 3 were locked together with no keys!
I then found some Master No 3 around the house and also bought myself a couple more. After that some Master 120s and 130s. 141d. Then a Brinks 40mm 161-42001 which supposedly has a few spools but it did not take me long to get it open consistently.
All this went smoothly until I got some Master 140d. I could not open these for anything. I then got one, then the other and the other. I can now open them easily.
It took me about 1 1/2 month to get to this point. I read art-of-lockpicking.com and he suggested moving to Abus 55/40 and after a full month of trying, sometimes hours a day, I cannot open them except for one or two lucky unlocks here and there. I even raked one open out of frustration! One of them 55/40 has some horrendous biting, but the other 2 are pretty flat which is surprising for an Abus.
I tried light tension, medium tension... straight hooks, euro hooks, 0.015, 0.020, 0.025... top tension, bottom tension. No problem reaching the pins. I get a false set but can never set any pins after that. Watched all of LPL, 100s of Bosnianbill... Read articles... Those darn spools are kicking my behind guys!!
Going from Master 140d to Abus 55/40 seems like a big jump for me. Is there anything in between I should get and try to progress through?
Thanks a bunch! Any suggestion highly appreciated.
