A couple of locks

[Jtan]

I'm another beginner in lockpicking, and so I found myself a couple of locks to start with:


1 Says ABUS on the side, its a purple bike lock:P
2 Says EGRET with a bird on it, and on the other side "made in china"
3 Reads something like CISA, and made in Italy
4 CAMEL Security, made in china
5 ABUS N-'55/30
6 is a small cashbox lock with "517" carved into it
7 Is strange. "TOTAL" with weird letters and "import on the backside"
8 Has a strange keyhole with a pin sticking out, some 3-ege figure on the front and the text "TRELOCK" on the back.


So my question is: What is the differance bewtween these locks, which ones are harder, and which is a good lock to start practicing with?

Thanks in advance

[sublime progie]

2-5 and 7 are probably pin tumbler locks, and will vary in difficulty. 1 i dont really know. it could be a wafer or a pin tumbler, 6 i would guess is a wafer and 8 is a warded lock. as far as ease goes i would start with 6 if i am right. wafers are generally pretty easy. then i would go to the pin tumblers. as far as 8 goes it should be really easy but i would do some reading on warded locks first. if you havent yet i would also read the MIT guide to lockpicking this will answer alot of questions

[Jtan]

Thanks for your help.

I did read the MIT guide already, it was great, but there wasn't much about warded locks.

[MrB]

Number 8 is a nice old padlock of a kind that I found in toolchests handed down from years back when I was exploring our garage as a child.

It has a centre pin ward needing a key with a hole in the middle to fit over it, and will have one or more levers. You would pick it with L shaped wires, but it could be tricky given the limited access through the keyhole. The shackle doesn't spring open but hinges open on one side.

[MrB]

By the way, you will find information about picking lever locks in the European forum.

[sublime progie]

there is a guide to warded locks somewhere in this forum. try the pickfu section.
AHA... here are a couple
http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=7620&highlight=warded+locks
http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?t=7817&highlight=warded+locks

See if that helps. i doubt the padlock will be anywhere near as complicated as some of the examples.

have fun

[Jtan]

I opened one of the padlocks, the bike lock(1) and the cashbox a couple of times by just messing around with two small metal sticks. No skill with "lifting the right springs" though

I find it hard to get all the stuff into that small hole.

[sublime progie]

what kind of tools are you working with.

[MrB]

Padlocks, with their generally smaller keyways, are much harder to start out with when learning basic picking technique. Try to find some kind of door lock with a bigger keyway as that makes it easier to move the pick around, locate and feel individual pins, and tell when each pin is set.

[Jtan]

Havnt got any "real" tools yet. Just using a paperclip and a sefetypin. It works suprisingly fine though on those small locks

Thanks for the idea of finding door locks. Problem is that the only ones I find is called ASSA security and it seem to have double lines of pins