Pick the lock.. Then what?

[hail]

So, quick question here from a person with possible interest in picking up locksport.. (haha, no pun intended..)

Would a simple wafer lock be something good to practice on for noobs until an actual practice lock can be obtained or would it not be worth my time since it isn't a.. pin and tumbler(right? as stated, very new)?

[mh]

it isn't a.. pin and tumbler

The "tumblers" in some types of locks are "pins". So they would be called "pin tumbler" locks.

Yes, you can e.g. practice setting single wafers on wafer locks. Just do whatever you find fun, as long as these are locks you own and you use them only for practicing.

Cheers
mh

[Solomon]

Picking a wafer lock is the exact same principle, the mechanism just works differently. Instead of driver and key pins needing to be lifted to the right heights, you have wafers which need pulled into the plug the right amount. Binding still applies etc, it's just easier with wafers... so sure, go ahead.

[hail]

Alright, thanks. After doing a little more reading, I gathered that wafers were similar in principal and pretty easy.

Yeah, my boyfriend's buddy is into locksport, and has recently got myself as well as my boyfriend pretty intrigued. I have a couple Sentry safes, one of which we actually use, and a smaller one that's just taking up space in our garage. I figured if it would be something worth practicing on, I could dig it out and give it a shot. Also, a question I meant to include in my first inquiry, is it possible to re-lock a wafer lock after picking it without the key or will I only be able to pick it once until I get the replacement key?

[Violaetor]

Once you return the keyway to the original position it will re-lock, or in the case of the safe, possibly even when the latch is closed again.

[hail]

Alright. It's a Sentry 1100, and I remember to close the safe back and relock it, you had to turn the key back. I guess I'll dig it out and give it a shot.

[ww85]

As far as getting a pin and tumbler practice lock, just go to any hardware store.

Buy a Kwikset or Faultless deadbolt lock, should cost something like $14. If possible, I recommend getting a double cylinder since you get two locks for the same price as a single cylinder.

They are fairly easy to take apart and repin. If you're dexterous you can do it with a rubber band (to use in place of a vice, holding the lock in place), a decent set of tweezers (to insert the springs and driver pins), and your torsion wrench (used to hold down the driver pins as you insert them and as a plug follower).

There are some decent guides floating around on how to repin a lock, but if you can't find anything or are unsure, let me know. I'd be happy to walk you through it.

[MacGnG1]

yeah definitely spend a few bucks to get yourself a kwikset and a master#3. have fun but remember not to pick any locks in use.

[Shyfted]

Im also a beginner so I did an ebay search for master lock #3 but it returned a whole bunch of different locks. How can I tell which is the one youre recommending?

[hail]

I ended up practicing on the sentry 1100 I have, got it fairly quickly. My boyfriend does metal work, so he made me some very simplistic tools based on information I've looked up. After getting pretty good at our old safe, I actually tried it on our newer one that we actually keep stuff in and got it, too. This is fuuuun. Thanks for the advice, I'm definitely going to have to get a practice lock and hopefully a better set of tools, looool.