Excitement abounds!!!

[Woodrow]

Not that it's anything to brag about but I got my first set of picks out of the mailbox a little while ago and after using them for maybe 15 minutes I opened my first lock ever. It's a Master. It has M1 below the keyway but I don't know if that's the model number or not. Anyway, I'll have to try that again a couple more times tonight to make sure it wasn't just a fluke, which it may have been.

UPDATE: I just picked it again. Took less than a minute. BTW, I'm SPP'ing it.

UPDATE #2: Third time took less than 10 seconds. I guess it wasn't a fluke but it was a Master lock.

[LocksportSouth]

Congrats! Nothing beats the feel of working on a lock for a while and then that satisfying sliiiide as the core moves.. And then SNAP as the shackle pops open

What picks did you get?

[Woodrow]

http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/kick_start_p/s-0.htm

http://www.sparrowslockpicks.com/Expans ... _p/s-1.htm

I hope you guys don't think I'm telling a whopper. I can hardly believe it myself.

[Woodrow]

I SPP'ed it 5 times now. I think I'll try another lock.

[kwoswalt99-]

I believe you. But it is true what they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words".
Your secret must be that you bought good picks.

[LocksportSouth]

Masters -are- easy picks so if you happen to have "the touch" it's totally possible that you cracked it first try. Just be careful that you're actually getting the feel of the pins, when and where they set, when they're bound etc and that you're not just, as BosnianBill puts it, "B**chpicking" - I mean, it works fine for a lot of locks but if you pick your way through a hundred standard pin locks and then hit a dead wall when you encounter security pins or other shenanigans, I would imagine that would be a bugger.

*Disclaimer: I am not a pro, I am a noob, take anything I say with a pinch of salt*

[Woodrow]

Nope, I'm not B**tchpicking nor raking nor doing anything random. I'm feeling around for pins and pushing on them till they click. I don't hear or feel everyone set but somehow I'm opening this booger up. The second lock appears to be a cheaper and simpler Master lock but I haven't figured it out yet. Gotta learn somehow!

I need to go through the locks that bosnianbill recommend for improving.

Maybe this first lock is just super easy because of the way it's made. I dunno. I just don't want to get cocky about it.

[Woodrow]

Just picked open that second lock.

[LocksportSouth]

You're on a roll!

And it's ok to be at least a LITTLE cocky, lol. You're doing better than me!

[Woodrow]

Opened the second lock a second and third time.

The third time it didn't take but about 2 seconds but I must have been really lucky. The first and second times took a LOT longer.

Still, it's another Master lock.

[Woodrow]

4th and 5th times for the second lock. That 5th time it opened by the time I got the pick to the back of the cylinder. Another really lucky try.

Time for another lock.

I'm sure some of you guys don't believe me but I swear I'm not B.S.ing you.

[Woodrow]

Just opened the third lock but it's a teeny-tiny brass Samsonite luggage lock.

[LocksportSouth]

Just opened the third lock but it's a teeny-tiny brass Samsonite luggage lock.

I found an old one of these in the back of my lock bag the other day, made by some company called something like "Go" or whatever, it was a small brass travel lock with the body about the size of your thumb nail. Old, dirty and abandoned at the bottom of a messy lock bag. I was struggling to figure out how I'd pick it when the keyway is literally the length of a tension wrench and no longer. So I stuck my tension wrench in, tensioned a bit, and... It opened. Took it out, locked the lock, put it back in, twisted... Open. Tried a few more times. Either the pins has seized up of the key bitting is -literally- for show and all it takes is a lil metal stick to rotate the plug, to unlock the lock. Kinda cute and hilarious .

[kwoswalt99-]

Just opened the third lock but it's a teeny-tiny brass Samsonite luggage lock.

I found an old one of these in the back of my lock bag the other day, made by some company called something like "Go" or whatever, it was a small brass travel lock with the body about the size of your thumb nail. Old, dirty and abandoned at the bottom of a messy lock bag. I was struggling to figure out how I'd pick it when the keyway is literally the length of a tension wrench and no longer. So I stuck my tension wrench in, tensioned a bit, and... It opened. Took it out, locked the lock, put it back in, twisted... Open. Tried a few more times. Either the pins has seized up of the key bitting is -literally- for show and all it takes is a lil metal stick to rotate the plug, to unlock the lock. Kinda cute and hilarious .

That's suprising, usually those luggage locks don't even have pins or a plug.

Woodrow: Maybe it's time you move up to something a little more challenging. Maybe Master 140. One spool to make it interesting. They're more fun anyway.

[Woodrow]

I think the little Samsonite lock has 2 pins. As I'm reaching for the rear pin the pick raises the near pin so it opens when I push on the rear pin. I can see the near pin.

Man, this is fun!

Master 140? Maybe. That one with the M1 on it may be an easy lock so a 140 may be a lot more difficult.