Difficulty opening some padlocks

[lockguy818]

I have some 4 pin No 1. Masters locks. I can open 2 of them no problem, like 30 seconds or less sometimes. I have 2 other identical locks, but I can't open them. The pins dont really click. They're pretty new, so i'm not sure what the issue is. The pins feel more squishy. I've increased and decreased tension but i'm not having very good luck for some reason. I've put some lube in them to see if that helps, but I'm still not really getting a click out of all the pins. Any suggestions for trouble locks? I would consider myself a beginner, so would appreciate any advise.

[Squelchtone]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for your question,

What you are experiencing is pretty common to many of us. what kind of pick profile are you using for picking? short hook, snake rake, half diamond?

Those locks are just so poorly made that at least in my opinion and experience they lend themselves to that squishy feeling and not a nice sharp click when a pin is set.

One of the things I struggled with when first starting out what putting far too much pressure on the turning tool. Others simply do not put enough pressure on the wrench. if you've ever had a clicky computer keyboard, use the amount of pressure you need to press down a key.

Which pick set did you go with?

Thanks
Squelchtone

[lockguy818]

Thanks for the reply. I have a southord set. I'm using a short hook i believe.

I got like 7 pad locks off ebay for a good price, since i thought that was a good place to start practicing. I can get 5 of them to open, it's just those 2 that give me issues. I thought it was odd that I can open one without much effort and the other one that's the exact same brand is very difficult. I'll keep trying with various tension.

Is there a brand of padlock you would recommend for advancing your skills?

Thanks.

[SixClicks12]

That Southord short hook is my favorite hook so far, I love that thing. I plan on ordering a bunch of them to have a stock incase I ever lose one or one somehow breaks. Do you have the keys for the locks you can’t pick? If you have them you can at least look at where the pins need to be and it may help you zero in on getting them to the right spot.

I have a couple of Master Locks and I know what you mean with them be sloppy and not very crisp.

Edit - I just remembered one thing. With the ones I have, I really had to go heavy on the tension (read that to mean relatively firm) so it would accentuate the click when one would find it’s spot. Almost like the pins were more rounded and it wouldn’t give you that clean snap but you could feel it sort of shift when it fell into place. So maybe take a test run with trying real heavy tension and see if it brings it out.