locktech makes good lock makes me sad

[milsimscat]

hey all,
we use locktech locks here, i've done a forum search and found nothing about them. they can't be shimmied (no room on the side of the shackle), theres no way to reference the serial number to a combination. the only way i can see to open them without the combination is to do something with the master keyhole on the back.
i know a very little about lockpicking and as intolerable as noobs are (i have to help them on ascript forums ) i'd really appreciate some help. the lock on the back is:
a small (brass?) circle with a jagged slot along the vertical axis which heads for (but doesnt quite reach) the bottom of the circle. i can see/feel three, maybe four pins inside each hole but thats where it stops. i've read some of the forums etecetera and still have no luck. i guess what i need is a mentor or something? i really need much help because i'm working with screwdrivrs instead of torque wrenches and bendy paperclips instead of picks (its possibly illegal to own lockpicks in NSW, australia. the law forum doesnt say).
anyway, i know its a lot to ask but i'd love to have someone help me work out how to pick this. remember, we were all noobs once
thanks heaps, even if its for a flaming
-sam

[vector40]

I don't know your specific lock, but my (weak) knowledge of combination master keys is that they're generally nothing special. If it's a challenge -- and it may be -- it's mostly in the fact that the keyway is really tiny, and that the mechanism in general is sort of abnormal.

That said, you're learning on it, which is another can of beans... good luck. You certainly might want to start on something more standard.

[milsimscat]

thanks for the advice i'd like to start from scratch and so forth but that requires more tools than i can use - i live in NSW australia and as best i can tell its illegal to own lockpicks here - thats why i'm trying to only do one thing.
that said, thanks again for the suggestion. if no one else has any ideas in a few days i'll give up.
-sam

[raimundo]

you could find things that aren't lockpicks that look exactly like them such as certain dental tools or the kind of springhooks that were used in the typewriter repair business back when typewriters were mechanical. also look at things made for medical use. if you want to open the little lock on the back of a combination padlock its not too hard, but you need tiny tools, tiny tools are easy to make, use streetsweeper bristle, only takes a little bit of fileing because the whole thing is tiny, no long shafts, etc. be sure to sand them well becasue rought tools don't work, they make the problem harder. Not all sandpaper cuts metal, so find the fine grit sandpaper used at auto body shops.