ABUS padlocks, generally good or bad?

[theDeadRomantic]

yesterday i was picking an Abus padlock, and managed to get it open in under thirty seconds using a couple of macgyver-ed tools made from paperclips. after this however, the lock has been proving to be more difficult... my question is, are abus padlocks typically good (aka. hard to pick) or bad (aka. easy to pick) and was my getting it open in 30 seconds just a fluke or are they normally that easy?

[Squelchtone]

yesterday i was picking an Abus padlock, and managed to get it open in under thirty seconds using a couple of macgyver-ed tools made from paperclips. after this however, the lock has been proving to be more difficult... my question is, are abus padlocks typically good (aka. hard to pick) or bad (aka. easy to pick) and was my getting it open in 30 seconds just a fluke or are they normally that easy?

Hi, and welcome to the forum. ABUS is generally regarded as a quality lock company. They offer a range of padlocks, so a lot depends on which model you were picking, how many pins it had, how big the keyway was, and how aggressive the key cuts are. If you have the key and it looks almost flat going across, then picking should be easier than if your key is a bunch of peaks and valleys. I say easier because ABUS usually have special security pins called spool pins inside the lock to make them harder to pick, so they are certainly not easy to pick but I wouldn't say they are really difficult either. If you can tell us a model number we can tell you more. The forum's server is full thought, you if you want to show us some pics, upload them to photbucket and link to them using the [URL] tags built into the forum software.

Good job and keep practicing!
Squelchtone

[UEDan]

Same as Squelch. Meh. Then again I've only picked a Diskus and 72/40.
Of the two, much harder than a typical master lock but I personally feel American locks are harder to pick.

I notice Abus spool pins are very forgiving, I mean the amount the spools push the tension wrench back is.... A LOT. Great way to start to learn to pick security pins.

Oh and build quality is GREAT. Smoothest locks I've ever messed with.

[Solomon]

Abus are pretty good locks, not amazing but they're ok. By the sounds of things you just got lucky, since you weren't able to do it so easily (if at all?) after the first time.

If it had a fairly even bitting and you happened to be raking it the right way then yeah, it woulda popped open pretty easily. Pics of the lock and key would really help determine why it opened so easily. I'm surprised you managed this with paper clips cos the spring returns on those padlocks are pretty strong... were you tensioning with a paper clip wrench aswell?

[theDeadRomantic]

@ Solomon: yeah i was tensioning with a paperclip as well


after the first time it took about fifteen minutes and after that i couldnt get it all... it was one of the really small ones, i think it was only about 3 pins... dont hold me to that, i was having a feel around and it might be four... i dont think ill be able to upload photos, i dont have a camera... and as for the model, i found this lock laying around the house, and couldnt find the key. it seems we have a lot of locks around here... not in use, and with missing keys... door locks, padlocks, deadlocks... so many locks, just laying around...


anyway, a bit off topic there, i did find another larger ABUS lock last night, and (idont know if weight is anything to go by) judging by the weight, its going to be a bit of a challenge, and it lookcs as if its got room for like 7+ pins. its going on my to pick list

[Solomon]

It should have the model number on it, all abus padlocks do... guess it could just be very worn though. If it's one of the little 30mm ones then yeah, it has 3 pins. There are spools in em though, which I thought was neat for such a small padlock. Front pin is regular and the other 2 are spools

[theDeadRomantic]

the little one has "65/20" underneath the ABUS stamp, the big one has "65/45" and i cant find any other stampings... does that help?

[mh]

ABUS (short for August Bremicker Und Soehne = August Bremicker and sons, an old German company) offers many padlocks
http://www.abus.de/us/main.asp?ScreenLa ... elGrID=303

The first two digits (65) refer to the product line, the last two digits after the slash "/" refer to the width of the shackle (in millimeters). Smaller shackles = less pins.

Cheers
mh

P.S. the cutaway padlock in my signature picture is also from ABUS

[theDeadRomantic]

ABUS (short for August Bremicker Und Soehne = August Bremicker and sons, an old German company) offers many padlocks
http://www.abus.de/us/main.asp?ScreenLa ... elGrID=303

The first two digits (65) refer to the product line, the last two digits after the slash "/" refer to the width of the shackle (in millimeters). Smaller shackles = less pins.

Cheers
mh

P.S. the cutaway padlock in my signature picture is also from ABUS

okay, so ive followed that link, looked at the product line, found what i believe is my lock, is the classification the number of pins?

[mh]

is the classification the number of pins?

No, it's their own security rating. It also includes factors like the strength of the shackle etc.

[theDeadRomantic]

okay. thanks

[SnowyBoy]

I can vouch for Abus padlocks. They are the only brass pads I will cutaway purely because of the internal quality of them.

[jas]

Abus are pretty good locks, not amazing but they're ok. By the sounds of things you just got lucky, since you weren't able to do it so easily (if at all?) after the first time.

If it had a fairly even bitting and you happened to be raking it the right way then yeah, it woulda popped open pretty easily. Pics of the lock and key would really help determine why it opened so easily. I'm surprised you managed this with paper clips cos the spring returns on those padlocks are pretty strong... were you tensioning with a paper clip wrench aswell?

How does the Granit 37/70 fare with the "plus" cylinder? Hard to pick??