Chucklz wrote:I suggest attempting to find a 5 pin rim or euro cylinder that you can dissassemble and practice on. Usually the cheaper the better here.
Absolutely. The first lock I genuinely picked was a 8 Eurodollar cheap Abus Buffo. You can get locks that cheap at your local DIY market. While you are there you can pick up some sawblades and a set of cheap files, that should set you back no more than 20€ and it won't be a bad financial loss if you are not "serious" about it. With the files you can make some better picking tools from the sawblades (at least better than safety pins).
With buying a cheap training lock you also have the advanage of being able to take a look at the key bitting (the peaks and valleys in the peak that make up the "code" of the lock). When I was about to give I took a look at the key and noticed the bitting was something like 8-2-4-2-4. That way I could change my picking technique to get a first success (in case someone is interested: reverse picking was the way to go, pushed down all pins, gave hard tension, released tension, pins 2-3-4 went up, set them accordingly, gave the lock a light tap that released only 1 and 5, set the 5 pin by getting orientation from the 3 pin as they were same bitting, then went to give pin 1 only the slightest of touch, open). After that I was able to pick it using different techniques as well.
What I am trying to say, for every lock you come across the way of opening varies. The MIT guide will not as much teach you picking but rather the workings of a lock. From there on, an hour of putting that kowledge to practive is worth more than 10 hours of reading. Every lock is different and needs different approaches, and then again, every lockpicker is different and prefers different approaches.
