Schlage Locks 101

[LockNewbie21]

Fancy title eh? Well i just thoght i would create a thread on the is lock some exsist, and for the average joe lowes special lock i have concidereable hell with picking them, its just a personal thing with them.

So for the thread to make it more informative, if oyu have any break down pictures of them or other information on picking them post it here.

As i have time I will be posted a dead bolt comercial grade which surprisingly came with 4 spools and was hard to open.

Anyway if anybody agrees this is a tricky lock sometime- Most for me write it, if you have any picking tips such as a specific brand and type like say HPC Gem, ect. right it.

I will post numerous photos soon so hopefully i can build this thread up and also learn a few things form it as well.


Andy

[Pickitup]

Is this!!!!
Very gooood locks

[LockNewbie21]

Nice what application is that for? It appears like a filing cabniete or something, its tough to call i can get a good size, nice pic though buddy.


Well until I can get the camera charged the picks i found most usefull are infact the HPC gem pick (mine is homemade) and the tension wrench in the to of the plug.

When I have a go at the ones i have repinned, the best way to control your pick is rest the pick on the diagonal part of the warding. You can see this in the picture in the post two above.

Also another thing i noticed if that most of the time, 95% to me clear there is little no flase set, atleast that i can feel, but sometimes there is, some times i probe through the lock raise binding pin one at a time and it will open will other times, i will get a reconizable false set.



Break Down Pics coming soon.
Andy

[Pickitup]

My lock in the picture is a Schlage Cabinet Lock
CL200 9 PB
Bolt Throw - 3/4" (19mm)

[LockNewbie21]

Sweet, i am home from work and will work on some pictures.

[cheesehead]

I picked up a schlage from lowes a few months ago after seeing "pick resistant pins" on the box. I've picked my fair share of them in the past, but never a schlage with spools. fun lock! definately a great lock to pick up for anyone looking for a good intermediate lock challenge. as we all know kwikset and weiser can get a little boring...

[LockNewbie21]

I agree, there really a pain, i find them jsut plain tough to feel and judge, and the more pointed pins slip alot, pick guns work sometimes but there also a trick to get to work. I even pinned the stupid thing with standard pins and a combo of 23234, and it still take 5 or 6 minutes to get it gets annoying after a while, i have to put down the lock and pick up my guitar, I layed of the ciggerettes, just to unhealthy for how many breaks i take when i get annoyed at a lock I want to be able to walk into my FBI interveiw when i make it there one day standing tall and proud, not tripping over my oxegen tank tubing



Andy

[sturmgrenadier]

Hey all. I've been trying to learn lockpicking by practicing on Schlage Deaedbolts for several weeks now. What can I say? I have no excuses; I've been working under the close guidance of an incredible lockpicker, our very own Digital Blue, yet I'm just not picking this up (no pun intended). I average roughly several hours of practice every two days. I've followed DB's lockpicking tutorial and he has been coaching me closely via email for the past five weeks plus (I'm sure he sometimes wants to distance throttle me after being deluged with my regular seemingly endless streams of questions and comments:) Any of you who are familiar with him know that he's the real deal. Hence, this is the once case where I think the pupil is to blame rather than the teacher. One thing he did suggest to me early on was that I make use of the resources here on LP101 and get other experienced pickers' perspectives/avail myself of their expertise and insight. Well, that's why I've come here:) Again, my disclaimer is that DB has been helping me for a while, so I may very well be a hopeless case:(

My most fundamental problem/frustration is that I have not been able to identify the 'feeling' of a binding pin. In fact, it is hard for me to tell what the heck my hook end is contacting (It usually feels like scraping/grinding even when I am applying very nearly NO TENSION). I think that even DB is running out of ideas to help me grasp this elusive ability to convert what you 'feel' with your pick into a mental image. DB has been gracious enough to agree to inspect the two Schlage cylinders that I shipped off to him a few days ago to inspect them for mechanical defects/oddities and give me a rundown on them. But, I recently was able to pick up a large number of Schlage lock cylinders (some used, some factory sealed) for cheap at an auction, and I have tried picking on some of them. I can't imagine that all of lock cylinders I 've been practicing on are mechanically defective, so I have no explanation for why I can't pick this skill up. Don't get me wrong: I manage to sometimes open some of the locks, but it is often unexpected when it happens and I have no idea what I did to bring it about.

I find the Schlage to be a puzzling lock. First of all, the two triangular pointed wards (one points to the left, the other to the right) make it impossible for me to lever up in a north-south directio with the pick. It's physically impossible to do so with out bendign the pick into an s-shape widthwise. THe only place I can lever the pick against is on the left ward (or on the tension wrench which is laying upon the ward). Still, since this ward surface is slanted in a diagonal direction, there is no way to lever upwards. You can only lever in a northeasterly direction. I've tried levering NE and then hooking northwards, but the hook end never seems to contact the pins cleanly or at all. What a pain! The whole set of upper pins are resting right at the top of this ward. I haven't found a way to get the hook end under any pin but the first (you can cheat on this one because it's exposed by the opening). Am I supposed to insert my hook on its side and then rotate the hook end upwards once I'm under the targeted pin? DB has explained to me that wards are not continuous through the length of the keyhole because the pins have to be able to fall through them (holes are drilled to accomdoate them), but from looking at my Schlage, I don't see this as an issue because the upper pins fall just short of the first wards (ending right on top of them). When you are under a targeted pin, how can you tell if you're hook end is just not making clean contact with the tip of the pin so as to be able to push it up? I mean, is it possible for your hook end to slide along the side of the point of the pin and give a grinding feeling? Any ideas? Am I hopeless? In terms of practice time, I haven't passed the four digit mark, but I have easily logged three digits (number of hours). I guess the old saying about 'you can practice all you want, but if you practice the wrong way, you'll never learn anything? WHere are you Mr. Binding feeling??? You haunt and mock me with your elusiveness....................

[omgxraycat]

I'm new to picking too, but I'll share with you what I have learned from cold, hard practice.

An easy way to count pins (other than using a tension wrench to raise them all up and pull it out slowly to count clicks) is to lift the first pin 1/2 way up, then while it's lifted, move your pick forward and you'll contact the side of the next pin. That's what I've learned.

Also, I bought the beginner's 5 piece set from south ord, but it's nearly impossible to get into certain keyholes (i have picked a schlage and yale though), so you might need a slimer set of picks.

another tip that I learned is putting the tension wrench at the top of the keyhole (it's hard to use it here, but when you need extra space for your pick, it helps).

[omgxraycat]

one more thing, use VERY light tension. that helps me too.

Can you consistantly pick easier locks like kwikset and master?

[LockNewbie21]

Okay bud heres a tip. There's a mid point in the wards, this is the place were you want your hook in, Hooks slip in shlage locks becuase they have more defined pin tips, so try using a hook with a valley in it.. if you don;t know what this is, ask DB.

This will allow you to grip one pin at a time and feel it. Also when lifting pin you will have to shift the pick from horizontal to vertical.. sounds way out there, if i had a video camera i could show you.


I bought a comercial grade one with 4 of 5 being spools, and practiced that.. then the sc1 keywas=ys with 2 spools are nothing.


Heres a great tip. Take a windshield wipper blade or anything and make a tension wrench that goes in the top of the lock.

The feeling is better, your warding is not congested, try making it fit exactly into the top since your using it only one these, maybe put a nice plastic dip.. or heat shrink on the handle, and your set.



Good luck bud,

ANdy

[Krypos]

sent ya a PM regarding a crapload of stuff. yup. pretty self explanatory there.

[sturmgrenadier]

Hey fellas. Thanks for the suggestions! It's nice to know that (I'm assuming you guys are relatively new to lockpicking, too) other newbs are willing to help out slower newbs:) DB advised me it would be fine to start off with a Kwikset, but he also told me that it could be more beneficial for me to start practicing on Schlages cause they're a bit more challenging (and I guess the idea is to develop better habits by working with tougher locks from early on). At any rate, I picked up a pair of SChlage, 'level 2' deadbolt cylidners at the store and have been practicing almost exclusively on them. Since then, I picked up dozens of Schlage, Weiser and other brands I can't identify (some used, some factory sealed) at firesale prices in a local auction, but haven't really figured out what to do with them yet. Maybe, I need to reevaluate and move down to working on Kwikset's or something easier after all (are Weiser's considered easier, too?)? My gut feeling m though, is that until I find a way to develop the 'binding feeling', I'm going to be SOL regardless of what brand I use.

Andy, I like the idea of trying to tension at the top, but I'm not quite clear on how to build this tool out of the wiper blade. Forgive my ignorance. Do you mean that any wiper blade will have some kind of stiff, metal, wire-like piece lining the actual rubber blade? I should take this out of an old wiper and it can be bent into a tension wrench shape?

Also, with Schlages, you mean that you do need to insert the blade (flat n its side) under a targeted pin and then turn it ninety degrees to lever up?
I have a MPXS-14 Southford, fourteen piece pick set. WOuld this contain one of these 'valley' picks you are describing? Thanks again for replying and I'll be sure to let you guys know how I'm getting on.

[LockNewbie21]

I have a homeade tool thread.. it hink its New Hook Desing, there is a tension wrench with bends on it disregard the bends i made them custome for my grip but thats the basic idea

[raimundo]

there are a lot of variations of wiper stiffeners, but all are useful to make a tensor for the top of the key way, bend a 90 degree on the end of a piece of stiffener, then start cutting off the short end to get the right dimension, just clip it off with a wire cutter then file the end til it is so short that it cannot touch the first pin, but you will find that this type of tensor has to be held in the lock, it dosnt seat itself there. but its a good way to avoid binding against the cylinder wall.
also, sand a half diamond pick along the working edge so that its smooth, then start using this, instead of the hook, you will go back to the hook when you have built some confidence.
you may also want to try some split tensors, or various different widths of tensor blade. Most pickers with experience will tell you that the tensor is very important, the fit to the particular lock, and the amount of light pressure on it. And stop trying to intellectualize the process, your overthinking, you should sit in front of the tv and watch a program while just going though the motions with the pick while not focusing on what your doing.