trouble picking my american padlocks

[blackfoot]

i have six american padlocks that i cant seem to pick ranging from 700 series to 5200 and a couple military locks. im picking pin by pin using really light tension and still no luck................any idea's from someone who has picked a couple of these locks. i just bought a repin kit for these locks so i can maybe use them when need be.

[JackNco]

Ive only tried/opened an 1105 but im told a lot of these locks have the same core in them.

Basically I took the core out of the body of the padlock. this means you can learn how the pins and springs react without fighting the spring that turns the plug. Once uve picked it a couple of times stick it back in and see if u can open it in the lock.

A few things with the lock i tried.

1, these things have a mixture of serrated pins and serrated spools. as well as serrated key pins. so your gonna want to go slow and really try and feel whats going on. (Yes i know u do that will all locks but i cant open this one while watching TV i have to concentrate on it) learn the difference between a serration and a pin setting.

2, you will need something stronger to turn the plug if its anything like mine. I bent a SO twisted tension tool round the lock before i realized it was bending and not turning after i picked it.

3, although you need a massive amount of tension to turn the plug you can happily pick it with a normal wrench. it will need more tension than out of the lock but u still wont be applying enough to really bend the tension tool. also try and make sure the tool clears the body of the lock.

This is just what i learned from the 1105 lock so i am sorry if it can not be applied to the Americans you have there.

All the best

[blackfoot]

what im understanding is super light touch to pick the pins then heavy tension to turn the core once its picked.

[JackNco]

When its out the body of the lock. but thats why its harder when its in the lock, u have to use light tension but fight the spring.

[blackfoot]

all my locks still have the cores in them and i have no keys for any of them.................so it gonna take awhile to pick these locks.

[Shrub]

Try overlifting the pins and then letting them settle down to shear,

This is only a tip for those pins, i admit i do not know those locks personally but am just offering an idea,

[Gordon Airporte]

As gnarly as the pins are, the one place where these locks let you off the hook is the keyway - it's clear from top to bottom so there's plenty of room to work.
I suggest using a medium hook (longer than the usual short hook) and tensioning from the top of the keyway so you won't have problems with any high-low pinnings.
Each serrated driver pin has two grooves regardless of its length, and you can feel the groves on the shear line as you set the binding pin. You might be able to avoid oversetting if you can count grooves as you push the pin up.
The spools respond like any other spools once you have a false set.

[JackNco]

Thats a good picture of the pins ur up against. the image was by melvin2001 [/img]

[87ELC2]

As weird as it sounds, I've had my best luck picking American padlocks "backward" - counterclockwise - then spinning them clockwise to open; they won't open if you turn the plug counterclockwise. I have no explanation as to why it works better backward, it just does. Several of my locksmith colleagues have told me the same thing...

The American padlocks have a retainer over the cylinder with a "butterfly" opening that prevents the key from rotating counterclockwise, so position your turning tool appropriately, apply light counterclockwise pressure, then pick or rake as usual.

Although if the clock is ticking, I prefer to bypass the cylinder (won't go into detail) rather than pick and spin. Much faster, therefore more profitable.

If you try the backward pick method, let us know if it works for you...

[raimundo]

use a wide tensor blade, I have been exploring the use of pocket clips from certain types of pen caps, they work well on the american locks, using the part that was imbedded in the plastic for the tensor blade, and also using a twist so that the finger applying tension has a flat spot to press on, these are quite short tensors, but very effective, no problem with them biting the cylinder wall and grounding the tension. good feel.

[melvin2001]

i dont think that picture was taken by me, but thanks anyway.

[JackNco]

Its the one that was in ur 1105 breakdown wasn't it?

[blackfoot]

As weird as it sounds, I've had my best luck picking American padlocks "backward" - counterclockwise - then spinning them clockwise to open; they won't open if you turn the plug counterclockwise. I have no explanation as to why it works better backward, it just does. Several of my locksmith colleagues have told me the same thing...

The American padlocks have a retainer over the cylinder with a "butterfly" opening that prevents the key from rotating counterclockwise, so position your turning tool appropriately, apply light counterclockwise pressure, then pick or rake as usual.

Although if the clock is ticking, I prefer to bypass the cylinder (won't go into detail) rather than pick and spin. Much faster, therefore more profitable.

If you try the backward pick method, let us know if it works for you...

i like this trick it worked well on the two 700 series locks ..........super super super light tension i had to use to get these locks to pop.............................thanks for the tip and the lesson in american padlock picking 101

[11mike11]

err that was my pic it was pretty challenging when i first got it but once you get the hang of spools its not much trouble. Also when you actually set all the pins the keyway is pretty stiff to turn i kept thinking it was just false setting when in fact i just had to turn a lot harder to open it i was just used to the ease of turning a master lock and cylinder lock. good luck

[87ELC2]

As weird as it sounds, I've had my best luck picking American padlocks "backward" - counterclockwise - then spinning them clockwise to open; they won't open if you turn the plug counterclockwise. I have no explanation as to why it works better backward, it just does. Several of my locksmith colleagues have told me the same thing...

The American padlocks have a retainer over the cylinder with a "butterfly" opening that prevents the key from rotating counterclockwise, so position your turning tool appropriately, apply light counterclockwise pressure, then pick or rake as usual.

Although if the clock is ticking, I prefer to bypass the cylinder (won't go into detail) rather than pick and spin. Much faster, therefore more profitable.

If you try the backward pick method, let us know if it works for you...

i like this trick it worked well on the two 700 series locks ..........super super super light tension i had to use to get these locks to pop.............................thanks for the tip and the lesson in american padlock picking 101

Glad it worked for you

Like I said, I have no idea why it works; nobody (even my colleagues with 30+ years experience in locksmithing) has been able to explain it yet. I guess it's just one of those things...