Sargent 8 Locking Picking help

[deslite33]

Hey guys, im new here, and I am having trouble identifying and picking locks. First, its my office door, and when i have it open, it says 'sargent 8, Listing F, 804H' on the silver plate thing. Im guessing its the Sargent 8 line cylindrical lock, but i dont know for sure. Second, how do I pick it? Will rake work? is this a high security lock? Please help. Also, i know this lock has a master/change key for it, because my office cleaner can go into all the rooms with the master key if that helps.

[zeke79]

Do you own the lock you are picking?

[deslite33]

Well I bought this office suite, and im pretty sure i own the lock. Anyway, what kind of lock is a sargent 8? is it hard to pick? can I do it with my hobby pick?

[zeke79]

Just had to be sure that you owned the lock . Are you just starting to pick? The sargent 8/9 series is a not a real challenging lock to pick for an experienced picker. Since it is masterkeyed it should be even easier. You should have no problems picking it with your standar picks.

[zeke79]

Hey guys, im new here, and I am having trouble identifying and picking locks. First, its my office door, and when i have it open, it says 'sargent 8, Listing F, 804H' on the silver plate thing. Im guessing its the Sargent 8 line cylindrical lock, but i dont know for sure. Second, how do I pick it? Will rake work? is this a high security lock? Please help. Also, i know this lock has a master/change key for it, because my office cleaner can go into all the rooms with the master key if that helps.

I forgot to add a few things. You can pick it with a rake, hook, diamond or whatever you like. Just use what you are best at. The sargent 8/9 line is a standard pin tumbler and is not considered a high security lock as it has no extra security features such as a sidebar or is not ul437 listed. I would say the locks in your office building were chose for their durability and high cycle life.

[deslite33]

Thanks zeke! I am a beginner at lock picking, and i havent really picked a lock before. Any tips zeke or anyone else for this lock? I checked out the MIT guide and wow, even the pictures looked like complicated diagrams and I guess im just not as smart as yall.

[zeke79]

My advice for you is to start on a much easier lock. I would recommend a master 4 pin laminated lock available at your local hardware store. Make sure you dont buy a warded lock and stay away from brands such as brinks when starting out as they contain spool pins. Someone will chime in and let you know exactly what number the master lock I am talking about is. I am pretty sure it is a no.3 master. Here is a link to a good starter lock http://www.masterlock.com/cgi-bin/class ... =16&Go.y=9 .

[deslite33]

How hard do you consider the Sargent 8 lock? also, since its sargent 8, does it mean it has 8 pins?

[Mad Mick]

Someone will chime in and let you know exactly what number the master lock I am talking about is. I am pretty sure it is a no.3 master.

Spot on Zeke.

[zeke79]

How hard do you consider the Sargent 8 lock? also, since its sargent 8, does it mean it has 8 pins?

It is really hard to tell exactly what the lock has it in as the 8/9 line will accept standard sargent cylinders along with removable core cylinders and they will even accept the high security cylinders. I would say that it is most likely a 6 pin cylinder but I cannot be for sure without looking at it.

[deslite33]

yea, i checked my key and it has 6 depressions so i guess its a six cylinder lock. I have a problem though, I went to my hardware store today and for some reason, they did not have Master no.3 locks, they had the master locks that have the 'warded mechanism' and the key for the lock is all weird shaped. Are those really hard to pick?

[zeke79]

warded locks are easy to pick but require warded picks. Do you have a wal-mart close to you? If so they should have a master no.3.

[deslite33]

Do you think its also possible to buy cheap low cost picks at walmart or CVS? I sometimes break mine and I hate ordering it from the internet all the time. Thanks for all your responses zeke

[zeke79]

No wal-mart or cvs does not sell picks but they do sell hacksaw blades. If you have grinder and a dremel tool you can make some fantastic picks yourself. A word or advice though, if you are breaking picks you are definately doing something very wrong.

[Romstar]

No wal-mart or cvs does not sell picks but they do sell hacksaw blades. If you have grinder and a dremel tool you can make some fantastic picks yourself. A word or advice though, if you are breaking picks you are definately doing something very wrong.

Yeah, isn't that the truth.
Picks do break from time to time, but if you find it's happening a lot you must be doing something wrong or have bad picks.

For our new picking friend, I have one that will make you laugh.

I tore apart an old Wren BIRD dead latch I had lying around. The key seems to have five cuts, but the cylinder? Ah the cylinder is another matter. It has three pins, NOT five. This thing was originally sold as a good security latch. I near laughed my rear off. Then I got upset.

A five cut key, and a three pin cylinder. Not only is that misleading, but it has to be immoral at the least. The cylinder was a flush mount, but I am wondering how easy it would have been to use a puller on it.

Anyway, if you can find one of these pieces then you have a ready made practice cylinder.

Good luck,
Romstar