picked my first couple of locks...

[kharmic]

Man, it took awhile to get ambitious enough to try more than once. Another odd thing, on a whim I switched hands and picked with my left...worked like a charm.

And is it just me or are the padlocks I'm trying easier than other locks? The door lock I bought continues to handily defeat me.

Thanks.

[freakparade3]

It all depends on the type of lock you are picking. Some padlocks are easy to pick, some are extremly tough. The same goes for deadbolt locks. What type of door lock are you trying to pick? If you try out Digital Blue's beginners exercise it will help you alot. You can find this exercise in a sticky near the top of this forum.

[kharmic]

A quikset I believe. The difficulty mostly seems to come from how I handle the actual doorknob. Padlocks are small and easy to hold in my hand while I pick, whereas the knob is a little more cumbersome--and obviously I shouldn't use any of my house locks.

That brings me to another question...when you get the cylinder to turn over 180 degrees, and you know it's in the right direction, but the door still won't unlock, what the hell's going on?

[freakparade3]

Are you working with a deadbolt or a key in knob lock. From what you said I'm going to assume it's a key in knob lock. If it is, I have very little experience with these. I could list things that could be happening, but if you are new to picking it would probably be confusing. I'll step back and let someone more experienced with those locks answer. As much as I like to think so, I really don't know it all.

[Schuyler]

A quikset I believe. The difficulty mostly seems to come from how I handle the actual doorknob. Padlocks are small and easy to hold in my hand while I pick, whereas the knob is a little more cumbersome--and obviously I shouldn't use any of my house locks.

That brings me to another question...when you get the cylinder to turn over 180 degrees, and you know it's in the right direction, but the door still won't unlock, what the hell's going on?

and it won't turn any further? the driver pins (pins in the top of the lock, if you're american) have descended into the bottom of the keyway when you inverted it. If you put the flat of your pick / tension wrench against them the cylinder will continue to turn.

[JackNco]

Congratulations. always good to see another member getting on well. but it woudl be helpful if u listed brands and models where possible

All the best

John

[NIC]

A quikset I believe. The difficulty mostly seems to come from how I handle the actual doorknob. Padlocks are small and easy to hold in my hand while I pick, whereas the knob is a little more cumbersome--and obviously I shouldn't use any of my house locks.

That brings me to another question...when you get the cylinder to turn over 180 degrees, and you know it's in the right direction, but the door still won't unlock, what the hell's going on?

When picking a deadbolt you must put the tension clockwise,are you doing the same with your knob ?? If so, just go counterclockwise !!

[kharmic]

I have the keys to the knob, so I always apply torque the same direction you turn the key. I'll list the brands in a bit...but I don't have any info on the weird past-180-still-locked lock...it was a friend's. All I can think is maybe it had weird security features or was in bad condition. I was able to turn the cylinder freely and i kept tugging in various ways. I'm pretty sure I pulled hard enough to keep turning it in a normal situation...much more and I would've just bent my tools.

Thanks,

[NIC]

I have the keys to the knob, so I always apply torque the same direction you turn the key. I'll list the brands in a bit...but I don't have any info on the weird past-180-still-locked lock...it was a friend's. All I can think is maybe it had weird security features or was in bad condition. I was able to turn the cylinder freely and i kept tugging in various ways. I'm pretty sure I pulled hard enough to keep turning it in a normal situation...much more and I would've just bent my tools.

Thanks,

You're just turning the wrong way !!!

[kharmic]

I tried the other way and no matter how long I picked the cylinder wouldn't turn at all, that makes me feel pretty sure I was turning it the right way.

And for the person who asked about makes and models...the ones I managed to pick were master and brinks padlocks, still working on the protege padlocks, I think they're too small for my torque wrench. If you need any more information or can explain how exactly I can determine the model feel free to ask/tell.