Easiest type of locks to pick for beginners

[Jason93]

i belive i bought a c rake and another kinda rake think it was a short arm or sumthing off of southord.com for under 10 bucks plus a tension bar. i wanna get into picking locks as a hobbie i just order it yesterday and i was wondering if anybuddy knows bout how long they take to ship to cali. also what kinds of locks can i pic with this set. i saw a video on youtube but now i cant find it of the 3 items he used to pic a master lock and at the end of the video it said to buy these 3 items and u can pic that lock. anybuddy know what im talking bout .. i really wanna get into this hobbie just to pick locks around my house and if a freinds needs help i can help them to.

[grv575]

Master locks seem to be pretty easy as i was able to open a few of them after just learning to lockpick. What type of pick is everyones favorite for a standard 4 or 5 pin tumbler, no securities. and what about with security pins?? i just about use a small hook for all locks but was wondering if i need to be trying something else.

My master 3 is my easiest lock. I have a master 1 that was giving me troubles until I realized that if you open it with the key, it only opens when the plug is pushed in (which you do naturally with a key). Problem is the plug tends to move outwards when picking, and it won't open in this position. So if yours has a plug that moves in towards the lock and out (coming out of the lock towards you), then you have to make sure to push it in with the pick every so often - once you realize that, the lock is relatively easy.

[grv575]

quoted the wrong post above . Should have been the post prior.

[Dak]

master lock 120

3 pins very easy

[Archive555]

I started picking on a crappy $2 shop padlock (But couldn't open it ), then I went to 'The Warehouse' (An australian sort of cheap reject shop), and bought about 10 deadbolt door locks that were $11.95, on special $2.50.
They are really, really easy, but I can't find any good locks in shops near me under $25.

-Archive

[FFVison]

Master Number 3 or Number 5... They are actually the same lock internally, from what I understand. The only difference is the size of the lock's body. These are frequently pretty easy. I recommend these for starting padlocks, but I think I agree with most people in saying that you are probably going to learn more with a simple 5 pin Kwikset deadbolt. They are nice because they are repinnable. Another thing, make sure you know what you are doing when repinning them. I have seen an excellent suggestion before to put the cylinder in a plastic bag when you are removing the plug if you don't have a follower. The top pins are spring loaded and those springs as well as the top pins basically explode all over the place and they can really make things a hassle. Once you remove the plug, if you are going to repin the cylinder with fewer pin stacks, make sure you remove the top pins and springs for those stacks as well and not just the key pins. You don't want those top pins getting pushed back down into the cylinder with no key pin to push it back up into the bible (upper chamber in the lock cylinder). Once you get your deadbolt, you should check out the stickies on this forum and look for DB's guide. Start with 2 pins, then work your way up to 5 when you get the feel for it.