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The secret to picking locks

Picked all the easy locks and want to step up your game? Further your lock picking techniques, exchange pro tips, videos, lessons, and develop your skills here.

Postby Eagerpicker » 29 Jul 2004 5:55

logosys said:

I have lunch with the DA every Tuesday




Doesn't that get boring? :wink: [/quote]
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Postby Retrovertigo » 29 Jul 2004 15:20

logosys

Yes I am a locksmith. However that does not change the way I view anyone on these boards. I too enjoy picking locks. I do the same thing as you! I watch tv, pick locks. I go to the movies, pick locks. Whenever I am sitting doing nothing at all, I am lockpicking. I also enjoy helping people. And no matter how much experience I have someone else can always teach me somthing I did not know. That is why I joined LP101

You and romstar are correct with the law. And yes I could have read it better. But I did not appriciate the sarcasm that went along with the suggestion. That was clearly not directed at you.


My bad. Peace 8)
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Postby hzatorsk » 29 Jul 2004 15:55

logosys and others...

I started a thread on this very topic of intent.

viewtopic.php?t=3775

I'll finish my point there!
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Postby pinky » 29 Jul 2004 16:23

like i said in an earlier post, no matter how experienced one is as a locksmith, alot can still be learned from the hobbiest on picking, we get so embroiled in what we do, we buy extravegent tools and forget the basics.

many hobby openers are far better pickers than many locksmiths and hopefully we can all gain something and learn a little from each other if not then why bother with forums.

i for 1 have picked alot up from my involvment with 101.
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Postby quickpicks » 29 Jul 2004 17:18

Lots of cops won't see lockpicking as a good thing, especially If you have a criminal record. it sucks sometimes because some people assume your evil and that you'll break into their house or car just because you understand how a lock works and how to pick one. Some people don't understand how much patience and concentration is needed to pick a lock and just assume your "evil and should be locked up", but those are judgers. Dont assume evryone is like that. Lots of people will understand it's a talent that can teach you something that will help you later on in life.
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Postby Retrovertigo » 30 Jul 2004 2:28

pinky wrote:like i said in an earlier post, no matter how experienced one is as a locksmith, alot can still be learned from the hobbiest on picking, we get so embroiled in what we do, we buy extravegent tools and forget the basics.

many hobby openers are far better pickers than many locksmiths and hopefully we can all gain something and learn a little from each other if not then why bother with forums.

i for 1 have picked alot up from my involvment with 101.


You are so right. That is the way I found LP101. See, I got into this trade as a hobby. By picking locks like so many of you guys out there! But like a golfer without any formal training I developed a bad swing. Now I am paying for it. And having to learn all over again.

I learned to pick locks just sitting around killing time. In front of the TV or whatever. Lock & Pick in hands. Good form if you want to work in a lockshop. But in the field it's a different thing. A different feel. I am having to learn all over again. Just like that golfer with the bad swing.
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Postby S3rratedSp00L » 30 Jul 2004 3:22

Pinky, and Retrovertigo, you guys are both absolutely right! Some locksmiths probably don't practice picking much and some hobbyists practice everyday. The fact that picking becomes a job for a locksmith and the fact that they may have to pick a lot of kwiksets could get really boring, LOL! Locksmiths have plenty of other things to do unless they specialize in lockouts. Some hobbyists have lives too I guess! :)

When you get a locksmith who is also a true hobbyist, like you will most likely find here, then you are probably going to have an advanced picker!

As was mentioned in previous posts, getting back to basics is really very helpful. I like to line up a bunch of easy locks and whip through them just to see which ones give me trouble on a given day. Then I practice on those a little extra and try the whole bunch again. I can usually get through a bunch with out much trouble at all. Then I pull out some harder locks. If I have trouble, I take a break and just try them the next time I feel like it. I try not to pick hard locks when I am in a bad mood, but easy locks seem to relieve stress... How many locksmiths pick locks to relieve stress!? :)
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Postby Romstar » 30 Jul 2004 4:29

Retrovertigo wrote:logosys

Yes I am a locksmith. However that does not change the way I view anyone on these boards. I too enjoy picking locks. I do the same thing as you! I watch tv, pick locks. I go to the movies, pick locks. Whenever I am sitting doing nothing at all, I am lockpicking. I also enjoy helping people. And no matter how much experience I have someone else can always teach me somthing I did not know. That is why I joined LP101

You and romstar are correct with the law. And yes I could have read it better. But I did not appriciate the sarcasm that went along with the suggestion. That was clearly not directed at you.


My bad. Peace 8)


I just ripped a strip off you for implying that hobbiest pickers were theives because I missed your post where you quoted me.
The forum screwed up, and that same post was made three times. Then I read this post where you explained yourself, and I felt like an idiot and I had to fix not just two, but delete all three of those posts and then write this.

I appologize for being a sarcastic SOB, it's unfortunately a part of my nature. I am sorry if I offended you. Honestly.

My biggest problem with the law, and unfortunately some working locksmiths is this idea that lock picks somehow equate intent to commit an offence in the hands of anyone other than a locksmith.

I've been in the security business in some fashion or other for many years, and I still haven't figured out why some locksmiths believe they are somehow more responsible with or deserving of their tools than a hobbiest.

I've often wondered if some childish notion of having access to so-called "secret" information does something to them, and they get all messed up somehow. Sort of like the kid that knows a secret and runs around saying "I'm not gonna tell, nah nah nah."

Maybe it's just the fact that they ponnied up the money to become a licensed locksmith in the first place. I really wish I had an answer to it.

Recently the locksmithing community was in an uproar about Matt Blaze, again.

This time for distributing secrets at this year's HOPE convention. That paled in comparrison however to their absolute horror when they discovered Marc Tobais, author of the highly regarded LSS, quite happily in tow at that same convention.
To make matters worse, the locksmiths were apparently aghast when Mr. Tobias brough Mr. Blaze to the recent ALOA convention.

Mr. Blaze was made a parriah in the locksmith community for publicially publishing a fact that the industry has known for over fifty years. That secret? Simply that master keyed systems are inherently susceptible to decoding and manipulation, and by their very nature are basically less secure than non masterkeyed systems.

This uproar over supposedly secret information was so bad, that at least some locksmiths are questioning why Mr. Tobias wasn't censured by the ALOA for attending the HOPE convention, and for bringing Mr. Blaze to the ALOA conference.

The worst of this is that it really does inhibit the entrance of new people into the trade. In all honesty, while a great deal of 40 year old men and women are great business people, and great smiths, I would like to see more trust extended to younger people when they decide that this may be the career for them.

The average 20 year old can easily begin his or her career as an auto mechanic, but if that same 20 year old wants to be a locksmith, he is so often accused of being a wannabe thief that it sickens them right out of the trade.

I've seen and heard these accusations leveled at honest, sincere young men and women, and to be honest it disgusts me. That anyone can feel that they have the moral superiority to pass judgement upon anyone regardless of their age is reprehensible.

I'm tired of the idea that locksmithing is some sort of black art that can only be taught to those chosen few that somehow gain the rights of passage. And I am tired of the people who perpetuate this myth, and attempt to frighten honest hobbiests and potential new locksmiths.

I am sorry I misread what you said, I am terribly and deeply sorry if I have offended you, and I hope that this may have helped explain at least to some degree why I said what I did in the manner I said it.

Now, if you will all please excuse me, I am going to go lay on my bed for five minutes so I can at least honestly say I was in the bed sometime in the last two days.

Romstar
Image
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Postby mbell » 30 Jul 2004 4:56

Some very, very good points Romstar.
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Postby Luke » 30 Jul 2004 4:58

Im personally sick of been called a theif.
"I took the path less travelled by and that made all the difference"
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Postby reg » 30 Jul 2004 5:03

Firstly, thanks Romstar for a very insightful post.

To me the situation in locksmithing seems to me like in several other areas: maintaining a certain status quo.

This can be done several ways -
keeping people you don't like to have near you out - this seems to be the way of many locksmiths.

keeping information secret (which never works in the long run)

Developing your own special language
(at German universities a language is used that is barely understandable by someone who never had insight into that area, and I have learned far more from some of the US and British professors that were at our university, the main thing being: most stuff is not complicated by nature, if someone is interested you can find a way of explaining e.g. different forms of word formation in normal everyday language.)

Sometimes these ways are used to filter out those persons that are most determined to go into the particular field they are kept from.

Sometimes a "what can I do to change your mind?" or "What requirements must an applicant fulfill to get a yes?" Gets you useful hints on how to come further, and if you succeed you don't need to behave as people behaved towards you.

reg
picky, picky ;)
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Postby Retrovertigo » 30 Jul 2004 16:15

Romstar,

No worries my friend. I am an easy person to get along with. It's cool 8)

And I understand exactly what you mean and how you feel. The problem I have with that laws from state to state is that even though they are written it is not necessarily set in stone. I mean honestly how many cops go "by the book" anyway? In Oregon it is up to the discretion of the cop. So if you look like a total slimeball are caught with picks and cannot explain yourself, there is a good chance you will be spending the night in the pokey.

I just want you guys out there who are pickin n' grinin' to be carefull. Use some common sense and don't flaunt your skill around. Depending on where you live it could get you into some trouble. But by all means keep pickin! Just use discretion.

The trade is not easy to get into as you said. Alot of the old timers are very strict about the trade. From father to son and so on. And yes there is a "code" that locksmiths generally go by. But it's not ment to keep newcomers out (unfortunately some take it to that extreme) of the trade. But to protect the public from would be thieves getting their hands on potentially damaging information. It has to be that way otherwise if your avarage joe on the street knew how to impression a key, manipulate a safe, pick locks! there would be very little if any security.



Black arts? lol ya in a way it is certainly viewed that way by many. Just go into a bank and utter the word "locksmith" and you will turn heads.

But honestly if anyone reading this is trying to get into the trade and having no success here is what I recommend. First get formal training. Go to your local Community Collage. If that's not an option go with a correspondence school. Foley Belsaw is the only one I recommend. Bug all of your local lockshops for a job, and keep bugging them. Go in right after the shop opens two or three times a week! Persistence pays off! The squeaky wheel gets the oil right? Don't give up. eventually you will get the job and will be on your way.
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subject

Postby Allmytimerblongtothis » 4 Aug 2004 1:04

If cops give you trouble say "no speaka inee englash no speaka" then say "diplomotoc aumunity" and they usually just go...okay he must eb from prague of somehting and they rarely try you because if you ahve the diplomatic immunity they have wasted hours of their time, so they usually let you go. And I PICK ONT HE CRAPPER! BEAT THAT! :o :o :o
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subject

Postby Allmytimerblongtothis » 4 Aug 2004 13:40

I PICK WHEN I WALK MY DOG!~ YEAH!! BEAT THAT
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i need sum help

Postby Lesex101 » 4 Aug 2004 14:30

ok guys and girls, im in need of sum help, wondering u any of u can give me tips on picking locks with out the tools, if there is a way, i just wanna start off slow before i start buying my equipment....would be greatfull if this info could reach me by u guys...e-mail me or just chat to me..take it easy



--_Lesex101_--
uh ..i don't know
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