Newbie practice cylinders Training the trainer

[Andrez Courva]

I learned to pick locks from a trained locksmith ..... hands on, using locks that were removed from
service. No attempt was made to find "easy" combinations to start with. The only concession was
that I did not have to attempt locks with security pins. (at least in the beginning).

Given the way I learned and after developing my picking skills, I have a hard time relating to what would be easy, harder, and hardest to pick when teaching a beginner.

Specifically setting up a lock suitable for a beginner.

A) Positioning pins
Working with a standard 5 pin lock I planned on having 5 separate locks
1 pin, 2 pins, 3 pins, 4 pins, 5 pins.

I assume with a 1 pin lock the only pin would be in the first position.

With 2 pins in the lock would it be best to have the pins in position 1 and 2 or maybe separate
them ie position 1 and 3 or even 1 and 4.

B) Cut patterns
I am looking to develop a stratagey for what cuts would be condsidered a easy starting point and harder and harder to pick.

I have found some info in various posts but I am looking for any additional ideas.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[femurat]

I think the answer was already given by zeke79

You can avoid the 1 pin lock: 2 pins are easy enough to understand how a lock works.

Happy teaching

[Andrez Courva]

Thanks for pointing out that post .....

I have a terrible time with search on this site.

[5thcorps]

If you start with 1 or 2 pins don't just put them in the 1st position but move them all around the cylinder. Put high profile pins in the front and lows in the rear then vise-versa. Examine every possibility on each lock before moving onward. The only way to become skilled is with tedious practice.