Cheap Padlocks

[Murph]

I have searched around the site and didn't find any posts pertaining to what I am about to share with all of you. However, with the large number of skilled & experienced people in this forum, my information could very well be "been there, done that". But I hope all of you don't mind. Maybe this post might help some newbies or someone looking for information for opening a cheap padlock similar to the one I had.

When I first started lockpicking as a hobby, I stopped in this "Dollar Store"
(for my overseas friends, it's a bargain place of inexpensive stuff that one can purchase for a $1.00 US) and purchased a cheap padlock made in China (no offense to any of our Chinese members).
When I started to pick it, the lock's innards did not feel right for I previously picked my son's combo gym lock that has the 4 pin cylinder in the back, and after further probing around, I didn't feel any pins as described in the MIT manual and like the gym lock. So after probing some more, I felt a spring. I then used a straight probe and was able to move the spring and the lock opened. I relocked it and "repicked" it many times over.

Ironically, before I took up lockpicking, my mother had a similar lock on her toolshed and accidentally locked the keys inside. So I had to cut the shackle off with bolt cutters; had I knew then what I know now, I could very easily "picked" the lock. "Okay Mom, lock your keys in the shed!"

What inspired my writing this post was a topic I read about cheap combo locks from viewtopic.php?t=4023

Thanks to everyone of you in this forum for what you shared and I have learned since joining, and for what I will further learn in the future.

[alias]

Its been a while since I watched it but I think they mention that in the H2K2 vid....you're pretty much just bypassing the pins and going straight to to mechanism that holds the shackle.

To be honest, that was pretty much the only type of lock (and methodology) that I was able to 'pick' back when I first started 'picking' in primary school. We used to use found street sweeper bristles, cold bent to 90 degrees and just stick in the keyway, jiggle a bit and hey presto! The afternoons of fun we used to have with all the kit in the school sport room!

Yep, its in the H2K2 vid. Just went back and took a look. Its about 15 mins in when he's talking about picking the $2-3 lock.

[liquidz]

For those of you that might not know what h2k2 is it is the Hope 2002 confrence that was held in NY. I was at this year confrence, and they had a few interesting lock oriented things. I should have been at the lock picking table on the second floor more often.

lol next time I go that will probably be the only place that I will be at.

[WhiteHat]

have they decided on the year for the next one yet? I wouldn't make it over
to america just for the hope or defcon conferences, but I would like to see a
lockpicking section at the ruxcon conference in sydney - I'd go to that.
www.ruxcon.org.au

obviously wouldn't be as big as hope or defcon so I guess there wouldn't be
as much interest in the lockpicking side of things, but perhaps I'll sugest it. I
think also that Australians are slightly more anal retentive when it comes to
the sale of lockpicks/distribution of information like found on this site so it
may not go down well with the police or in the public eye...

[liquidz]

The next hope should be in 2006 probably, I think they should change it to be every year instead of every other year. This year had alot of people there, at some points rooms would become too full and they had to deny access to people. (BTW one room had over 800 people in it at one point from what I heard)