antaean3000 wrote:I am not sure where to buy from or what tools to get but my main picking interest is padlocks mainly because i have 3 padlocks
One of them is one of the newest master locks which claims to be pick proof.
Heh, which one is that? Master are one of the easiest brands of lock to pick, even the pro-series isn't up to scratch.
antaean3000 wrote:But i just feel no padlock that you can buy from b&q is safe. Yes they can keep your avarage joe out but i think a lock smith or lock picker could get in to them or anyone with a drill could.
Locksmiths and hobby pickers can get into just about anything. You shouldn't be judging the security of a lock by whether or not we're able to pick it, because the bad guys don't put in the time or effort required to build the skills.
You make a valid point though, locks are there to keep average joes from poking their noses in uninvited... however, criminals are nothing more than average joes with ill intent. Any locksmith will tell you, the average person who locks himself out of something knows very little about locks and will attempt some kind of brute force to get their way in. Picking rarely even crosses their minds, and the bad guys are exactly the same. People completely ruin things to get inside them even if it's their own property, so you can bet that if there's some random thief wandering the neighbourhood, the only time he's looking at the lock is if he's thinking "Hmm that looks pretty easy to break".
As for drilling, it takes more than just that. It's true that with the right drill jigs & bits, anyone can get into anything, but again this isn't the preferred method of entry for burglars. It's true that they don't mind making noise, but they tend to stay well away from drilling locks. They're all about getting in fast with cheap tools, and drilling for a number of minutes will attract a lot more attention that the sound of a window being pryed open with a screwdriver. A regular old drill isn't gonna cut it, and they're not gonna carry proper drilling equipment around with them since they might get chased by the police and have to throw it all away. Many locks have hardened front pins and offset anti-drill pins/ball bearings to frustrate drilling if that's a concern though. You'd be surprised what you can find at B&Q, they actually have some fairly high security stuff... you get what you pay for though.
antaean3000 wrote:My question is would it take a noob long to pick my silver colored padlock?
once you master it how long on avarage would it take to pick the yale?.
Last night i sat there with some home made picks and tried to pick the cheap silver coloured lock and two hours passed and i could not get it open but bear in mind i was using a paper clip and a cheap made tension tool which was made from some old sun glasses.
Your silver padlock is a cheap imitation of a Master. Master locks are pretty easy to pick; we actually recommend them as beginner locks - knockoffs are even sloppier so you really shouldn't be having any trouble with it. Don't worry though, you'll crack it in no time and you'll be wondering how on earth you didn't get it sooner. Your problem could lie within your technique, your understanding of what's happening inside the lock, or the tools you're using. Speaking of which, get yourself some proper tools! You're in the UK so I'd recommend the Southord C-801 (9-piece slimline) set.
If you're anything like me, you may want to read up some more on how picking actually works. It's one thing to know how locks work with a key, but if you don't understand what's going on in order for picking to be possible you won't really get anywhere. I first started out when I was about 16 and I had no idea how or why picking really worked, so I had a hard time relating what I was feeling to what was going on in the lock. I had some luck with raking cheap padlocks, but when it came to decent locks I got nowhere so I actually gave up on it for a while. If you don't understand tolerances and the binding defect properly, I strongly suggest you read up on it because that's one thing that helped me immensely when I started to get back into picking again.
JK's site has a great page which I highly recommend.
As for the Yale, regardless of what's in it, once you get a good feel for it and get it picked a few times you should be able to do it fairly quickly and consistently. There are locks which gave me hell when I first got them and after picking them a couple of times I was able to open them without much trouble in under 90 seconds (I know this because that's all the time my camera records for lol, just incase you're wondering). Don't focus too much on getting it open though, focus on what's going on inside and try to figure out its personality. That's the real trick. I don't know what model of Yale that is, but it's a good idea to know what a false set feels like anyway just incase there are spools in there. Even if you can't pick it right away at least you'll know it has spools and you can try some techniques to get past them when you're ready.
antaean3000 wrote:I feel iv not had much luck with locks. I once got a bump key for yale locks and put it on my front door of the house i tried bumping it several times and it never opened. The only time i really needed to get in my house is when i left the keys in doors and i went downstairs to put the trash out and the wind blew the door shut and i was locked out of my house
and i had to wait a few hours for my family to come down with the spare key to let me back in again.
Stick at it! Get yourself a decent set of picks, do some reading and bone up on the stuff you need to know and get picking. When I first started out I was like "ok I know how a lock works, so I just apply tension and pick the pins and it'll open". Obviously that didn't take me very far... as it happens, you need a really good understanding of the mechanism and the feedback you're receiving from the lock.
You're gonna get burned for using a bump key in your front door lock, so I'll save that for the other guys. The reason it didn't work is because you probably have an old yale 77 night latch with the original cylinder... those things are all pretty stiff and the spring return will also have had something to do with it. The higher quality a lock is, and the smoother it operates, the easier it is to bump - your lock is neither of those things because it's old and decrepit.
This is starting to turn into a book, so I'm away for a well deserved cuppa. Hopefully I've helped you out a little... if you have any more questions, fire away.
