My start into lockpicking

[chriss]

Hello all,

after lurking a few month I also want to show my first few homemade picks.
I also managed to pick a couple of easy locks and hope that (with a lot of excercise and
training) they will not be my last.

Please comment and give me hints and tips how I can improve my tools.

Kind regards and many many thanks to all the forum guys which generous share their ideas and knowledge.
And, of course, thanks Raimundo for your famous bogotas!

Greetings from Germany,
Christian

[chriss]

Hmm, obviously I'm not able to attach files to my post, so I'll try to embedd them.

My first "open", a ABUS CISA:


My selfmade picks:


Second view of the pickset:



Please post your comment,
Thank you,
Christian

[thededer]

first of welcome to lp101! wow those picks look great except your tension wrenches look a little short, the part that goes into the lock I mean. ex: if you have a lock and its somewhat recessed such as a padlock u may need a longer wrench to fit in, other than that excellent work man and keep it up!

[chriss]

Hello thededer,

thank you for your welcome and your hint

I've tried a few different wrench designs but due to the fact that I normally deal with german/european locks
I only need 3-5mm immersion depth to get a good grip of the tension wrench.
If I go deeper into the "lock channel" the wrench will block the first pin and I favour it when I can
completely stick the angeled tip of the wrench into the channel which gaves the whole wrench more
stability. To prevent slipping the tip has very sharp edges which "cling" very nice in the lock channel.

Please excuse my "creative" usage of the english language

Kind regards, Christian

[exspook]

I have also modified my tension wrenches to only enter the top section of a UK cylinder, it does give a higher degree of control.

Nice picks and thanks for sharing.

[thededer]

ohhhhhhhhh i see because you are using European locks they are upside down to the north american locks

[nostromo]

Nicely done, Chriss!

Nice assortment of picks!


So what is your next lockpicking challenge?

[LocksmithArmy]

cool case, good lookin picks man

[criminalhate]

The only thing I can think of suggesting is try making a Deforest Diamond pick. Once I made one I fell in love with that style of pick.

Good luck and your picks look awesome.

[femurat]

Hi Christian,

nice picks and nice case too

The biggest improvements you could do is adding HANDLES to your picks. You'll be surprised by the difference in feedback and comfort. I hope you'll find useful this tutorial I wrote a long time ago. Despite the title this method works well even for wiper blade inserts.

Cheers

[Urbex]

Those look awesome!

[chriss]

So, after the reply from femurat, I've decided to try it with handles.
Due to the fact that I don't have any experience in making handles
I decided to make a interchangeable "beta" handle in which I can try different
picks and, if I recognise that the handle is suboptimal, change e.g. the shape
without affecting my good pick "cores".

Here a few pictures with a pick dummy fitted, please feel free to post your opinion.

Hard wood treated with olive oil


The pick "core" is fixed in the handle with 2 half luster terminals


There are three holes, fitting for long (first and last hole used) or short (first and second hole used) picks


So I can try every pick i have with this handle and see if it will improve the picking experience


It reminds me slightly of an old kitchen knife.



Kind regards, Christian!

[femurat]

Excellent work on that handle! I like the interchangeable idea very much. I hope the pick is well tight since a loose pick is useless and this is the most common limit of similar tools. You should check if the pick has play in the handle before starting to use it. If so try tightening the screws.

Cheers

[LocksmithArmy]

awsome idea... I would think drilling holes through the handle and having those metal pieces in the holes would make it loose... I would opt for bolts directly inserted into thewood (probably with some threaded metal snugle inserted in) pressing onto the pick...

I would like to see you pick with it and see how you like it tho... if it works for you go for it

[MacGnG1]

wow that handle looks good. nice work... i like the interchangeable pick idea. keep up with the nice pics