Picking an american lock

[bigcurt]

Hello could someone please tell me if an american lock can be picked ? I am a newbe and have been trying to pick an old american lock i had but have had no luck with it.Thanks in advance bc.

[CastleBravo]

Yes, all American padlocks can be picked. Could you please post the exact model so I can help you with it? Also, does the key look like a normal, flat key or is it a round one?

[bigcurt]

Yes thanks for responding the lock is a series 1105 WEI1 W/ A i guess a flat key. i am going to take a lock smith course trough foley bellsaw so i can do this stuff . i used to work at a county jail and i was the only one that could do any work on the locks they were huge locks. The Sheriff was going to send
me to a lock school but we never got around to it. So now i am retired i am going to just do it my self.

[raimundo]

You neede to tension the plug to turn counterclockwise.

be sure your tensor blade does not have sharp edges that can bite into the cylinder wall at the bottom of the keyway,

You can use a common large paperclip especially one that does not have the cut marks that help it grip paper, these marks can also grab the cylinder wall,
put one straight end of the paper clip into the foot of the keyway to poise and position the tensor blade so it doesnt turn and bind as it can do. if your tensor falls out of the keyway when you tip it downward, that is proof that it is appropriately loose in the keyway if it can't fall out, its jambed and so is the possibility of picking that lock

Use a small flat blade screwdriver to attempt to turn the plug just before dropping tension and starting over, this will sometimes turn the plug, american locks have a way of appearing to be unpicked when they actually are picked, thats a strange concept to grasp so just wait til you find a case of it with that flat blade screwdriver to understand it.

These locks have spool and serrated pins in them, and will visibly reverse the plug when resetting a falseset spool.
there are a lot of other threads on this most of them under search terms like spool or americanlock.

Do not continue picking without dropping tension after you have visited each pin several times. the anti picking features of this lock will play with you and by failing to restart, you are falling into that trap.

most american locks are five pin and a few are 6 pin so do the pin drop count. Put a straight back edge of some pick under all the pins and lift them while slowly pulling it out counting the pins you hear dropping under spring pressure.

some older american padlocks have a spring that directly counters the tensor, when you put tension on one of these, you will find that the spring is pushing it counterclockwise. you must just overcome this spring with your tension and not overdo it with too much force.

I hope this helps.

[UEDan]

I prefer to use "top of keyway" tension, as in put the tension wrench where to pins are.
This will give you plenty of space to move around, especially when the last pin is a low cut and the second to last is high.
That and I find low to low-medium tension is best, if that means anything to you.

Make sure you learn the difference from a sheer line and a serrated pin or you'll start overpicking.

[bigcurt]

This is going to take some time. I can see now that this is going to be fun thanks guys for your help i will keep trying and i will open this lock.

[Sirtank11]

All those are helpful tips above.

Just a little knowledge on Americans,
the reason they are so hard to pick is because they only have a 0.002" (two thousandths of an inch)
tolerance, that means you have to get all of the pins within a two thousandths inch area at the
same time in the top of the cylinder to get it to open.
I've been picking for years and had a run of good luck picking them one day and picked
several open.
Not once sense then have i been able to pick one open so they are very tricky.


Tank

[anthrax28]

thanks for explanation raimundo.
I'm iniciate in american padlocks

[awol70]

A video tutorial on how to open your American 1105.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKWTm7j5EqM
Remember, you will most likely encounter serrated and serrated spool hybrid driver pins,
which are countered by their serrated key pin buddies. feel each serration as it clicks past shear.
You will soon be able to distinguish the true shearline from the false ones created by the serrations on the pins.
Very light top of the keyway tension works best,from my experience.
good luck, and let us know when you get it open.