Choosing the right lock

[there_must_be_a_way]

I "inherited" a set of lock picks when my brother left for college. I really don't know much about how to pick but was looking around the internet and found two locks.

Would one of these be good to start with? Which one? I like the idea of starting with 1 pin and working up to all of them.

I need some way to practice and I know "no locks in use."

This one?
http://www.lockpickersmall.com/ezrekey.html

or this one?
http://learnlockpicking.com/

[Solomon]

Neither. They're far too expensive for what they are... if you want a cylinder which is easy to take apart and get back together then just buy an old kwikset on ebay, it'll be $5 tops. Extra pins and springs you can get from junk cylinders which are free from the local locksmith or you can just get a bunch cheap again on ebay or at the market.

What they're selling for the better part of $50, you can get for a mere $10 with just a little effort... I wouldn't pay that much more for simple convenience. And I wouldn't bother with the cutaway either, as picking is all about feel. Cutaways are only good for demonstration purposes or collecting.

[weilawei]

Personally, I bought that second one (the ultimate practice lock) after I'd picked a few padlocks and some kwiksets. I like being able to repin it very quickly to make it progressively harder (and it comes with spool pins).

I also bought a cutaway from LockPickShop.com (the site's sponsor--you get a 10% discount from them for being a member here; search around for the coupon code). I used that to improve my mental mapping between feel and my visualization. Nowadays, I don't pick it much, but I find that giving it to my friends really helps them understand what's going on and get a good start.

Good luck and welcome to LP101!