Good beginner locks??

[Pin_pick]

I'm kinda new to lock picking and i was hoping to get a good list of locks that a beginner might look for in order to learn. Is learning how to re pin good for beginners so we don't buy a lot of locks?

[MacGnG1]

get a double deadbolt kwikset ($12), a master #3 padlock ($6-$8), and a schlage deadbolt to round out your beginner set of practice locks.

[Pin_pick]

Ok thank you

[Solomon]

Mac's suggestions are good; you can basically just go for anything that's cheap. There are loads of cheapo/off-brand locks out there aswell, and most are very good for beginners. Not saying they're all easy, but when your fingers get used to everything you'll see what I mean.

Repinning is a handy skill to have, but the more locks you have to pick the better. Repinning a lock will change the bitting (and the binding order if you swap the drivers around), but it's wise to have as wide a range of locks to hand as possible... they all have their own little quirks. Swapping pins around doesn't really change it that much, unless you change the bitting to something really extreme anyway. Having a mixture of old and new locks is a good idea aswell, as the feedback in older locks generally isn't as crisp.

Good luck

[MacGnG1]

thanks solomon, i forgot the most important thing about beginner locks: if its cheap... just buy it! ive gotten a lot of locks for super cheap (under 5 dollars). some were good, some were crap, and some i ended up just taking apart.

[ImSchatten360]

The cheaper Abus locks (padlocks and cylinders) are great for learning to deal with security pins (spools). The counter rotation is just great! But I don't know if they are easily available where you life. Good luck!

[shadow11612]

I have recommended to several people the following, and set the locks up for them. It may not be the cheapest but I think it works.

Buy a 5 pack of Keyed-Alike (KA) American Padlocks. I have the 5100 series for myself, but they are steel and heavy. I would recommend the 1200 series for the aluminum body. Then remove the cylinders. I would then remove all but one pin in the first, all but 2 pins in the second and so on.

When you have set them up, you then have a progressive picking set. Especially if I have not really sat down and picked for awhile, I pull these out and start with number 1 and work my way up. What little time I spent in the hotel at DefCon, I spent with this practice kit.