?Reseting Pins?

[Oldfast]

The couple locks in question are not difficult locks. Both are brass #'s with fairly extreme high-low bitting. One, a Brinks, the other a Master. No matter what I do, I lose pin #1 and have to re-set it before opening the lock. Is losing previously set pins just a common, unavoidable thing with some locks, or are there adjustments that need to be made on my part (ie. tension/picking order). I've also encountered locks where a particular pin needs to be revisited as many as three times.

I've tried quite a bit, but cannot seem to get through these locks without having to revisit at least one pin. I guess I'm just hoping for some reassurance. Thanks.

[Slick Pick]

Slick Pick pats Oldfast gently on the shoulder for reassurance and tells him "one of the most important things to learn about lock picking is how to tell the difference between a binding pin versus a non binding pin, and then set those pins according to the binding order".

Slick also adds very helpful thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10677

Hope that helps you sleep better tonight

[Oldfast]

Thanks for the response. Not quite the reassurance I was looking for....though I do feel all warm and fuzzy inside . I would have rather heard something like "Yes, you'll find this happens sometimes in certain locks." Either way, I will sleep good tonight, if I ever get to bed; this forum is very addictive.

I'm familiar with DB's exercise. It really got me started on the right foot, and later on, helped ease me into security pins. I'll still revert back to this method with a lock if I'm having a hard time with it.

So you said I was picking in the wrong order. Pride/ego at work I have to say, I really didn't think that was the problem. I thought I'd become fairly decent at determining the binding pins/picking order. The 30+ locks in my very small collection help reinforce this, with these two locks being the exception. Some humility/openmindedness at work However, I do still consider myself a beginner. So, taking what you said, I went back to these locks. Assuming you were right, I should be able to find the correct order that wouldn't require touching any pin more than once. And whatayaknow, that "perfect order" does exist in both locks.

Now, this was nice to find, but brings up some questions. Obviously, I need to re-examine my technique of finding the "next right pin"! Normally I'll lightly glide over them and find that one stands out. This one is significantly more "solid" in comparison to the rest. Just to confirm this, I touch the others, making sure they're loose. This has worked great for me with other locks and is usually a pretty straight foward process with little to no 2nd guessing.

Not so with these two locks. In fact, the pin(s) that seemed to be the loosest were the very pins that needed to be set first. Often times if a pin has a very small amount of vertical play in it I assume it's not binding and immediately go for the one that's tight with no play to it. Maybe I need to be testing these pins, pushing them a little further while paying close attention to the feedback in my tensor? Guess I've got some more experimenting to do.
Gotta love these moments of confusion/frustration. They're usually followed by a new level of picking

[Oldfast]

Often times if a pin has a very small amount of vertical play in it I assume it's not binding and immediately go for the one that's tight with no play to it. Maybe I need to be testing these pins, pushing them a little further while paying close attention to the feedback in my tensor? Guess I've got some more experimenting to do.
Gotta love these moments of confusion/frustration. They're usually followed by a new level of picking

I had to laugh just now as I realize I'm in my own little post quotin' myself, answering my own question, and pretty much talking to myself. Aw well, maybe it'll help someone.

So a day later and some experimenting and: break-through
That was my problem. Just because a pin initially feels loose in passing doesn't mean it's not binding. These pins need to be lifted slightly while paying close attention to your tensor. Then you'll truely know which pin is to be set next.

One of JK's videos illustrates this very well. About 1:20 in, with a false set, he states: "We're not so much looking for pins that are sticking out. We're looking for pins that, when pushed, give you that reverse tension/counter rotation."
http://www.youtube.com/user/jkthecjer#p ... wo03ys9ZNA

By the way thanks for all the videos everyone, keep em' comin', I'm really enjoying them.
If a picture's worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth a million.

[Slick Pick]

Glad to see you have it figured out.

JK is the man. He really knows his stuff.

Don't feel bad talking to yourself and least you weren’t talking in third person like I was