buying a cutaway lock to learn, any suggestions?

[protoboy11]

which one i should get? im probably going to use ebay so i anyone could maybe link me a good one?

[femurat]

I suggest you NOT to buy a cutaway to learn picking. Try db's exercise instead.

Cheers

[chriswingate]

Like femurat said, I don't recommend cutaway locks for learning to pick. Though they do show you the inside of the lock and what is happening when you move your pick, they make you rely on sight too much. It won't make you focus on touch and hearing, being able to feel what is happening inside the lock which is what you need to really get the understanding of. There are plenty of pictures and videos on YouTube and the like that show the internals of locking mechanisms and what is happening when they are manipulated. I recommend you try to learn using a closed lock, pinned up accordingly, like the exercise femurat mentioned.

If you are really intent on buying a cutaway, any will do that has some security pins in it. You can usually find them for cheap on eBay, don't let yourself get ripped off.

that's my 2 cents.

[theTastyCat]

Yeah, I bought one that claimed to be a Schlage, but it was nothing like an actual Schlage. It was super-easy and truly was a waste of money. Seems like a really great idea, but just isn't worth it. The only thing it would be good for is showing somebody or perhaps a class how a lock works on a very basic level.

Do DB's exercise - taking apart a lock and successfully reassembling it may seem a bit daunting at first, but after the first time it's really not bad at all and it will significantly improve your technique.

[lock2006]

I will say the same thing don't recommended to learn lock picking
but it may help you understands what's going on inside the lock
is up to you to get it or not
i have a couples of them including one Medeco cutaway which is really nice
lock and i am happy with them
Also you may want to get one this to help you learn lock picking
good luck.

http://www.learnlockpicking.com/

[Shyfted]

ive found my cutaway really useful with security pins. This way you can see which pins havent been set then compare the feel of it to the correctly set ones. This has helped me quite a bit and can then be rekeyed with other types of pins.