Rusty Lock Pick

[RossD]

Well I got my South Orb set in the mail, and start picking away. Haven't had this much fun in a while. I popped my small 3 pin master lock (brand new) which I purchased to start with. Having done that, I've moved onto my next challenge, a Task Force all brass padlock. This lock I have no key for (a project in impressing is pending). I'm shocked at the feel of this lock however, it's pins are very loose, making it hard to tell if lots or little tension is needed. So my question, does a small lock (I think 4-5 pins) have a driver pin? Are all brass locks different than others? Can anyone point me to a good guide of all brass locks?

Thanks for helping noobs.

[calvinism]

If you asking do all locks have a driver pin and a key pin. . .ya they do. .and if one of them were mising the lock wouldnt open. .you would have to overlift all the pins past the shear lines. . .and not all brass locks are the same. They work on the same principle but the quility and the way they made differ. My advice is to apply light tension and feel if any pins are binding. If not increase your tension slightly and go again untill you feel a binding pin. Hope that helps

[chriswingate]

If you asking do all locks have a driver pin and a key pin. . .ya they do.

Slightly above the skill level of the original poster, but for the sake of knowledge, not all locks have driver pins, Medeco cam and vending locks for instance just have key pins.

[RossD]

This is a Task Force brass unit. You can see where the top pins were inserted on the side of the unit, so there are five pins. If each lock is different, would the drive pin shift to different pins? In this case, I can clearly feel the first couple of pins being very loose no matter the tension I apply, where as the farthest pins are very stiff and jam up easily with various tensions. Can locks like this have pins which can rust in the barrel? There is play on the cylinder, but I'm trying to learn by feel, so I'm looking at possibilities.

Thanks for schooling the new guy.

[chriswingate]

If by "drive pin" you mean the pin that is binding, then yes it will vary from lock to lock. It could be any of the 5/6/7 (depending on the lock) pins. Your best be it to go after the pin that is stiff, don't apply too much tension as to make it really get trapped and unable to be lifted, just enough to bind the pin so you can feel it as you raise it up to the sheer line, once it sets you should hear/feel a click. After that you should search around for the next pin that is binding. It could be a security pin that is binding up also, a spool, in which case you are going to have to let up on the tension enough so the lip can get past the sheer line.

If the lock is old it could have some rust in it, I have found that it usually isn't the pins that go bad, but the springs. They become compressed or sometimes they just break. You can try spraying some lubricant into the lock and let it soak for a bit if you do think it is gunked up or rusted.

Hope this helps a bit.

[RossD]

Picked! Thanks for the advice! The middle pin was jamming up with out feeling like it was jamming up. Good practice lock thanks to it's low tolerances on the pins.

Anyone know of a guide to impressioning based on picking? I've seen some other guides on here, but it seemed to be based on working directly with the pins. Thanks.

[calvinism]

If you asking do all locks have a driver pin and a key pin. . .ya they do.

Slightly above the skill level of the original poster, but for the sake of knowledge, not all locks have driver pins, Medeco cam and vending locks for instance just have key pins.

Oh ok kewl thanx 4 helping me rite there. Appreciate it. Still learning. . Hehe