ace lock picking

[matto]

Hello,

My wife did not recognize the keys to my safes, and decided they weren't important and threw them out. They are tubular locks. One is an ace 2, it has some markings on it HMC and then numbers. The other lock is tubular, but has no name or marks on it. Both appear to be 7 pin. They date back to the 1990s. I bought a southord 7 pin pick. Well I have been trying for a week to pick these locks with no luck. They must be special. I checked a 5 pin Kensington computer lock and picked that in a few seconds. So i think I have a handle on using the pick. I noticed on the unmarked lock that there was one pin that seemed different than the others.. maybe shaped differently and more sensitive, wiggly. Anyway, do you have any advice on how I can get into these locks so i don't have to haul them off to a locksmith? I can upload some pictures if it helps at all.

Thanks. Matt.

[MacGyver101]

Very sorry, Matt... we don't discuss opening of safes outside of the advanced forum. Having said that, Ace II locks have a number of features (including both their pins and their springs) that are designed to make it hard to pick with the standard tubular lock picks.

[camelgd]

As for what McGuyver said, it is true we don't discuss opening safes, but I would add that your gunsafe can easily be opened by a locksmith, and keys originated by the code. You would not get by without receiving treatment on the level of the TSA to prove that you are the owner. I personally wouldn't make keys without a service call and proper ID. If you do not have a locksmith in your area to handle this job, Homak also has a good support system for replacing keys if you want to jump through their hoops for ID.
Camelgd

[Squelchtone]

You would not get by without receiving treatment on the level of the TSA to prove that you are the owner. I personally wouldn't make keys without a service call and proper ID.
Camelgd

oh man, speaking of going through TSA style trouble to get something from a locksmith... Ive been walking into this one shop by my house for a year now and ocassionally I buy a padlock or cylinder or bring in something interesting to show them and they know i pick locks and collect them and they're always kind of weary of me, but still friendly enough to sell me stuff. Recently I had to impression a guard key for an old Yale safe deposit box lock and I walked in and they actually sold me a key that didnt exactly fit and needed some altercations, but never the less, I walked out with a blank. I got the key working and went in to show off my handy work and get a few more keys and I asked the guy, do you have more of those blanks, and he goes to the peg and says he has about a dozen more but he needs them for other jobs, so I said, ok I'd like to buy 1 more and he goes on to sell it to me but throws in a lecture about how he normally doesnt sell blanks because people do bad things with them, and i said, like copying their apartment keys to give to people not on the lease, or to make bump keys, and he kind of nodded and also told me to go to his supplier in downtown Boston and get blanks from them. I was a little frustrated that I couldn't buy all 12 of his blanks, these things are so rare, I doubt he uses them on a regular basis.

/vent
Squelchtone

[matto]

Hi,

Thanks very much for taking the time to comment. I really should have researched more before paying out $100 for the tool. Since I don't live in town, I am certain a locksmith will charge me a fortune to come out. Might be better to drill out the locks if that is possible, and then replace them. Looks like my wife wont be getting her jewelry in a hurry and hunting season will have to wait this year. I'm not too worried about the small case with the ACE ll lock. It has an ID number, so I can probably get a replacement key. At the least I can take it to a locksmith. It was the big gun cabinet with the generic tubular locks I was more worried about. Too darn heavy to move. My ID is no problem. The guns are registered to me and the small safe only has a few coins in it (which can stay locked up indefinitely for all I care). Would the locksmith use the southord pick or does he have far more advanced tools to do that job.

Again, Thanks.
Matt.

[MrScruff]

[Recently I had to impression a guard key for an old Yale safe deposit box lock and I walked in and they actually sold me a key that didnt exactly fit and needed some altercations, but never the less, I walked out with a blank.

Is this a typo or the truth?

[matto]

Yes, It is curious. Squelchtone sounds like a rough fellow. I can see the headlines...
"A gentleman walked into the locksmith shop and demanded a blank key. Altercations pursued".

[Squelchtone]

Yes, It is curious. Squelchtone sounds like a rough fellow. I can see the headlines...
"A gentleman walked into the locksmith shop and demanded a blank key. Altercations pursued".

You guys are funny, I'm laughing my a*s off at the office and everyone is wondering what is so funny!

btw, wouldnt it be Altercations ensued?? =) see, it can happen to the best of them!

I'm not a rough fellow, look for yourself:

[matto]

You are right, sir. It must be this weird auto spell checker. Ya.. that's it. I promise to forgive my wife for tossing my keys if you can overlook this unfortunate little brain fart. And I would not put myself in the ranks of "the best of them". Maybe the "mediocre of them". Perhaps if I get me some of that *Bling* like you have I might elevate beyond middling.

[amlwchlocksmiths]

keep trying,you mite aswell now.

[camelgd]

Squelchtone,
If you really, really, really, really, really get hard pressed to get a blank, let me know, I will give you a one time shot at whatever you need, if i have it in stock. I do old Yale s.d. boxes for one bank out in the boonies, and keep a few blanks around. This is for Squelchtone only, as I am feeling sorry for him. I would need either blank number or dimensions.
Camelgd

[matto]

Hey! Big news. I opened the small case that was marked ace ll. I won't devulge my secret technique here but I used the southord 7 pick tool. I can't believe some of the things I had placed in the case.... a package of screws, old boarding passes from a trip, a couple (probably valueless) coins, and one piece of jewelry. Glad I didn't get a locksmith for that! Now the gun case. I hope to have luck there. Thats the case I most need to get into. Cheers.

[femurat]

congrats for your success if you managed to pick the ace, you'll more likely be able to pick the other... just keep at it.
good luck

[Evan]

You would not get by without receiving treatment on the level of the TSA to prove that you are the owner. I personally wouldn't make keys without a service call and proper ID.
Camelgd

oh man, speaking of going through TSA style trouble to get something from a locksmith... Ive been walking into this one shop by my house for a year now and ocassionally I buy a padlock or cylinder or bring in something interesting to show them and they know i pick locks and collect them and they're always kind of weary of me, but still friendly enough to sell me stuff. Recently I had to impression a guard key for an old Yale safe deposit box lock and I walked in and they actually sold me a key that didnt exactly fit and needed some altercations, but never the less, I walked out with a blank. I got the key working and went in to show off my handy work and get a few more keys and I asked the guy, do you have more of those blanks, and he goes to the peg and says he has about a dozen more but he needs them for other jobs, so I said, ok I'd like to buy 1 more and he goes on to sell it to me but throws in a lecture about how he normally doesnt sell blanks because people do bad things with them, and i said, like copying their apartment keys to give to people not on the lease, or to make bump keys, and he kind of nodded and also told me to go to his supplier in downtown Boston and get blanks from them. I was a little frustrated that I couldn't buy all 12 of his blanks, these things are so rare, I doubt he uses them on a regular basis.

/vent
Squelchtone

@Squelchtone:

If your local lockie had a keyblank on the hooks to use/sell, then for sure Commonwealth Lock will have some to sell you by either 10/pk plastic wrapped units or 50/box... Just walk in like you know what you want and don't ask questions/small talk... They are warehouse type people who know some stuff about locks -- they won't sell anything and everything over the counter like an electrical/plumbing type place will but most key blanks them aren't special... Just product...

~~ Evan

[matto]

I'm on a roll here. Bouyed by my success I tried the gun cabinet and within a minute unlocked one of the two locks. The locks use the same key. But, when i went to the second lock, with pick set to the right marks, it would not open. I am afraid I have damaged the pins using the BIC pen method prior to getting the southord. When i look in, I do not see some of the pins.. maybe they have been pushed in and won't pop out now. This is discouraging, as I am so close. Thank you for all your encouragement. Not sure how to fix this mess.