by chaos4zap » 31 Dec 2011 21:59
I don't really think it's necessary to go through each of the questions, I think a quick summary will suffice. Those master locks are, by and large, a joke when it comes to security when it comes to lockpicking. It is not unusual to be able to stick just about anything in there, wiggle it around and have the lock pop open. As for over setting, it all depends on the biting of the key, but again, these locks are almost always very easy to open and therefore, not worth spending much time on how difficult it may be to over set the pins. Since any lock you encounter that may need to be opened (other than padlocks) will be mounted, I feel it's always best to practice with them mounted. Picking them unmounted is clearly an advantage while you are learning, but once you can do that with relative ease...it doesn't seem like there is much real value in continuing to pick it while holding the thing in your hand. It depends on the lock, which method seems to be "easier". There was a time at the beginning, when the basics seemed to click (I was using too much tension, TOK tension usually seems to work better in most cases, etc..) But since the tools and technique one uses are specific to the person, this makes sense. Finding that right combination of technique that works for you almost never comes quickly and only appears after much trial and error. And a similar epiphany seems to come separately with each aspect of picking (SPP'n, raking, snap gun, Bogota, etc...)
One thing that I have personally noticed is that over time I have become more comfortable with a few spool pins and tend to be faster with these now than locks without security pins. I'm sure it's a product of me just spending more time on the security pinned locks, but I thought I would just put it out there anyway in case someone else may have noticed the same thing and has an alternate theory.
