Picking a Trisonic--Noob Life

[battshins]

Hey guys,

i just just started picking and have done a ton of research on your awesome forum. This is by far one of the richest sources of coherent lock-picking information that i've been able to find. I bought a short hook pick and tensions wrench from southord (after reading the 'what to buy' thread) and then got a padlock today to practice on. I live in china town and the padlock i bought was made by the company 'Trisonic' (on the packaging there's a ton of sketchy stuff like "tolerance is the best solution to differences" and "the busy make the most of time; dilligent(spelled wrong) enjoy the best of health". Theres no real context for these random phrases, they're just written on the package")

In short this lock is REALLY hard to pick. To be fair i've never picked a single lock in my life so i dont know what to expect, but i've been poking around blindly for an hour now and haven't gotten anywhere. Could someone point me in the right direction as to what i should do to crack this one or maybe an easier lock to start with?

(i've read a bunch about that thing where you buy a cheap deadbolt and take out the pins to practice on, maybe that's my best bet? I'm just really interested in lockpicking and dont want to burn out in the first day getting overly frustrated)

[Daggers]

Look at animations on the workings of lock and then go to your own lock and use the hook to try and feel each and every pin. Count them and if you are consistent each time, you are probably on the right track. Put a little bit of tension on the wrench, I usually tell people to put the amount of force on the wrench as a key on the keyboard when they are typing. Then feel each and every pin gently with your hook. The one that is the hardest to move (this is called the binding pin), lift it up before the other pins and wait for it to click. When you feeling the pins, you should be feeling them more than lifting them. Move onto the next pin that is hardest to lift. They order should be random but on cheap lock they will sometimes pick from back to front in order. It's best to start with the pins in back and move to the front when trying to find the binding pin. This is because of how the pins wear down. The front ones are used way more than the back because they key hits the front pins many times to get to the back pins. Hope this helps!

[JohnnyWalker]

Hey battshins,

Welcome to the forum. Aside from the great information here at the forum, I have found many different sources that provide good information about how locks work and how to approach lock picking. Just as Daggers has pointed out, looking at some animations will help a lot. In case you haven't looked there already, there's a topic in the Pick-Fu - Do... Not Try. section titled "Animation: How a Lock Works" and that's a good place to start. Another resource that I have found helpful to is an article titled "How Lock Picking Works" on the website howstuffworks.com. This explains the basics of how locks work, how to pick lock, and the article also contains animations to help illustrate what they are explaining in the article. The last thing I would suggest is going to youtube and finding user member SchuylerTowne. Schuyler is a very well-known locksport enthusiast and he has a 24-video series that is great for beginners. As I mentioned before, there are many resources out there that you can turn to for help, but this forum and the two I mentioned are good places to start. Good luck and enjoy!

- JW

[battshins]

Whooo! i did it !

Thanks so much guys, all of that stuff is really helpful. I had already checked out the animations and a bunch of the online tutorials/explanations (I've been researching for like the past month before buying the like $1.20 tension wrench and short hook from southord). I haven't checked out that youtube locksport guy tho so i'll definitely look into that once i get over this high of having sucessfully picked a lock! I can totally see why you guys are all so into this--couldn't imagine a better (portable!) hobby. Also I'm about to take a 4-hour bus ride so its good timing.
Thanks so much for the help guys, i'm excited to stop lurking and become a part of this community

p.s. So i've picked it like 4 times now all told (whoo!) and its def a cheapo back-to-front lock in terms of binding pins etc. One thing i've noticed tho is that also i can set a couple of the pins (cant tell exactly which yet cause i'm still newbing it up) but i cant actually pick the lock until i press down on the curved part of the padlock. I dont know if im explaining this in a way that makes sense but theres that part of the padlock that actually locks things (the U that fits into the rectangular base of the lock) and even while its locked i can push down on that U and feel it spring back up. Does any of this make sense? in any case i've only been able to pick it while also pushing down on that U. Is it just coincidence or is there some correlation?
Sorry for gushing, just really psyched to have finally picked a lock :d

[Daggers]

The padlocks that i have, the U shaped thing (called the shackle) is springy also. But this makes no difference to me picking it, idk why it does that for you. Might be because it's cheaper. But for me, one of the first locks i picked was a cheap padlock that took me forever to open the first time! But now that i'm better, i realize how cheap it is. It picks back to front, skipping the 3rd pin. It can be open in about 1-2 seconds consistantly. But at first, I spent a couple hours without opening it. The lesson i learned from that is to always know what you are doing before doing it lol It's like riding a bike. Hard the first time, but easy every other time you do it. Plus, it's something you'll never forget how to do.

Enjoy your new hobby!

[unjust]

the best advice i can give you is go buy a cheap kwikset (or no name) deadbolt (it's easier to take apart than a key in knob) and a half inch dowel at the hardware store for a plug follower. if you're' feelign like splurging get a long tweezers while you're there. you should be out the door for under $15.

learn to take the core apart, and pin it for 2 pin stacks in the front. one is too easy to develop WAY too much tension habits, and you don't learn to feel more than one pin to see which is binding. pick it til you can open it consistently. swap those two key pins for 2 different ones. practice. then add in a 3rd pin stack, and work your way up to all 5 pins.

iv'e seen folks improve much more rapidly than starting with padlocks, and it really gives you a sense of accomplishment and understanding of how minor changes in a lock (different pins) can make things a lot different.

[battshins]

Great advice daggers & unjust!

I watched the videos and now have a much better idea of how to re/de-pin a deadbolt
I'ma head over to the store & get started tom!!

[unjust]

also, after you've cut your dowel to ~3" file a narrow v or curve into one end. you''re going for the diameter of a pin more or less. for putting springs and driver pins back in it's a godsend. line up the groove, drop the spring in, nudge it into the groove and slide it in, leaves you set to slide the follower forward.