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So I'm new to the world of lockpicking and have a question about one of my padlocks (cheap no name lock)
It takes a lot of torque to turn the plug because it seems the spring is pretty strong so Im unsure as to how much force to apply to the tension wrench. People always say a featherlight touch, but in order to get a pin to bind I have to apply so much force that the end of my finger turns white - is this actually a suitable amount of force?
Also, having tried with varying amounts of torque, I notice that after a little while of SPP none of the pins resist with any spring pressure anymore and yet the lock does not open. Can anyone tell me what this means? Have I been oversetting my pins? And is there a way to prevent this from happening?
Hi, and welcome to LP101! Some padlocks let the plug turn a little (enough to pick it) before the spring engages. But I too have a lock that needs quite a lot of force to turn the key right from the beginning. Its a Pisla -you Finns should know it. That kind of padlocks are hard for a beginner, because you really need to tension it hard, but not too hard. As to pins loosing their springyness, when you´ve set all but one pin thats the case. Or it could be that you have over lifted some of them. Or there might be security pins in the lock. Or you could possibly use too much tension. Read a lot so you know in theory how the lock and picking works, and then just practice, practice, practice. Happy picking!
Pressing the shacke down helps a bit sometimes. (You can tape it down or use rubber bands to hold it).
You can think the tentions this way: if you tension it as much as the spring, it will not turn at all. So, you need to tention it a bit more to get pins locking. If you use that to apply light pressure to pins you can vary the pressure and try if more tension will already turn it if you think all the pins are set. After that you'd go back to normal picking tension and get more pins down.
If you find the lock too challenging, why not try out some easier lock and come back to that one once you've improved your skills. I think something that has no springs could be easier for a real beginner.
Don't worry so much if you have to apply a lot of tension. Start off light and keep increasing tension it until you feel the first pin(s) start to bind.
boggif wrote:Pressing the shacke down helps a bit sometimes. (You can tape it down or use rubber bands to hold it).
You can think the tentions this way: if you tension it as much as the spring, it will not turn at all. So, you need to tention it a bit more to get pins locking. If you use that to apply light pressure to pins you can vary the pressure and try if more tension will already turn it if you think all the pins are set. After that you'd go back to normal picking tension and get more pins down.
^these are great suggestions. I've had plenty of locks that required a light touch and some that prefer a harder touch. Frequently I need to adjust my tension the further I get into picking a lock.
boggif wrote:If you find the lock too challenging, why not try out some easier lock and come back to that one once you've improved your skills. I think something that has no springs could be easier for a real beginner.
I've found the spring return on locks with security pins to be a lot easier than those without the spring return. I'm still working on plug control but I'm getting better every day. For regular pins it all depends on how well the lock is made...some are easy, some are a pain.
I may be a bit strange but my favorite wrench is a 1/8 or maybe the next size up ground to a gently tapered so that it both narrows and becomes thinner toward the tip. For those locks with strong springs you have nearly no worry of bending your wrench and I have found with the right profile it will fit in nearly any tumbler lock I have found. I also really like the feedback I get with such a rigid wrench.
If you have an operating key use it in the padlock to get a feel for when the pressure begins. See if you can insert the key and get it to turn enough to be picked before the tension begins. this should give you and idea of how much force to use.
If you use that to apply light pressure to pins you can vary the pressure and try if more tension will already turn it if you think all the pins are set. After that you'd go back to normal picking tension and get more pins down.. yes
I've got a Brinks R70 lock which has a strong spring like that. I find I have to provide enough tension to turn the barrel to the point where it stops turning and then no more. I also feather the tension every now-and-then and it seems to work out fairly well with the security pins in there. If you're looking for more information on tough springs, I would recommend searching the Brinks R70 in the site because there seems to be a lot of threads about it. Best of luck picking your lock.
I have discovered much more tension is required by padlocks. They aren't my thing usually, I prefer picking regular door locks, but I've tried it and it seems like you need two or three times more tension than when picking a regular pin tumbler lock. The exception to this is the doorknobs that connect to a latch with springs in it. These I have to use a lot of pressure once the lock is picked. Sometimes I am not sure the knob's lock is completely picked and I put a lot of pressure on the tension wrench and it turns. The masterlock on my storage unit takes so much tension to open that I was afraid it would permanently bend the tension wrench!
I found this older discussion about spring tension. It is the exact problem I am having with 2 new locks. It takes tremendous torque pressure on the key to open the lock. The locks are new master locks and have created tremendous frustration for me the last 2 weeks. The force to turn the plug would bend the pry bar in half. After a few days playing with one of these locks I tried the key to make certain the lock worked as I could not pick it open. Yes it opens, but turning the stiff plug takes a lot of force. As a test I stuck the torque wrench into the hole at top of key to judge force needed to turn it. No way. So, this is just a new master lock (higher end).....can anyone help me with a solution?
For me it seems the new master padlocks, the expensive ones are hard to pick.
gademsky wrote:I found this older discussion about spring tension. It is the exact problem I am having with 2 new locks. It takes tremendous torque pressure on the key to open the lock. The locks are new master locks and have created tremendous frustration for me the last 2 weeks. The force to turn the plug would bend the pry bar in half. After a few days playing with one of these locks I tried the key to make certain the lock worked as I could not pick it open. Yes it opens, but turning the stiff plug takes a lot of force. As a test I stuck the torque wrench into the hole at top of key to judge force needed to turn it. No way. So, this is just a new master lock (higher end).....can anyone help me with a solution?
For me it seems the new master padlocks, the expensive ones are hard to pick.
I have Master 911 that you bend the wrench trying to turn .. But you will get a slight indication that you have picked it .. So I will use a screwdriver to complete the turn .. Here is crappy video I made about it awhile ago
When I finally leave this world.. Will someone please tell my wife what I have REALLY spent on locks ...
It looks that every new picker get at least one of those. Mine is a Sky-Gate 267. It's a large and heavy (at least 1/2 kg) brass padlock, made in china of course, the keys say YALOS so this is probably a no-name with a funny name. At least it was quite cheap, about 3 or 4 euros. Even with the key sometimes I have to press the shackle to get it open. And it's crunchy inside, probably it's full of metal shavings or whatever. I tried to spray a little of DW-40 inside but it didn't help, maybe if I spray A LOT it makes a difference. Of course, to make it more difficult, pin one is cut max deep, so it stays in the front of all others. The rest of the bitting is quite plain and it should be possible to rake, but with this monster tension on the core, so far, no luck at all. Very light tension doesn't help, nothing binds.
