When to feel accomplishment?

[TheLea]

Hello there folks!

I recently started picking locks for fun. I started out with bobby pins and a crappy 5$ padlock I bought for other reasons at my local convenience store. I then found it so rewarding to feel the lock open that I went ahead and bought a professional set of 32 lockpicks (Klom, the ones with green rubber handles, google "NO:KL-307") and scoured my house for padlocks. Let's just say it gets pretty boring during the winters here in sweden.

Long story short: I have now picked open ~20 different padlocks in less than 2 days and I feel as if I have run out of challenges. I can't feel proud about it since most of the locks open within a minute with some raking, other harder locks (ABUS N 65/40 refuses to be raked) I wiggle around a bit until I feel what pins produce a response in the torsion wrench, then "precision-wiggle" some more on the remaining 2-3 pins until it opens.

By far the most annoying one to pick (Aside from my GeGe front-door lock which atleast made me feel slightly safe for about 45 minutes) was the aforementioned ABUS N65/40, 3 pins gave me no feedback, and one gave me a false 10degree give and then proceeded to stop there until I reset the pins. Probably one of those spools. However I can now open it and all other tricky ones in less than 5 seconds every time when I know the pins, so that's non-rewarding. And I don't want to perfect my technique on my front door lock, some illusions of safety are best left unshattered.

Besides realising that padlocks are basically ornamental in nature to even the most undedicated thief, I don't know what else to learn from them. Where do I go from here?
Are they this easy, and should I feel any accomplishment for being able to open them instantly after a short while? I mean no lock is alike, and had I had another N65/40, would the same technique work on it after slight modifications to fit the new pin-order? I can't really afford to buy a ton of locks simply to pick them

What do I do? Does anyone have tips on locks to try and beat? Since I live in Sweden many American locks may be unavailable to me, but name the ones that stand out to you! I've still got to live through another 2 months of dull winter!

I should also thank you all on this forum, a lot of threads here have given me much useful information on picks and techniques!

PS: If you (someone as new as I am to this) are really interested in taking your lockpicking to another level and are unsure about which pick-set to buy, get the Klom one I bought, some of the picks in it should be considered cheating. I felt my view on security turned upside-down when I shoved one of the snakey ones in a new lock and it opened as soon as I touched the torsion wrench, as if it was a key I had put in it.

[spandexwarrior]

Since your're in Sweden, maybe try and find an ASSA 600 or 700, either of those would be a good challenge.

-Brian

[Achyfellow]

I feel as if I have run out of challenges.

One of the best thing about lockpicking (If not the best) is that you never run out of challenges. The learning curve may get more or less steep, but there is always something new to try. If raking does not feel like a challenge (I personally don't find raking things rewarding) you culd try single-pin picking the lock (Look around in the forum, there is plenty of info). You need more skill for that and you can get several more days of fun and practice if you try to SPP all the locks you have.

(Aside from my GeGe front-door lock which atleast made me feel slightly safe for about 45 minutes)

Already late, but try not to pick locks you rely on. If they breaks you will find yourself in a nasty situation.

However I can now open it and all other tricky ones in less than 5 seconds every time when I know the pins, so that's non-rewarding.

I'll give you a solution for that AND several more days of fun in one answer: Disassemble your locks (NOT the front door one. Leave that alone unless it's an emergency and you absolutely need to), repin them and give them a go again. You'll find that it feels like picking a completely different lock.

Besides realising that padlocks are basically ornamental in nature to even the most undedicated thief, I don't know what else to learn from them. Where do I go from here?

Are they this easy, and should I feel any accomplishment for being able to open them instantly after a short while?

Although padlocks are often less advanced than high security door cylinders, you can find some really cool and hard to pick stuff out there. I'm not a padlock person so I cant' really recommend you anything, but there are. They get pricey tho, you probably won't get any good one for less than ~$50

And well, I'm not going to tell you when to feel accomplished... That's something very personal. I agree that somethings you don't feel the challenge and feel no reward for doing something. Just pick something harder and set higher goals (Not high enough to get frustrated and drop everything)

As for the 'ornamental' part... I will never, ever get tired of linking this talk to people who tell me that 'bad guys will get in no matter what you do'. If you have some time check the other talks by Schuyler, he is totally awesome. If you ever feel 'meh' about locks and lockpicking, watch any of his talks and you'll want to grab any lock you have again.

What do I do? Does anyone have tips on locks to try and beat? Since I live in Sweden many American locks may be unavailable to me, but name the ones that stand out to you! I've still got to live through another 2 months of dull winter!

As spandex warrior has said, you could try Abloy. They are Finnish (Close enough!), so you may find them cheaper around there. They are pricey, but they are definitely a challenge. Just be careful not to choose an extremely difficult one!

PS: If you (someone as new as I am to this) are really interested in taking your lockpicking to another level and are unsure about which pick-set to buy, get the Klom one I bought, some of the picks in it should be considered cheating. I felt my view on security turned upside-down when I shoved one of the snakey ones in a new lock and it opened as soon as I touched the torsion wrench, as if it was a key I had put in it.

It happened the same to me when I bought the $6 set from dealextreme. I just couldn't believe almost everything people rely on every day to stay safe could be opened with a cheap piece of metal. Don't let it sink too much tho, there is a really thin line between security awareness and paranoia, and it can be really hard to notice on your own when you have crossed it

Hope it helped, keep picking and have fun!