What did you pick today?

by **Onz** » 28 Feb 2014 23:11

teamstarlet wrote:Received my Box 'o' Locks from zeke79 yesterday. Worked through about 8 of them so far.

Wanted to have a crack at making my own tension wrench, so I dropped by AutoZone on the way home last night and grabbed a stack of wipers out of the bin outside. Worked out great.

I'm finding that I'm not yet able to pick a 6-pin constantly, even with out any security pins ...Guess I'll just keep practicing!

Man awesome job Teamstarlet! Keep it up.

by **l0ckcr4ck3r** » 1 Mar 2014 12:38

@Divinorum & Teamstarlet.... Great work guys!!!

by **teamstarlet** » 3 Mar 2014 9:16

Thanks guys

Finally got the American 5200 (June '91) on Saturday. Super happy about this one.

by **teamstarlet** » 3 Mar 2014 9:25

I picked this ABUS 34/55 beast up on eBay a few weeks back. Apparently they were intended for a contract for the NYC Housing Authority which fell through. BosnialBill actually did a video on this.

Truth be told, the bark on this ABUS was worse than its bite, but was still a good pick. The keyway was probably the worst bit...

So now that I've pretty much picked through most of the locks I've got, does anyone have any good recommendations for what to pick next?

by **phrygianradar** » 3 Mar 2014 10:15

teamstarlet wrote:Thanks guys

Finally got the American 5200 (June '91) on Saturday. Super happy about this one.

I bought a couple of those off eBay about nine months ago or so; they are a good lock for ten bucks each, but not all that challenging to pick. I replaced the cores with American lock cores and filled them with spools and serrated/ spoorated drivers and whatnot... Good job with them though! ABUS locks can be quite nasty for beginners, but it looks like you are pulling out of that catergory! When I needed to challenge myself I got into the world of SFIC locks. Also I picked up a Medeco mortice and started building up the pin stacks in that. I also really enjoy picking Mul-T lock interactive locks. I am not able to pick them open every single time, but I get enough success that it doesn't leave me feeling irritated. The Kaba Gemini was a quite a challenge, but I think it is doable for anyone who puts thier mind to it and has the patience and a bit of skill at picking. Maybe pick up a six or seven pin SFIC core and pick at that. Those can be a real nightmare to pick to the control shear line.

Those are just a few ideas and really just a snap shot of what I did when I found myself in your possition. Nowdays I still like picking American locks and Abus, Master... anything that I know I can pick is still fun. When I want a challenge, the Medeco family is what I am currently having a go at.

Really good job, I have been watching your progress! I am happy for you and totally understand where you are right now with you picking skills. Almost like being between two worlds... I am still in that zone, as I have yet to really get comfortable picking Medeco and Mul-T locks; but that is just my dream! Perhaps one day...

by **teamstarlet** » 3 Mar 2014 23:58

Thanks phrygianradar!

Following on from your advice I decided to revisit some of the SFIC's that I've got. I've managed to pick this Arrow SFIC to operation several times but never to control, and never to the point where I feel like I 'know' the lock...

...so I decided to try my hand at making a SFIC tension wrench similar to the Gerry Finch/Peterson ones to see if I could crack it.

The wrench obviously worked cause tonight I got her

by **mechanical_nightmare** » 4 Mar 2014 2:36

Nice work on the SFIC! I've never even seen one in use around here, so I haven't been able to try picking them.

This Kale Kilit cylinder had been bothering me for quite some time. Normally I can pick their 5 pin and 6 pin standard and dimple cylinders (except the double bitted ones) but this one was giving me a headache until last night:

It has 5 spools, a narrow, snaky keyway and fine tolerances. The bitting is also tricky, the number 3 and 4 pins are very short.

by **phrygianradar** » 4 Mar 2014 8:36

teamstarlet wrote:Thanks phrygianradar!

Following on from your advice I decided to revisit some of the SFIC's that I've got. I've managed to pick this Arrow SFIC to operation several times but never to control, and never to the point where I feel like I 'know' the lock...

...so I decided to try my hand at making a SFIC tension wrench similar to the Gerry Finch/Peterson ones to see if I could crack it.

The wrench obviously worked cause tonight I got her

Really well done job! Your tension wrench looks nice, and it obviously works! That is really cool, good job.

by **cuttinedge1** » 5 Mar 2014 22:22

American 5560 which is very fun to pick and a little challenge

by **C locked** » 6 Mar 2014 3:14

Today. A lockwood 201 5pin rim cylinder with spool pins. 2min Picked it with rake. 30min Picked it spp. Then pulled it apart. 35281. What a ...bastar...lock.

by **1mrchristopher** » 7 Mar 2014 13:01

Today and yesterday, and the day before a KW1 keyed cylinder I took from a Brinks deadbolt my brother was throwing away. I'd rearranged the bottom pins a dozen times or more, and today decided to take a look at the top pins. There were one and a half spool pins in it! O_o (I say 1 1/2 because one of them was machined poorly) I had not anticipated seeing spool pins in a little cheap cylinder, let alone picking against any yet. I have a couple HPC pick sets and a Southord set, which I am using right now with the stiffest tension wrench in the case. I figure that forces me to be very very light with my touch. I really prefer the HPC picks, and think they are easier to use, but because the Southord are less responsive and force me to pay much closer attention, that's what I'm working with right now. I'm very new to picking, and the few old Corbin mortise cylinders and even older Russwin cylinder (balls at the bottom of each stack) I had been picking at were giving me fits. I think it's time to go back and work on them some more. Feeling pretty ok about my progress. Need to see if I can find a Schlage cylinder laying around too.

by **daniel22747** » 8 Mar 2014 7:08

So I have a schlage deadbolt that I think has 5 spool pins in it. Never opened it up so I am not sure. Normally I single pin pick this guy but today I got out my King and Queen key aprox picks and to my suprise the king pick got it open!

:mrgreen:

by **Divinorum** » 8 Mar 2014 15:24

Master Pro Sport with a bunch of spools and some Yale mortise cylinders. All from Zeke79

by **fgarci03** » 10 Mar 2014 7:29

Picked this LockWood V7 I got from Gordon today:

by **GWiens2001** » 10 Mar 2014 7:51

Nice! Fun little lock.

Gordon

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