First locks. Are these ok?

[hortstu]

I just got my pick in the mail and these are locks I have laying around. The first is a master says No5 on the bottom and commercial on the top grey band. Bottom grey band says master.

The second is smaller, brass colored body covered with blue rubber/plastic sleeve.... Shallow broad v at the top exposing some brass... no numbers on it. Says China on the bottom and has a little pin hole between China and the key way... shake is chrome and says hardened.

I've only opened the second one twice in a few hours of attempts but obviously got lucky since I'm not releasing yet. No luck with the larger. Still getting a feel for what's going on inside.

Thanks for any help.

[doublez]

Master #5 was my first lock, it shouldn't be too hard. You might want to try raking it, that's how I got it open the first time.

Another good starting lock is a kwikset door lock. Take out the cylinder, and remove all but 2 pins, then slowly put the pins back as you get a feel for the lock.

-doublez

[hortstu]

From my experience in other forums I know the experienced people might be irritated by a question such as this so I want to assure you I did search before posting I've read quite a bit over the last week and I'm just trying to make sure the locks I'm attempting to pick are suitable for a total newb.

If anyone thinks I posted this in the wrong forum please ask a mod to move it or let me know and I'll ask.

Thanks.

[hortstu]

Thanks doublez,

That.ca the document I needed. I think, since I'm nit quote sensitive enough to know exactly what's going on, that the only 2 successes I've had, with the blue lock, have been a sitter of raking.

I really feel like I'm setting all the pins in these locks when I spp but I think my problem is over over setting. I haven't gotten comfortable with the limited amount of space I'm working with yet.

[hortstu]

Wow Swype really butchered my post and there's no edit feature.

"That.ca the document I needed. I think, since I'm nit quote sensitive enough to know exactly what's going on"

Should be

That's the encouragement I needed. I think, since I'm not quite sensitive enough to know what's going on...

[doublez]

http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10677 can help for getting an idea of what things feel like inside the lock. Depending of the lock you have, getting one with a larger/wider keyway might help give you more room to work with.

Other than that, practice, practice and more practice!

[buddykiller]

you might be using too much or too little tension, it's a mistake that all of us noobs make and takes a long time to get right. check out this video from bosnianbill, he does a great job explaining things imo. he's got some other great videos geared toward beginners as well, just check his channel out. i also found this video and the videos in this playlist to be quite helpful as well.

good luck and don't give up! once you start opening locks up you'll wonder how you where every not able to do it... that is until you pick up a more difficult lock then the fun begins again

[hortstu]

Thanks for the link doublez. I've been reading a lot, less since I got my pick and tension wrench, but at this point it's tough to know exactly what I should be reading with so much info out there. Still sorting it all out in my head. I popped the commercial master no5 twice in ten minutes last night but haven't been able to do it since.

Buddy,
I know that tension is definitely a big party of my problem. The sweet spot seems to be very tiny at this point. I think I'm over setting pins while I try to push up the back pins too... which all comes back to tension. Sometimes I clearly find the binding pin but I need to back off to get any movement and then I lose the previously set pin or over set another. Thanks for the videos links and encouragement.

[doublez]

For the #5, you need very little tension to pick it, but a lot of tension to unlock it (actually rotate the plug and release the shackle). That makes it hard to pick sometimes.

[hortstu]

I watched the first video suggested by buddy abs really started cranking down. I no longer really had an issue funding the binding order. I'm pretty sure it's 1324 or 3124. I'm not sure if I'm setting 1 when I reach under for 3 or not.

Anyway since I've watched the video I've opened this lick more times than I can count. It really made the difference. My time isn't consistent yet. I can work on it for 30 seconds or 10 minutes. I'm fairly certain that I'm over setting still and have to start over a lot but I'm feeling much better now and starting to think about other locks. Thanks for all the help!

[buddykiller]

I watched the first video suggested by buddy abs really started cranking down. I no longer really had an issue funding the binding order. I'm pretty sure it's 1324 or 3124. I'm not sure if I'm setting 1 when I reach under for 3 or not.

Anyway since I've watched the video I've opened this lick more times than I can count. It really made the difference. My time isn't consistent yet. I can work on it for 30 seconds or 10 minutes. I'm fairly certain that I'm over setting still and have to start over a lot but I'm feeling much better now and starting to think about other locks. Thanks for all the help!

np, sounds like you're well on your way

con talks by schuyler towne and deviant ollam got me into picking, but bill's videos have made all the difference in actually learning to pick. you can't always crank down on the tension, some locks require a light touch, but when you're just starting out (esp on locks like masters) it helps to teach you what to feel for. as you progress you'll be able to use as little tension as possible. i still have trouble with tension from time to time esp when setting spools, if you've got too much tension on the cylinder when setting those bad boys you over set them very easily.

when i first started picking i watched hours and hours of videos of people picking different locks trying to learn what i could from paying attention to what they where doing with their tension wrenches and picks. bill just seems to do a better job of explaining what's going on in the lock and what he's feeling then anybody else i've seen on youtube imo.

[hortstu]

So I had this lock down, the master commercial no5... now I can't get it. I think I might have screwed up the springs? Is that possible? The key works but I'm not able to feel anything today.

[KPick]

No I doubt you screwed up the springs in any way. The key to opening any lock at the beginner/intermediate/difficult levels is practice. This is a concept you will understand with even more practice.

You just have to develop a feel for the pins. Also, learn to hear clicks and make sure the tension wrench isn't getting stuck on one of the rivots on the bottom of the lock. -_- believe me when I say it happens.

[buddykiller]

No I doubt you screwed up the springs in any way. The key to opening any lock at the beginner/intermediate/difficult levels is practice. This is a concept you will understand with even more practice.

You just have to develop a feel for the pins. Also, learn to hear clicks and make sure the tension wrench isn't getting stuck on one of the rivots on the bottom of the lock. -_- believe me when I say it happens.

omg i can't agree with this enough!!

hortstu, i agree with kpick, if you screwed up the springs in such a manor as to entirely prevent you from picking it i doubt the key would work. i've found that the best thing to do in that situation is to set it down and pick up a different lock. it's really easy to psyche yourself out and your going to have some days where you just don't have it. you'll get it again, don't worry.

[hortstu]

Thanks,

I had this lock down fir mist of a day. I was opening it multiple times in s minute. I thought I was sure I'd the picking order. Then I couldn't get it to save my life. Note I'm getting it again but not like I was. I'm going to try an unsolved lick for today and come back tomorrow.

Thanks for the experienced advice.