New to lockpicking, having issues, looking for some help :)

[Axis71]

Good evening!

I'm new to the entire realm of lock picking. For my birthday, a friend bought me a little Southord set and a booklet on the sport. However, the little booklet wasn't all too clear.

I have a few questions. To preface, my practice lock is a little 5 dollar mini padlock for YMCA gym lockers with only 4 pins in it.

1) Often times I can't get a few pins to set. I understand that the order in which you push them isn't linear. I can get maybe two or three to set (and when i let go of the tension wrench i can hear them click back into place), but I often times can't get the last one or two to set. Why could this be?

2) My tension wrench pressure is an issue. I've heard that the amount of pressure you should be using should rival that of brushing an eyelash off of your face. However, when I use that little I can't get any pins to set inside. As I gradually increase, the tension wrench often times gets to a point where it'll only allow a few to set, and a few wont go up. How do I get better at adjusting my pressure during picking?

Thank you very much!
~Axis.

[buddykiller]

welcome to the forums

for my advice on tension check out my first post in this thread.

to me it sounds like you're oversetting some pins. when you get to that point let up on the tension just a little bit. sometimes by doing this you can drop the overset pins without losing some or all of the pins you've already set. listen to the click made when you do this and pay attention to the way it feels on your pick as to me dropping an overset pin feels and sounds different than dropping a set pin. an overset pin will give you strong feedback on your pick and will make a lower pitched clicking sound where as just dropping a set pin gives you a small amount of feedback on your pick and make a higher pitched almost tinging sound.

you might even be using the wrong pick for the lock, try a different tool. just don't get discouraged, keep practicing, and you'll get it eventually.

[asgardschosen]

If you're still encountering issues, I would recommend checking out a book or 2 on picking. The guide formally known as the MIT Lockpicking guide is great, as is Deviant Ollams "Practical Lockpicking".

For your problem though, I suggest trying to vary the amount of pressure you put on your tension tool. Oversetting the pins can be solved by letting go SOME of the pressure, waiting for a click, and then putting pressure back on. But I found that certain pins in the locks I was using to practice would only set when I was putting a lot more pressure on the tension tool than I had read was necessary.

Good luck!

[kmh6k]

there is a video on you tube that is titled solomans speed bump method here is a link.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh7o0Y3yUhw



hope it helps

[Phantom1016]

I can only give you the advice that helped me out the most, which is to really pay attention to the feedback you get from your tension tool. You should be able to feel the movement when a pin sets, so if you're going smoothly and slowly enough, without WAY too much tension, you'll notice that you over-set pins less and less as you are more attentive to the small movement of the tension pin setting.

Also, be willing to stay with lower tension for longer. If you have a lock that you increase tension every few tries and you're still oversetting it, there's no problem in playing with that light tension for a minute or two. It's frustrating because it feels like you're not accomplishing anything but 1) it's good practice and 2) feeling comfortable with light tension is very valuable, at least to me.

[nwhite2014]

Hi, My name is Nathan and I'm looking to get into lock bumping. I've bought a blank Best WB key and was wondering how many cuts I would have to make in order for it to function properly as a bump key. Can anyone help? Thanks

[asgardschosen]

nwhite,

you'll need the right brand of key to bump each lock. IE: A schlage lock can only be bumped by a key that will fit into that lock. So if the key you chose WILL fit the lock you want to bump, you'll need to get depth and spacing information. I did a quick google search for the BEST WB key, and it seems that it can fit a variety of locks. This includes 5pin, 6pin, and 7pin locks. This means you'll probably want to make a 5pin bump key, a 6pin bump key, and a 7pin bump key (unless you already know the exact number of pins of the lock in question).

1)The next step should be identifying the exact lock you want to bump (Brand & model)
2)Determining the number of pins in the lock (you can do this by looking at a key made for that lock and counting the cuts, or maybe find through google)
3)Finding an accurate depth and spacing guide for your lock

TLDR version:
depends on the lock, for that type of key, it might be 5, 6, or 7 cuts

[Robotnik]

Hi, My name is Nathan and I'm looking to get into lock bumping. I've bought a blank Best WB key and was wondering how many cuts I would have to make in order for it to function properly as a bump key. Can anyone help? Thanks

Best tolerances tend to be quite tight, so if you're looking to hand-file the key...don't. Use a punch. A bump key with seven cuts should do you for 5, 6 and 7 pin locks...but again, depth and spacing accuracy is critical. Additionally, these are tip-stopped keys, so that you know.

If you're just getting into lock bumping, try a Kwikset or equivalent. Looser tolerances, easier keys to hand-cut. There's a section of the forum on bumping, and if I'm not mistaken, there's a specific thread about Best bump keys. May be worth a read before proceeding.

[asgardschosen]

oh that's a good point. a 7 cut bump key can just be pulled out a little bit further as long as the spacing is consistent.