deolslyfox wrote:American 140s have one security pin in position three. Generally a spool. 150s up the ante to three security pins if memory serves ....
The little aluminum bodied 1105s are a fun pick. They have a mixture of spools and serrated. I just finished off a lot of 5 that I got from ebay. Four were "normal" to pick and one was a real little bear ....
The 5100 / 5200s are my favorites. The quality of the lock is good and there are always enough security pins to keep you on your toes ....
The "boat anchor" 700 runs hot and cold for me. A few months ago I had a couple that were hardly worth the effort. Then I got one that I worked with off and on for a weekbefore I cracked it ....
Working with serrated pins is "a whole 'nother smoke" .... The key is "light tension" and "light pick pressure". When first starting with serrated pins the biggest mistake I find folks making is over-setting. There's often little, if any counter-rotation like there is with a spool. Its more like a "crunch" followed by a "click" which may be a set or a false set.
To beat the serrated pins and to hone your tension / pressure skills, set each serrated pin "one click at a time". This means that you may have to come down the stack 3 - 4 times just to finally set one serrated pin, but you'll learn the skills necessary to deal with them. This is also a good way to help you deal with "spool-rated" (serrated spool) pins. These will give you a couple of clicks or a bit of crunch and the next time you touch it you'll get a good false set just like a regular spool.
The above technique will "slow you down" for a time, but as you develop the "touch" for security pins, you will eventually be able to look at them as easier to pick than the normal pins because of the "feedback" (crunch, click, counter-rotation) provided by the security pins.
Hope this is helpful.
I agree with deolslyfox, if I know im dealing with serrated, I get a single click from any and all pins that will bind. Then I work my way back through them again, trying to get 1 more click. As I work through additional pins bind and eventually I will get a false set (as long as there are spools).
From there (atleast for me) its all easy street. I just go through and check each stack for counter rotation to find the spools. I like spools best for exactly this reason, they talk to you. Push on one and it says, "here I am!".
If at some point you feel that you may have just overset a pin, try to get it to drop back down. Release tension very slowly until just one pin has dropped. Feel around with you pick, if you dropped the one you wanted to great! If not continue releasing tension until the pin that youve overset has fallen. Sometimes
There have been quite a few times where the only thing holding me back was one overset pin. After I release enough tension for a single pin to drop the plug rotates and the lock is open. If Im having trouble with a lock I find it can be more helpful to drop one or two pins then resetting the lock and starting over.
Ive added a lot of skill by picking my variety of American locks. Another even cheaper type of lock I use to practice with are the Master brand lockout locks. The ones with the brightly colored plastic bodies. I picked up a case of 6 of them on ebay for $12. They are all keyed differently (big plus), have 5 pins, and are filled with security pins.
I took a knife and ran around the edge of one of them a few times at the seam. I was then able to pry it open and access the cylinder. Now i can repin this lock anyway I want and even remove pin stacks to make it easier. After its repinned I just wrap a large rubber band around it to keep it together while I pick it.
