having a hard time with a serrated american

[south town ninja]

So I started messin with serrated drivers lately and it was going fine. one pin, two pin, three pin, at four pins it became too difficult to pick. don't have a key blank so i cannot shim it either. Honestly , i think it's just a matter of patience, and i'm just wanting internet gratification and an easy open, which isn't gonna happen. I know i need to take the time to analyze and not just lift pins and see what happens, so I'm gonna put it up for a week and work on other locks until i feel my interest rekindled and am willing to have the patience and take the time to pick it right. does this sound like a decent strategy to you guys?

[Syl]

For sure. I'm a beginner and I'm not close to attempting an American yet. But, I think it's like any puzzle or problem to be solved. Sometimes you just need to give your brain a break and distract it with other problems for a while. I often find that doing this helps and I do think I've even had it happen in the short time I've been attempting to pick locks.

Practicing on easier locks daily is another piece of advise I often run across on these forums. I think many of the more advanced pickers have a few easier locks that they use to stay confident and keep their skills sharp.

[GWiens2001]

Sounds like the best strategy.

Gordon

[Comrade627]

4th pin is what got me when I was learning serrated pins. If you wanna shelf it, that's fine. We've all done it.

Also, alternate between clockwise and counterclockwise with American locks.

Don't sweat it, I was in your shoes and now I'm SPPing locks full of the serrated spool pins and mushrooms : )

[teamstarlet]

I would also recommend starting with a lock that has only serrated driver pins. Some of the American's have both serrated driver and key pins which makes it a great deal harder.

Like others have suggested, if you don't feel like you're getting anywhere with it, pick up another lock and try that. You can come back to this one later

Also, if you want to shim it you don't necessarily need a key blank - You can just use your pick and raise each pin one by one as you insert the shim.

[KPick]

Yes, that is a good strategy due to the difficulty of learning how to pick serrated pins. Serrated pins can be a pain inside American locks because at first, they tend to give off mixed feedback.

I once was so angry at picking a American lock open while learning how to pick serrated pins, I threw it against my bed and stormed out of my room cursing lockpicking and it's "patience" requirement.. Looking back at it, I laugh because I was such a novice at it. -_-

[south town ninja]

thanks for the input all! so, i couldn't stay away. i put in a bottom tensioner, just because it was handy, tried a deforest on it and it came right open. shoulda known that was the answer. i've been picking exclusively with a short hook and the bitting (biting??) wouldn't allow me to set the back pins without oversetting the front pin. Now i wanna buy a bunch of new picks (just in case the answer lies in having MORE picks during some future picking debacle). Again, thanks again all. everyone on this site is so helpful, all for the cost of nothing.

[BSG_314159]

thanks for the input all! so, i couldn't stay away. i put in a bottom tensioner, just because it was handy, tried a deforest on it and it came right open. shoulda known that was the answer. i've been picking exclusively with a short hook and the bitting (biting??) wouldn't allow me to set the back pins without oversetting the front pin. Now i wanna buy a bunch of new picks (just in case the answer lies in having MORE picks during some future picking debacle). Again, thanks again all. everyone on this site is so helpful, all for the cost of nothing.

I use 2 picks and a tension wrench made by peterson.
This allows me to open any 5200 lock I come across.

Peterson Slender GemPR-SG-1$8.00
Slender Peterson Reach Pick SPR-1$8.00
And for tension peterson prybar.
I use the .050 the. Sand it down to 0.045... makes it so it's a completely snug fit in the American keyway. Or you can order the lite .040 but it's pretty loose.. if you are trying to set that first pin the pick may push the tension wrench out of the keyway

[KPick]

Again, thanks again all. everyone on this site is so helpful, all for the cost of nothing.

You're welcome. Coming onto lockpicking 101 is one of those things that acquaintances us with others who are just as mechanically inclined as us.

[south town ninja]

oh I'm not mechanically inclined, but the desire to be able to pick locks has driven me to become a lil more mechanically savvy. I do have pretty good visual spacial intelligence, I'm a whiz at chess, but i can barely change a bike tire.

[deolslyfox]

American locks are my favorite. Serrated pins call for light tension. You are on the right track. I thinned out a couple of Peterson shafts to prevent oversetting. That was a tip from bosnianbill.

Petersons DCAP hooks are good too but thinning saves some $$.

Peterson was clearing out some hooks a few weeks ago. You might check to see if the sale is still on. If so, get a couple on sale and thin those down.

[south town ninja]

yeah, i'm killing it now. lots of practice on a three pin , up to four pin, back down to three, back up to four, up five, etc,etc. almost able to pick a 6 pin with three serrated and three spooled

[south town ninja]

ok. I am able to reliably pick it with six pins, three spooled three serrated. My peterson picks came in the mail today and it has taken me up notch to have them in my kit. now I don't know what to pick.

[Comrade627]

ok. I am able to reliably pick it with six pins, three spooled three serrated. My peterson picks came in the mail today and it has taken me up notch to have them in my kit. now I don't know what to pick.

pop it apart and change up the bitting. Make it so it's easy to overset a pin or two.

[cuttinedge1]

When I was learning to pick American Locks my first problem was applying too much tension. After a week or two I got the light tension right. For a month I tried to pick it and all the pins would seem to set but the plug would not turn. Eventually I got mad because I was sure I had it picked so I applied a ton of tension and the lock popped right open. It turns out American Locks have a pretty strong counter spring and I had probably had it pick for a week or two I just hadn't turned it hard enough afterward. I guess patience isn't always a virtue