Practice gear questions

[emt1581]

I need to find a few pieces of gear to further my skills. It might be common knowledge to some but there are a few items I'm having trouble either finding or naming...

1. One of those vises that looks like they weight 10 lbs. with the rubber jaws to hold on to a lock. Where can those be found? All I can find is the cheap table/counter clamp that doesn't look overly useful.

2. A cutaway or see through lock that can be repinned and comes with spools, serrated, etc. pins and maybe different tensioned springs. Now these I've seen but the cheapest I've found are $15 on ebay. Any cheaper?

3. Pin tray and lock gutting tools.

Side question...I already have a very nice otoscope... can these be used for anything when practicing? I've seen a version of them on different pick sites but I haven't tried using it with locks but I'd think you'd need a very tiny tip to get inside a key way. Thoughts?

Thanks

-Emt1581

[WestCoastPicks]

I need to find a few pieces of gear to further my skills. It might be common knowledge to some but there are a few items I'm having trouble either finding or naming...

1. One of those vises that looks like they weight 10 lbs. with the rubber jaws to hold on to a lock. Where can those be found? All I can find is the cheap table/counter clamp that doesn't look overly useful.

2. A cutaway or see through lock that can be repinned and comes with spools, serrated, etc. pins and maybe different tensioned springs. Now these I've seen but the cheapest I've found are $15 on ebay. Any cheaper?

3. Pin tray and lock gutting tools.

Side question...I already have a very nice otoscope... can these be used for anything when practicing? I've seen a version of them on different pick sites but I haven't tried using it with locks but I'd think you'd need a very tiny tip to get inside a key way. Thoughts?

Thanks

-Emt1581

1. They are called a vice, or a table vice. They come in different shapes and sizes. Might take a bit to find a good one.

2. See through locks will not help you gain skill. You need the opposite for that, locks aren't normally clear
But as a rule: A good lock is not cheap, a cheap lock is not good.

3. Pinning tray can be made, or you can use cardboard, or even a folded piece of paper. Lock gutting tools? Screwdriver? Fingers?
For normal cores, I don't even use plug followers. I use the plug.

If you want to buy any of this stuff, google will point you in the right direction. But keep in mind, cheap stuff is usually not any good.

[jimu57]

I have a Panavise. There are others that are cheaper. Search for hobby vises.

Clear locks and cutaways are not good for practicing picking. They do not respond like "real" locks.

Tweezers, followers can be made from dowel rod, large ink pens. I buy inexpensive picks from Peterson and make tension wrenches from metal strips out of discarded windshield wipers. You can tear the top layer off of corrugated cardboard and used the exposed corrugations as a pinning tray.

[jbrint]

This is a great vise and dirt cheap if you have a store nearby or can accept a package.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-3-4-quar ... -3311.html

I made a pinning tray out of oven clay and works pretty good. When I do break it I have plenty of it available so I can make another one.

I use a piece of copper tubing, dowel rod or rubber hose as a follower, I have it laying around and havent had any pressing need to do anything different.

I have bought practice locks from this guy:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Locksmith-Pract ... Sw9N1V1-4z

and I think this guy:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Build-A-Lock-Co ... SwUuFW11nm

[Devhad]

I got my vice from Harbor freight for about $14. It has a vacuum seal bottom and rubber jaws.

I would agree with the others as far as clear locks. Those don't actually have the same feel as real locks made of metal. They are really only good for explaining what is happening when you insert a key in a lock. I bought a 7pin lock from learnlockpicking and it seems to be of great quality and came with spool and serrated pins and and Allen wrench to change the pins. It was around $50 but I think it's worth it.

[Mudman]

I've been using a super old vise. It's all beat up and rusty, I just cleaned it up a little and mounted it to a small piece of plywood.

I just ordered a Panavise 350 though, had my eye on one before I got into picking, but wanting a more comfortable holding angle made me finally pull the trigger. One the expensive side (hence why it took me a while to finally order one) but very well made and has a nice base.

The HF one people have linked looks good, just make sure you have a place to actually put that vacuum base to use.

For practice locks I have 3 Sparrow Acrylic locks on the way, not the cheapest but looked good to me. I also have a Supermax practice lock from Mr.Wizard on here, and I love it! Cost a lot more, but more than worth it to me. You get tons of pins, extra set screws, etc. and it's all U.S. made.

[emt1581]

Those saying cutaways aren't needed...seems to contradict what Bosnian Bill said in one of his recent vids. He said the cutaways are very helpful especially when learning spools and serrated pins.

Is there a place I can order just a few of each pin?

Thanks

-Emt1581

[kwoswalt99-]

Those saying cutaways aren't needed...seems to contradict what Bosnian Bill said in one of his recent vids. He said the cutaways are very helpful especially when learning spools and serrated pins.
-Emt1581

It's true, they aren't needed. I've never used one before. It might make you a better picker, it's very unlikely that it will make you a worse picker, so go for it. But, Bosnianbill is not the be all end all when it comes to lockpicking.

[emt1581]

Those saying cutaways aren't needed...seems to contradict what Bosnian Bill said in one of his recent vids. He said the cutaways are very helpful especially when learning spools and serrated pins.
-Emt1581

It's true, they aren't needed. I've never used one before. It might make you a better picker, it's very unlikely that it will make you a worse picker, so go for it. But, Bosnianbill is not the be all end all when it comes to lockpicking.

Fair enough. But his vids and skills are sure entertaining. I'd love to know how he makes all his intros!

In any case, just bought my first practice lock. It's a Schlage 6 pin and the seller is throwing in serrated and spool pins for free....$17 shipped...so I'm happy. It'll give me something new to play with.

-Emt1581

[wheremylocksat]

I quite like this vice: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00011QA0M

[Aahicnow]

Have you checked out the new sparrows Night school sets , nice sets for reasonable price especially if your in the US.

[Joshua904]

https://www.wish.com/m?app_deep_link=d2 ... ice%20lock

You get what you pay for, expect shipping to be anywhere from fast to "oh I forgot I ordered this 2 months ago"


Also I like panavise since its modular, but yes it cost more.