Miwa lock with upper bar

[inJapan]

I live in japan. I pick locks as a hobby. Bike locks are plentiful here. bike police come around once a week and im always finding high end bike locks lying around. Anyway, im no professional, but i know my way around your basic locks. tumbler, wafer, pins and dimples. Thiught id give my front door a try. no way. i had been trying and trying and trying with no luck. finally took the thing apart. it has a locking bar thing on the top. wafer style lock. but the wafers dont connect with the housing of the lock. once the key is inserted, an opening is formed for the locking bar to fall into from pressure oc turning the key. there are all sorts of security grooves and bumps on each wafer. what do you call it? false somethings. anyway. i gave up on it. i moved to a new house. dont worry, it had nothing to do with the lock. anyway, the new place has the same lock. anyone got any advice on pcking the thing? i took a few pics and even a short clip of the lock. not sure how to upload the pics yet. once i figure it out, ill sgare them too. pkease help.

[inJapan]

i have found this site which has pics of the same lock im referring to...https://mylockpickingworld.com/2011/03/31/miwa-lock/

[kwoswalt99-]

That's a Miwa U9. The bar you're referring to is called a sidebar. What is your skill level when it comes to lockpicking? These are not easy locks.

[Mighty]

Do the 'bike police' just cut the locks and leave them there?

[MBI]

I wouldn't recommend picking your front door lock since picking can break the lock.
Picking a lock you rely on for security goes against locksport ethics, for that reason.

[Mighty]

I wouldn't recommend picking your front door lock since picking can break the lock.
Picking a lock you rely on for security goes against locksport ethics, for that reason.

It also sounds like you are renting the place? I definitely wouldn't recommend picking a lock on a rental, for obvious legal reasons, and because your landlord might kill you for messing up his lock if, as MBI says, you accidentally break the lock or leave a piece of your pick in there. I'm making assumptions of course...

[inJapan]

3 points.
#1: as for my skill level. i do not know how to rank myself. been picking locks for about 4 years now. never found an unpickable lock. That is, besides my front door lock.

#2: regarding ownership and rental and locks in Japan. Moving in Japan is a VERY expencive recipe. When one wants to rent a place there are tons of extra costs. Fire, maintenance, key, insurance, donation, contract, agency... one ends up paying at least 5 times the actual rental fees for the first month. You may have noticed I said donation. yes, on top of all the costs, they actually ask for an amount and refer to it as a donation. when you move out, you dont get any of it back, including the deposit, no matter the condition of the place. anyway, im rambling. the key money is what i wanted to mention. yes, a fee is paid for a new lock when one moves in. I would say that is about 95% the norm in Japan.

I get the ethics of not picking a lock we rely on.

#3: The bicycle police just cut the lock. That is, if its connecting the bike to a secure place. if the lock just locks up the wheels, then of course theres no need to cut the lock. lol, the bike police are pretty good at what they do, after cutting the lock, they lable it, note it and the bike. then at the bike impound lot, when one wants to reclaim their bike, you receive your bike and cut lock.
oh the horror. that is where my hobby started. now just where do you think those poor locks end up? now, when i go out to buy milk, 9 times out of ten, i pick myself up a new lock to play with on the way. a lot of the time its just another 1 dollar lock, ive stopped taking those years ago. now im on the lookout for that diamond in the rough.

and that is where the extent of my lock picking skills/history ends. well, thats the short version anyway. making picks for new locks is just as much fun as picking them.

let me just add. this is all fiction. none of it is true. owning a lock pick set in japan is illegal if youre not a licensed lock pick. im not, so, ive never owned or made anything of the sort. just thought i needed to add that in for any legal repercussions. getting licensed in japan would need the ability to read and write in japanese i guess. i have a basic conversational level, but nowhere near good enough to get any sort of licensing. but, to be honest, that is just a guess, ive never done much research on the topic.

as far as picking goes, is it possible? can it be picked? im not in the habit of picking my front door lock, thats why ive come here. im sure that if i had to spend a few hours on the thing i could figure it out for myself.

p.s sorry for any incorrect terms i may have used. side bar. thats it. though its situated on the top. lol. thought it was a top bar. sorry (*_*)

[MBI]

as far as picking goes, is it possible? can it be picked? im not in the habit of picking my front door lock, thats why ive come here. im sure that if i had to spend a few hours on the thing i could figure it out for myself.

p.s sorry for any incorrect terms i may have used. side bar. thats it. though its situated on the top. lol. thought it was a top bar. sorry (*_*)

Yes, they are pickable. As you've discovered, "sidebar" can be a bit of a misnomer because it's not always located on the side. It's just become the accepted generic term for it, regardless of whether it lies at 3 o'clock, 12 'o'clock, or somewhere else around the circumference.

How hard are they to pick? It's subjective. Since I haven't had one to play with I can't give you any direct, personal feedback. I haven't known many pickers who have picked one, but I don't know if that's a measure of difficulty or scarcity. Since that model of lock isn't very common in the Western world I doubt many pickers here have had the chance to try one. But I know a few have, and have picked them.

Generally locks with sidebars are considered high-security locks on this forum, and as such, the specifics of how to pick them are restricted to the advanced forums.
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=56358

However, I don't want to leave you hanging, so I'll at least give you this piece of advice in picking them. I mean, advice aside from NOT picking locks you rely on for security. One of the best lockpickers I know is a guy who goes by farmerfreak. He's picked some very tricky locks, some of them considered by many to be unpickable. He's often asked how he does it. The reply I've heard him give is something along these lines:
1) Apply tension and insert pick.
2) Start probing the internal parts until you find the binding element.
3) Move the binding element until it sets.
4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 until it opens.

It might sound trite, but that's actually very sound advice for any lockpicker who runs into a lock that stumps them. Also, he says to simply have a firm belief that whatever lock you're working on, IS pickable. He told me that he didn't move beyond being just an average picker until he really truly believed that and approached each lock he picked with that belief.

Welcome to the forum, and if you want additional, specific advice on how to pick that specific model of lock, please stick around and participate on the forum until you're eligible to join the advanced forums.

[inJapan]

it is possible. i was thinking about the mechanics and it must be possible. i decided to buy myself a lock for practicing purposes. up until now i had gotten my locks for free. this will be my first purchase. and you are right. its a Miwa U9.

now that im looking for one to buy, i have found a few codings that id like to knkw the meaning of.
Miwa U9LSP
Miwa U9LZ2
Miwa U9LA MA
Miwa U9BH
Miwa U9LD

just by looking at the product picture, they all look identical from the outside.
anyone have any idea on the meanings?

[inJapan]

It has finally arrived. My wife informed me she received it in the post. On my way home with a huge smile on my face. Got my Miwa U9 today. Ill send pics when i get home. sooooo excited.

[Joshua904]

it is possible. i was thinking about the mechanics and it must be possible. i decided to buy myself a lock for practicing purposes. up until now i had gotten my locks for free. this will be my first purchase. and you are right. its a Miwa U9.

now that im looking for one to buy, i have found a few codings that id like to knkw the meaning of.
Miwa U9LSP
Miwa U9LZ2
Miwa U9LA MA
Miwa U9BH
Miwa U9LD

just by looking at the product picture, they all look identical from the outside.
anyone have any idea on the meanings?

Found this on an alibaba posting for the lock

[Squelchtone]

Miwa U9 https://imgur.com/gallery/xsVuD

[Squelchtone]

heads up InJapan, when you upload to imgur.com you don't have to "Share with the Community", if you do it uploads the photos to the User Submitted area and millions of people see the photos and will make comments on the photos and vote up and down if they like or hate them.

You want to click the grey colored "Share this image", and copy Direct Link which looks like this example:
http://i.imgur.com/BU6uORd.jpg