Upsidedown door knob lock

[TheDave5150]

Is there any specific trick to picking standard door locks that are mounted upside down, with pins on the bottom? I know this is how they are typically mounted in Europe, but being from the states, I find them to be a bit tricky. (And yes I do pick/attempt to pick, them with hook facing pins )

[billdeserthills]

Two things for you, I just held my pick gun upside for many years now which does often work, however I went ahead
and bought an 'upside down' pick gun recently from banggood. I haven't actually had a need for it yet, but it does appear
to be well made & of course it was also super cheap

[kwoswalt99-]

Take them off the door and put them right side up in your vise.

[TheDave5150]

Don't have a vice (using a door with lock installed that won't inconvenience me if it gets mucked up), or a pick gun... pure manual picker here

[billdeserthills]

Don't have a vice (using a door with lock installed that won't inconvenience me if it gets mucked up), or a pick gun... pure manual picker here

I wonder if your significant other will agree that you don't have a vice?

[C locked]

Pick lightly
Or more correctly,use light pressure
as the key pins will want to fall down into any overset driver pins
And remember you're fighting gravity , so you're more likely to overset so
Reset frequently if you're finding it difficult

Also if you hink you've almost got it but it won't turn ...rap

[TheDave5150]

Thanks for the tips fellas...

[UnlockingBoredom]

I find picking upside down to be easier then the reverse... Its because of the pain in my hands and how I have to hold a pick, But I always turn the lock over to pick it.

[Shifty1]

I like C locked's advice. I have reverse bogy's for the occasion. Cheers

[nine4t4]

Also if you hink you've almost got it but it won't turn ...rap

Rap? All this time I've been beat-boxing, or scratching

I always wondered why the Euros are mounted with the bible at the bottom. I guess that would make a difference with the risk of over-setting a pin. I always assumed that North American locks were mounted as they are because there was some myth about springs breaking, but that doesn't explain turning the lock 180.

[sisk]

I just figured it was due to the fact that we Americans just gotta be different. I mean we drive on the wrong side of the road and use a measurement system that doesn't make sense to most of the rest of the world. Why WOULDN'T we mount our locks upside down?

[Shifty1]

It is said the N. American orientation can keep a lock cleaner over a long time in service. Less debris to settle upon and within the spring side (bible) of a lock. Another lesson in controlled obsolesence. Cheers

[GWiens2001]

It may also be that the old lever locks and warded locks had the bitting on the bottom of the key. The keys, with the flag of bitting on them, would naturally rest in the hand with that bitting down. There was less trouble with dirt on keys or in locks since gravity pulled the dirt down, while the actual locking components were up. So dirt fell away from anywhere it could cause trouble.

When the old-world locksmiths started using pin tumbler locks, they simply retained the old-world key orientation of the keys. But, as has been mentioned, the dirt now falls down into the locking mechanism, which is a problem.

When the modern variant of pin tumbler locks were being developed/implemented on this side of the pond, our locksmiths probably early on realized the problem with dirt in the lock causing failure, and started mounting the locks with the mechanism (in this case the pins and springs) at the top so that like lever locks, when the dirt fell down, it did not affect the mechanism nearly as much.

Just my own thinking, but to me it makes some sense.

Gordon