need phoenix valley locksmith to pick, not drill, abus 41/50

[sidney81]

I have a small construction gangbox in the back of my truck and locked my keys inside of it. I would rather save these locks. I have heard that they are moderately easily pickable for someone who is a skilled lockpicker. Do you know of a skilled lockpicker in the phoenix valley? So there are two locks on the box, abus 41/50's (laminated 5 or 6 pin with mushroom pins). Inset in the little rectangular steel box holes of the gangbox. You need a tensioning tool with a long return on it. The lock is back about 3/4in from the face of the gangbox. I can drive the project to them.

If you know someone please pass on his phone number to me at sidney(eight)(one)5(one)(at)(gee)mail(dot)com

mike

[cledry]

It is a lock that costs $11!

The cost in picking them versus drilling is not going to matter much. It should cost you about $60 to open them either way, but most locksmiths will drill them if they don't pick quickly because time is money.

[billdeserthills]

It is a lock that costs $11!

The cost in picking them versus drilling is not going to matter much. It should cost you about $60 to open them either way, but most locksmiths will drill them if they don't pick quickly because time is money.

Totally agree,
I had a call a couple months ago, the client had locked his Abus padlock onto the high security locking point of a 'mobile mini' type storage container.
I gave up picking the lock in short order and D&E'd it off--Turned out it was a padlock given to him by his grandfather & he was upset that I had destroyed
it. I brought the padlock back the next chance I got and it was fine, as a paperweight and as long as he doesn't look at the bottom everything will be allright!

[sidney81]

Where can you buy them for 11 dollars? I find 17+ to be the best price. With tax that's about 20ea. Locksmith I visited wanted 80. So that's 125 dollars or so with tax on the labor and then I have to wait for several days for the lock to get here because hardware stores and locksmiths only sell 11 dollar junk locks. There lockpickers on the internet that can pick locks like this in about 90sec. 125$ for 90 sec, sounds like maybe I could get a significant discount and save my locks to boot. Phoenix is a large community, I would guess there is definitely someone out there that can pick it quickly, but I might not be able to reach them.

So, ...do you know anyone in the phoenix area that's a lockpicking hobbyist, and not someone who rakes the tumblers a couple times and starts drilling? I see there's a meeting of lockpickers in Mesa on the last Sat of the month. I'd like to contact someone from that group this weekend and if they can't pickit, they're welcome to drill it. If that doesn't work, I'll go back to the locksmith on Monday and let him know you said it was 60. Thanks for the replies.

Mike in Mesa AZ

[cledry]

Where can you buy them for 11 dollars? I find 17+ to be the best price. With tax that's about 20ea. Locksmith I visited wanted 80. So that's 125 dollars or so with tax on the labor and then I have to wait for several days for the lock to get here because hardware stores and locksmiths only sell 11 dollar junk locks. There lockpickers on the internet that can pick locks like this in about 90sec. 125$ for 90 sec, sounds like maybe I could get a significant discount and save my locks to boot. Phoenix is a large community, I would guess there is definitely someone out there that can pick it quickly, but I might not be able to reach them.

So, ...do you know anyone in the phoenix area that's a lockpicking hobbyist, and not someone who rakes the tumblers a couple times and starts drilling? I see there's a meeting of lockpickers in Mesa on the last Sat of the month. I'd like to contact someone from that group this weekend and if they can't pickit, they're welcome to drill it. If that doesn't work, I'll go back to the locksmith on Monday and let him know you said it was 60. Thanks for the replies.

Mike in Mesa AZ

I would just drive over to the Mesa meet on Aug 27th then. I'm sure you will have all sorts of people willing to help.

[sidney81]

The last post appears to be the proper solution until you read my 2nd post stipulating that I would be reaching out to lockpickers until Monday. That's one day from now not 20 days from now. Since twenty is significantly larger than one, we know that the last post is of no help. Cledry also failed to answer the question posed to him and the individual that 2nded his statement that this is an 11 dollar lock. Where is it an 11 dollar lock? Anyway, to move this thread forward we want a constructive statement at the end of the thread, so I will add that now.

My intent to find a picker is based on the videos and articles I have read indicating that with the right tools and maybe even a see through lock (so you can see what's going on) it only takes a little time to develop the skills to set spool and mushroom pins, and there appears to be good room to work in the 41/50. There is also a huge population in Phoenix, so there are no doubt picking hobbyists in the valley that can pick these locks in 15min or less, for which I will gladly pay 60 dollars. That's 240 dollars an hour (since I will drive the project to them). The picker might even be a high school kid. I'm not sure how many high school kids have made 240 dollars an hour, but it constitutes good money at any point in life. It's just hard to connect up in a short time. So I may have to have the locks drilled off. Thanks for bearing with me.

Mike in Mesa

[cledry]

Mike here you go.

http://www.lockpicks.com/abus-41-50-c-kd-laminated-padlock.html

I was just guessing on price based upon what I pay and my mark up on padlocks.

[billdeserthills]

The last post appears to be the proper solution until you read my 2nd post stipulating that I would be reaching out to lockpickers until Monday. That's one day from now not 20 days from now. Since twenty is significantly larger than one, we know that the last post is of no help. Cledry also failed to answer the question posed to him and the individual that 2nded his statement that this is an 11 dollar lock. Where is it an 11 dollar lock? Anyway, to move this thread forward we want a constructive statement at the end of the thread, so I will add that now.

My intent to find a picker is based on the videos and articles I have read indicating that with the right tools and maybe even a see through lock (so you can see what's going on) it only takes a little time to develop the skills to set spool and mushroom pins, and there appears to be good room to work in the 41/50. There is also a huge population in Phoenix, so there are no doubt picking hobbyists in the valley that can pick these locks in 15min or less, for which I will gladly pay 60 dollars. That's 240 dollars an hour (since I will drive the project to them). The picker might even be a high school kid. I'm not sure how many high school kids have made 240 dollars an hour, but it constitutes good money at any point in life. It's just hard to connect up in a short time. So I may have to have the locks drilled off. Thanks for bearing with me.

Mike in Mesa

You have an odd idea of just how calling a locksmith actually works,
For example, my service call alone is $45 and that is before any work is actually done. I charge $35 per keyhole to pick a standard lock,
your locks don't fit 'standard' because the way you have them mounted and right now the price is already up to $115.

Also I see from your continued posts that you haven't been able to attract even one taker for your proposal, perhaps you should try in Mesa??

[sidney81]

The 4th sentence in my 2nd post indicates that I have contacted a local locksmith and he wants 80 dollars to drill them out. Incidentally, all I have gotten from your posts is that you don't understand my posts. Having been given prices of 80, 90(that's with lock replacement) and 60, your price of 115 is quite high (that's good if you can get it). Thanks

mike

[GWiens2001]

Mike,

All we had gotten from your posts is that you are not listening.

Members here have tried to give good advise. Not very many members in your area, and not everybody lives and breathes this forum. So if you have no patience to wait for someone who will drop everything to run over and pick your locks, then your best approach is to do as others have suggested - drill it out and replace the lock.

You can always try picking it yourself.

Gordon

[Evan]

Mike,

All we had gotten from your posts is that you are not listening.

Members here have tried to give good advise. Not very many members in your area, and not everybody lives and breathes this forum. So if you have no patience to wait for someone who will drop everything to run over and pick your locks, then your best approach is to do as others have suggested - drill it out and replace the lock.

You can always try picking it yourself.

Gordon

Gordon:

There is a whiff of oddness to this whole scenario, as if the OP wanted to open something borrowed he perhaps does not have the key for without destroying the locks so as not to alert the true owner of the entry into the secured container.

Whenever someone insists upon a lock only being picked but not destroyed to gain entry into something they are locked out of, it is highly suspicious. It raises more questions than it answers as someone who is truly locked out of something that they own would not come up with silly conditions as to how the person they hire on to get them back into their property should do the work. They would merely be happy to regain access to the items/space they were closed out of.

~~ Evan

[Tyler J. Thomas]

Mike,

All we had gotten from your posts is that you are not listening.

Members here have tried to give good advise. Not very many members in your area, and not everybody lives and breathes this forum. So if you have no patience to wait for someone who will drop everything to run over and pick your locks, then your best approach is to do as others have suggested - drill it out and replace the lock.

You can always try picking it yourself.

Gordon

Gordon:

There is a whiff of oddness to this whole scenario, as if the OP wanted to open something borrowed he perhaps does not have the key for without destroying the locks so as not to alert the true owner of the entry into the secured container.

Whenever someone insists upon a lock only being picked but not destroyed to gain entry into something they are locked out of, it is highly suspicious. It raises more questions than it answers as someone who is truly locked out of something that they own would not come up with silly conditions as to how the person they hire on to get them back into their property should do the work. They would merely be happy to regain access to the items/space they were closed out of.

~~ Evan

Very fair point.

I cannot recall ever being asked to salvage or impression keys from a lock being removed from something like a hitch or locker or anything to that nature. Most people have lost the key, recognize that it (the padlock, no matter it's incarnation) is not a high dollar item, and opt for the fastest/easiest way. I kept dozens and dozens of free locks that people had no use for once I picked and removed them - I'd actually make keys for them in my spare time and keep them in the shop to be resold for people that needed a quick, temporary solution.

If a shop charges $10 to remove a lock and, say, $15 or $20 to impression a key to it, the latter really makes no sense. You just need the lock removed and you can go buy a brand new lock for the cost of impressioning, perhaps cheaper depending on the locksmith.

[billdeserthills]

How about you bring your box to my shop and I impression a key for $65?

[ltdbjd]

You could start calling locksmiths out. If they can't pick it, you can pay them their service call fee and picking fee (if they bill that way), and send them along. Then call the next locksmith and do the same thing. At some point you'll get it picked.

Nobody will guarantee you they can pick it, so you'll just have keep having people come to your house until you find a person who can open it. Let's assume for a moment that it's a $40 lock (to get away the $11 - $17 argument you're stuck on). You'll be spending more money trying to save that lock than you will be spending for service calls.

Since you want to save the lock, and the keys are locked inside, you can drill or cut a hole in the box and get them that way. Then weld the repair.

Frankly, I find the OP and his follow ups to be rude, condescending, and argumentative; served with a side of arrogance. That's not a good way to cause people to graciousy jump in and help you. Not my call, but I'd lock the thread.

Attitude counts. If I got the impression on the phone that a customer was going to be a big problem, I'll quote them what would amount to double the service call. Because I don't want their business and hope they call somebody else. But if they say okay, then they'll pay me for putting up with it. If it turns out they weren't a problem at all, I told them I must have misunderstood what they wanted and quoted them too high. I'd give them the regular rate, then they're happy because it cost a whole let less what they had been counted.