Looking for a repinnable transparent practice lock

[Vargh]

Does anyone know of a place I can buy a repinnable transparent practice lock with spools if possible?

I've searched online and I cannot find any cheap ones if any at all.

Thanks!

[Squelchtone]

There is a school of thought about this. When someone is very very new to lockpicking it is good to show them a clear practice lock just so they can see the interaction of pick vs pin, pin vs pin, pin vs spring, and plug vs shell. Once you "get it" and understand how a lock works, it is better to practice on a solid lock where you cannot see what is going on. This helps develop the mind's eye where you visualize the state of each pin as you mentally walk into the plug and look around and see how the pins are and how the pick is touching them and with how much force. Then you listen and feel for any clicks indicating a set pin or a security pin, or some other state where the pins feel mushy, or stuck solid where you cannot press them at all. Once you figure out a particular bitting, you can then dump out that cylinder and repin it, but I think most beginners stop needing a clear cylinder after a few days. It becomes a neato thing to show friends who have never picked in order to show them how a lock works.

That said, I'm not sure there is a clear cylinder that has removable bible covers or grub screws in order to easily repin it, but there are at least 3 people I know who make mortise and knob (KIK) cylinders that are repinnable, Ultimate Practice/Challenge Lock, Mr. Wizard's a member here, and Jimu57, also a member here who makes and sells stuff to the locksport community.

I'd recommend one of these instead of a clear one which you'll quickly grow tired of, as even if you found one that is repinnable, seeing through it does take away from the challenge and it takes away from building up that mental eye ability to see what's going on inside.

Hope this helps,
Squelchtone

[Vargh]

Thanks. I was just doing the clear thing so I can eventually practice on spools. And if I don't look through the lock while picking it is basically the same as a non transparent one.

I did finally manage to find this though.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/LOCKSMITH-PRACTIC ... 0408.m2460


Does it look good or is there somewhere I can buy a cheaper or better one?

[Silverado]

Looks pretty decent. I have one of the Mr. Wizard mortise cylinders and it's so much fun! It came with serrated pins as well as spools, and plenty of key pins.
Problem with the see through locks is that the housing is typically made of acrylic. That means it's much softer than the brass cylinder and pins, so it'll eventually wear down more and more until it's unusable.

[Squelchtone]

Thanks. I was just doing the clear thing so I can eventually practice on spools. And if I don't look through the lock while picking it is basically the same as a non transparent one.

I did finally manage to find this though.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/LOCKSMITH-PRACTIC ... 0408.m2460


Does it look good or is there somewhere I can buy a cheaper or better one?

when getting into lock picking I tell people not too be too cheap or frugal.. you just cant go get a repinnable practice lock with extra pins for like $5 bucks. you gotta spend $20 and higher usually $29 to $60 for a good one.

Here is a great kit with lots of pins and different security pins including serrated and spool. It is also a mortise cylinder which is easier to hold when picking than a small sharp edged KIK cylinder like in the link you posted.
www.ebay.com/itm/152316780782

[Vargh]

Thanks!

[Rich0775]

Jim sent me a few cylinders and a small repinning kit and it is hands-down the best thing to use for learning.

I have (well, had) a transparent lock that I took a tap and die set to to make it re-pinnable and while it worked I just really came to dislike the fact that I could "see" what was going on and it was too easy to rely on visual feedback. So, I took a hammer to it.

Since then, I've used Jim's cylinders exclusively and I've improved a lot in a short time because you have to rely on physical feedback and you develop a "touch" very fast. I still struggle with spool pins a bit but I have an extra cylinder with 3 spools in it that I practice on every day and it's been slow going but I'm getting there. Serrated pins, etc. I haven't been struggling with at all and now I have family help me re-pin the locks; I put the key pins in and then they're free to put in whatever security pins they want and then I work on picking it. That's really helped me to develop my ability to keep a mental map of what's going on inside; I, also, currently only work on SPPing.

Anyhow, you cannot go wrong with the kits Jim makes and I'd steer clear of clear acrylic locks or cutaways.

-Richard

[Razor2016]

An Ebay plastic lock retrofitted with a couple of spool pins from the Sparrows Reload Kit (just to demonstrate it can be done)


With the padlock unlocked, a lever can be inserted through the shackle hole to pry out the side cover (held in by interference fit) access to springs, pins etc. then pins can be changed as needed. Be careful on disassembly as springs and pins are easily misplaced.

Regards Ray

[Vargh]

Thanks for the reply Rich and Razor.

[Eazy123]

One of my first "practice" locks was an acrylic Southord lock. While you can see how things work inside, you can do that on YouTube too. Not to mention my tension wrench had a tendency to dig into the acrylic which meant the plug wasn't turning. Also it is as difficult for me to NOT look at the pins.

My advice for someone starting out would be to buy a Kwikset KIK at Home Depot for like $10. When you're done picking it you can rearrange the pins and after a few times of doing that THEN find some spool pins. Or get crafty and if you have a Dremel tool, grind some of the Kwikset pins into spools.

[tpark]

The problem with the clear locks is that the shear line is plastic, thus if you're setting pins, you're putting stress on the plastic, which gives a much different feel than brass. I like the partial cutaway approach - the shear line is brass, so the important part of the lock is unmodified, but if something isn't working, you can "peek" at the pins to see what's not working, or if there's something overset. In this way, you can also feel/watch what's going on when a pin is set correctly. Since you can't see through the rest of the lock, you can pick normally until you need to determine what's going wrong.

This is a modified 5 pin American - None of the pins have been modified, they're exactly as they were when the lock was purchased. This is what you see when the lock is picked.