practise locks... A necessity?

by **linc** » 14 Nov 2003 5:23

Are practise locks a good thing to have for starters? As I am looking to buy my first set of lockpicks very soon, I am thinking if I should include a practise lock at the same time when I'm ordering the MPXS-14 from www.lockpick.com

Or is it alright to just start out with the doors knobs in my house? Although I'm not too sure what kind of locks they are. Also with the ones with the sliding doors where the lock is like a hook that catches on when you lock it, are those locks hard to pick? It is similar to the blot lock except that its a hook like thing coming from vertically upwards to lock in a 90 degree position.

Any replies on this will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance all fellow lockpicking hobbyists/locksmiths!

by **oniony** » 14 Nov 2003 11:07

I bought a cheap front-door lock to practice with. It cost around 7 GBP (around $12). I was going to mount it in some wood but couldn't find anything deep enough that I could cut with my limited toolset. Having a disposable lock is great as you can take it apart to get a real feel for how it works without concern and you are able to adjust the number of pins to suit your ability.

I now have my practice lock mounted in a cereal packet. It looks very strange but it is emensely useful to have something that I can hold still with my legs while I'm using my hands on the pick and tension tool.

I can't see how a specially designed practice lock would have benefitted me more than my regular lock and it would have been a lot more expensive.

by **Varjeal** » 14 Nov 2003 11:10

If the cost of a practice lock is within your budget, I would say go for it. There's nothing quite like being able to see how everything operates as your picking. It will help you refine your technique and to gain a mental picture of how the lock mechanism works.

Then, when you go to a similiar fully encased lock to practice, you will have that much better of an opportunity to be successful.

by **The Key Maker** » 15 Nov 2003 17:56

Afrter taking several locks apart i cant see what a prac. lock would have given me extra, especially for the price. The best practice, is to go and find a nice lock smith and get friendly!!! :wink:

by **Mini-Blue** » 16 Nov 2003 2:07

If you've got money to burn, buy a practice lock. They're fun to look at.

Otherwise, IMHO, forget about them.

It's important to remember that Picking is NOT a Visual Skill. It's one of the few things that really don't require you see what you're doing. I can't speak for anyone else but usually when I'm picking I end up closing my eyes anyway. I'm listening and I'm feeling and to an extent, I'm seeing what's going on inside the lock.

You're much better off spending time (rather than money) studying the MIT Guide. Pay particular attention to the Flatlands Models and learn how a lock really works. Learn it well enough that you can close your eyes and see what happens in there. See the pinstacks moving, see the pins bind, see the shear line setting up, see the core turn just a hair with each pin picked, and then turn the wrench, you just picked the lock!

As to where you should spend your money?

Go to your local discount store and buy some padlocks!

Buy some good ones, some cheap ones, a little of everything. For the price of one "Practice Lock" you can come away with 5 or 10 decent locks to work with and learn on.

by **linc** » 17 Nov 2003 6:33

Thanks for the input guys! I might consider getting a few different padlocks as well as a front door knob. However, I was wondering how on earth do you take a padlock or a front door knob apart? It looks pretty solid to me that I haven't a clue how to simply just take it into pieces and play around with it without resorting to force.

By the way, what is the difference between a left handed practice lock and a right handed one? I saw at the website that they sell both. As I am a lefty, I would like to know what is the difference in handling the lockpicks or should the lock for positioned the other way etc.

by **The Key Maker** » 17 Nov 2003 8:13

I was confused about this, taking locks apart, and there are quite a few posts (many replying to my questions) that give explanations on taking locks apart! I think it boils down to 2 things, some are solid units and the only way to get them apart is using tools and actually breaking them, like using a grinder and stuff, things that i havent got access to!!

The other way is to buy the specific locks which are made so that it is possible to take them apart!! Like if you get a wafer lock (cabinet / draw / locker door style lock) then some of those come apart by unscrewing a screw at the end, un screw it - pick or use the key to open the lock and turn - then pull the cylinder out or push the cylinder out from the back. Many door cylinder pin locks are rekeyable and come apart, again pick or open it and push the cylinder from behind! This is a bit more difficult because the top pins fall out from the hull and the key pins spring out from the cylinder, and also u need to follow it out with some sort of a tube - they have a proper name but i forget now, i just used a piece of circular wood. This tube is to stop the pins dropping from the top and they stop the cylinder coming out.... Ummm its hard to explain, vejeal had a go at explaining it to me but i still didnt fully understand till i actually tried takin one apart and bits started flying everywhere and the cylinder kept getting stuck. some Padlocks APPARENTLY come to pieces by opening a screw under where the shackle fits in. Although i am yet to find a rekeyable padlock so my info is limited.

Anyways all this ranting is probably rubbish and could be simplified by saying if you dont wannt to use heavy machinary and spoil ur locks then go buy a rekeyable lock, they come apart.

**plus you can take a rekeyable pin tumbler apart or wafer and take out a few pins or wafers and then put it back together and you have an easyer to pick lock with less pins in it, to suit your picking skills!!

Hope this helped!!!!

by **linc** » 17 Nov 2003 9:54

So a rekeyable lock is just any other lock I find in a hardware shop except that it is rekeyable. In a sense it is possible to open the lock right? I wonder if rekeyable locks would be a problem to get access to? Are they a popular lock to get for consumers?

If this is the case, I will then pop down to the hardware store and find myself a rekeyable lock. Hopefully it isn't too expensive otherwise I will just have to make do with the locks in the house instead.

by **Varjeal** » 17 Nov 2003 11:10

I'm not sure if they have them in Australia, they probably do, but for padlocks you can look for the Amercian 1100 series, or the Master Pro Series in the 6000's. Like say, 6820 or something. These locks are rekeyable, and can be taken apart. The tool "The Key Maker" was referring to is called a "plug follower" It's basically a tube or rod the same size as the plug of the lock, that you use to push the plug from the lock and hold the top pins and springs in place.

by **Mini-Blue** » 17 Nov 2003 15:14

I don't know if they're sold in Australia or not but Brinks makes a nice re-keyable padlock that even includes one or two spool pins.

I can't recall the model number but it's a large heavy brass body with a steel shackle. It uses a KW1 keyway and the lockset includes spare color coded pins and a Kwikset decoder.

No plug follower or other tools are required to rekey, just follow the directions and have fun with it.

Cost is about 13 dollars US.

by **The Key Maker** » 18 Nov 2003 5:06

I`d like to purchase that padlock mini blue, sounds very interesting, i`m from uk do u know if they sell them over here!

by **Mini-Blue** » 18 Nov 2003 23:26

I have no idea if they're available in the UK or if anyone will ship there but here's a link to a listing of model numbers for all the variations of the above described lock.

http://www.lockcity.com/brinks/dorKey.asp

by **Mini-Blue** » 18 Nov 2003 23:28

WTF?
There's no way to edit a post on this forum???

Wierdness.

:rolleyes:

ah well, here's the link one more time...

http://www.lockcity.com/brinks/doorKey.asp

practise locks... A necessity?

practise locks... A necessity?

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