'advanced beginner' locks

[erehwesle]

hello all, my second post, and I'm happy to be here. Lovely site and a lot of interesting information.

Apologies in advance if this has been answered elswhere (no pun intended), I have done a search, and found a lot of good advice on how to get started, and a lot of info on difficult locks.

My question is, as a hobby lockpicker, and a poor as dirt grad student, I'm having a difficult time finding middle ground between 'easy' locks, and 'hard' locks.

I'm at the point where I can pop my master #5 by saying 'boo' at it with a stern voice, and my Kwikset door lock by raking and individual pins, or could until I took it apart, any hints on Kwikset door lock re-assembly?, well that could be another topic.

I just bought a box o' locks without keys at a flea market. Most of them (obviously) cheap four or five pin tumblers, and had fun for about a week working them.

I'd like very much to pick (man killing myself with the puns) up a new lock that would be a bit more challenging for someone at my skill level, without being ultra-high security secret squirrell tough. Unfortunately 75% of the locks at the local hardware store are 'pick resistant' or 'high security' etc..., and between you me and the wall, I doubt they really are.

Not that I'm advanced in any way, but any suggestion for someone on a limited budget that is getting bored with Kwikset and master padlocks? I'm looking for a challenge, but not the 'beating my head against the wall' difficulty level

I might also add that I'm in the states, and while I know you Brits, Europeans, Aussies, and folks from elsewhere have some devilish locks, I might not have access to them.

Thank you all in advance for your time and advice.

[Chucklz]

Not to plug for Varjeal, but get one of his practice packs. You get a Schlage mortice cylinder, which will be a step up from your master 5's and kwikpicks, err kwiksets. You also get pins and security pins so that you may play around with the lock a bit more.

[erehwesle]

Hmnnn... security pins....

That actually sounds great, cost is an issue (see poor grad student thing above), one does get what one pays for. I'd rather spend some money for a chosen good spread of locks, than (pardon the expression) screwing around buying locks that don't teach me anything. I think the whole point of my post is avoiding that.

I'd like to, also, start to figure out security pins in locks I *know* have them. At the moment there are some locks I can't get, and I have a lot of ambiguity, is it spool pins, mushroom pins, do I just suck? who can tell...

Well anyway it would be helpful to work security pins in a lock I know has them.

Thanks Chucklz, appreciate the response. Hope I'm not clogging up the board with questions.

Best,

Erehwesle

[RangerF150]

I got Varjeals lock.
The great thing about it is you can set it to what level you want too.
The only thing missing ( you hearing me Varjeal!) is some spool pins, he includes pretty much everything else

I picked up a lock which had spool pins , so i got the lot !

$ for $ it's really good value , you can off course go buy a rekeyable one elsewhere , and just pick up any pins you can in any locks you come acorss.

Varjeal package was just a handy way of gettin the lot in the one go.

The likes of that will keep ya busy for a bit

[digital_blue]

Not to mention that you can get security pins from your local locksmith. Add them into your deadbolt and you've just gained a new challenge.

db

[erehwesle]

digital, well my local locksmith is somewhat hostile towards me.(I think honestly he is afraid I will erode his lockout business)

Not that I would.

[digital_blue]

Well, I have never actually owned up to being a lockpicker when I'm in a locksmith. Asking for security pins doesn't necessarily send out signals that this is what you do. You might just be interested in repinning your house locks to keep the shadow government from adding truth syrum to your bottled water.

Mind you, if they already know you now, you might have to find a new locksmith to frequent. Oh yeah, and hope the old one doesn't turn informant for the shadow government.



db

[erehwesle]

darn shadow government!

I kind of wish I could just blame everything on that.

Ahh, no worries, I will eventually get my spool and mushroom pins, becase my motives are pure.

[rakemaster]

Hey Erehwesle if your a grad student in Pennsylvania you should
maybe lookup Prof. Blaze at Penn State I think. He's a computer
sci prof (my field but wrong coast) whos HEAVILY into locks and
he teaches a course on it. Check out www.crypto.com/papers/notes/picking/index.html

Also maybe other lock pickers hackers at your school? There are at
mine, took like 5 mins to find them, ask around esp enginnering school.

Rakemaster
Undergrad student in SoCal

[kodierer]

I found that you might have difficulty with a lock that has six spool pins, Just go to walmart, or the hardware store, and read the backs of lock packages until you read one that says pick resistant spool pins, and six pin mechanism. That would be anout an intermediate level lock

[kodierer]

Oh yeah, and in my experience the spool pins aren't that much more difficult, as they are what I learned on. At least if your using a feeler, raking is challenged a little by them

[erehwesle]

Wow, that looks like a cool course.

I'm in English lit, and let me tell you, something as physical as a lock *scares* lit professors. I've been tempted for a while to write a paper on 'the lock in literature' sometimes I threaten my professors with it ;)

As an undergrad I was a medievalist, and there actually is some good discussion of locks in chaucuer.

[vector40]

No kidding. In Chaucer? What context?

[Uisgdlyast]

I'm also looking for some more advanced beginner locks.

While ebay seems to be a good place to look a schlage is still not the cheapest thing, and i know home depot is like 20+$ for one...

Is is possible to find a good lock for under 20$ considering i could spend a lot of time on this lock until someone contacts me back about a job(i should apply at home depot).

thanks, varjeals lock looks good but for 40$... i know its a deal but i really shouldnt spend that much