what to do now?

[tskaze]

I recently bought a kwickset lock, and i made a few picks (thanks to pyro for the video). Now i can pick the lock in about a minute at max with all 5 pins in it and in less then 20 seconds with 4 pins, what should i do next? should i keep practicing or should i buy a new lock? what about a new set of picks?

[zeke79]

change the pinning configuration of the lock you have and pick it some more. Take out all bottom pins and try to pin high-low the best you can with what you have. That should keep you entertained for a bit longer .

[tskaze]

ah forgot to say i already messed with pin configuration a lot.

[stick]

Then it's time to move onto a better lock. Schlage is a good brand to pick next.

[Guesss]

i went out and bought a cheap lock that turned out to be a really good investment. It was a Barricade by Yale. Turns out that it was one of the cheapest on the shelf and it had a security pin... which frusterated me for a while... i have posted about it somewhere i think under locks titled the name of the lock. anyway. it was cheep and it also has the ability to have a security pin in it so i think it was a great purchase. i took out the security pin for now cause i picked a hard pin configuration.

my recomendation to you when buying a new lock... Look at the keys in the box or plastic and fint the one that has the most varience cause then you can repin better as well as it gives a descent hard start. i picked the hardest i thought i could find and i did a good job.

that is my recomendation to you.. Let me know what you decide and also i don't know where you are located so i am not sure if that lock is avaliable to you.

Hope i was help.

[Kayvon]

I would keep practicing on your Kwikset, but also move on to something harder. I find that having an easier lock around can help bolster your confidence if you get discouraged picking a more challenging lock.
Also, if you don't feel the picks you made turned out well, it might be worthwhile to invest in a simple lock pick set. If they already look good, more power to you! Congratulations on making your own set and successfully picking a lock with it. Great feeling, isn't it?

[tskaze]

alright ill go out and buy a yale/schlage lock. Also im planning on buying my own pick set, should i buy a featherweight jacknife or the easy pickings beginner set? the jacknife costs about 10 dollars more.

thanks to the community for all your help so far.

[Rowlock]

I'd recommend against getting any of the "novelty" picksets, like jacknives and pen sets. They can be handy to carry aroiund in certain situations, I guess, and they can have quite a nice "cool factor". Practically speaking, however, you're much better off with a decent normal pickset, especially as a first set.

Quite a lot of people have posted that the book that comes with the easy pickings set is a bit lacking in useful info. It certainly doesn't tell you anything that you can't find out on the internet for free, especially if you've read the MIT guide (linked in the FAQs).

Also, most people say that the most important thing to look for in a starter set is a good selection of tension wrenches. Having had my Southord 9-piece slimline set for a while, I can certainly vouch for this. It's a great starter set in terms of quality, and the selection of picks is OK, but I wish it had a bit more wrench variety. I have a couple of locks that the long twistflex and straight slimline just won't fit in comfortably.

So, my recommendation at least, would be to start with something like a Southord set. Get the slimlines if you live in Europe, otherwise you might prefer the standard sizes - personal preference, really. Get the biggest set you can comfortably afford, not necessarily for the greater selection of picks so much as for the extra wrenches. Or, get a slightly smaller set and beef it up with some additional wrenches that you can buy sperately.

[Kayvon]

Also im planning on buying my own pick set, should i buy a featherweight jacknife or the easy pickings beginner set?

You'll probably find the booklet isn't worth it's weight in shipping. It just has a cool sounding name and a low price so companies throw it in free with some orders and lots of people sell them on eBay trying to make a quick buck.

As for the jackknife pick set, I have the stainless steel one. It's a fun little tool, and it is definately more convenient than any other pick set, but it's slightly less effective. For one, the pick tend to come loose while you're in the middle of picking. Also, as has been noted again and again in the forums, you can't really feel what's going on inside the lock and with the pins with it nearly as well as with a traditional pick. My advice: buy a cheap pick set first ($15-$20) and then, when you've got the hang of picking, you can always pick up a jackknife set.
It is up to you, though. If your heart's set on the jackknife, get it. You can still learn to pick locks with it--I did. It's just harder and will take you a little longer. But then, lock picking was never (supposed to be) about finding the easy way to do things, was it? It'll just give you a handicap.

[raimundo]

The MIT thing on lockpicking can be a bit obtuse, Matt blaze has a pretty good " how to" posted at crypto.com and the HOW THINGS WORK could be pretty good also. Some of the cheap books take this information and fluff it up into more pages with bad illustrations and bullflop anecdotes. Don't buy any of the books except bill phillips or marktobias.

[toomush2drink]

It's a great starter set in terms of quality, and the selection of picks is OK, but I wish it had a bit more wrench variety. I have a couple of locks that the long twistflex and straight slimline just won't fit in comfortably.

Make your own tension wrenches from the metal strips you get on car wiper blades. They are free and i use these all the time. As they are free file them down,twist them and generally play about with them till you have a wide selection that suit you.

[Uisgdlyast]

Back to the original question... i'm in the same boat.

I wanted to know what type of Schalge i should look for and what kind of keyway? Or are they all the same?

Thanks

[Rowlock]

Make your own tension wrenches from the metal strips you get on car wiper blades. They are free and i use these all the time. As they are free file them down,twist them and generally play about with them till you have a wide selection that suit you.

Aye, that's a good solution. Been looking at the wiper blade threads, and it looks relatively straightforward. I certainly don't have the gear to work with hacksaw blades, but I'm sure I can find a file and some pliers somewhere.

Maybe if I tell the wife that the blowtorch is for doing Creme Brulee?

[Varjeal]

Any of the Schlage locks you buy from a hardware store should be the "C" keyway which is about as least restrictive as you can get with Schlage. If you want anything more restrictive than that you'll have to go to a locksmith for them.

[kodierer]

Make sure your pick set has a twist flex tension wrench, as they give you a little edge on feel.