After watching the visual guide to lock picking DVD I decided to write a review about it, the main reason being that I have taken lots of information from the site, and would like to give some back.
I ordered my DVD from
http://www.locksmith-tools.co.uk/ . I have used this site twice now for getting different things and I have to say they are excellent. I ordered the DVD on Monday night and when I came home from school on the Wednesday it had arrived. Apart from that the prices are good, and they have a wide variety of picks and other tools.
Anyway, enough of the free advertising for
http://www.locksmith-tools.co.uk/ . As soon as the DVD arrived I shoved it in the DVD player and started to watch it. I would like to say that every scene of the visual guide to lock picking is a computerised version of a lock. It may be broken down to show how it works or how to pick it with a voice explaining what is happening, so at no time do you see a real lock.
When the main menu appears the choice is given to you to watch one of the four chapters, the first being on warded locks. It gives a brief explanation about how to identify a warded lock and a larger one on how one works. Warded locks in padlocks and on deadbolts are both explained. A section on skeleton keys and impressioning are shown. The section on impressioning was particularly good, as I did not know it was possible to do it on warded locks.
The second chapter is on pin tumbler locks. Again it gives a brief explanation on how to identify a pin tumbler lock and a larger one on how one works. It shows approximately fifteen different picks, what they are called and what they are useful for. Raking and single pin picking are both talked about. Having read and re-read the MIT guide to lock picking I already had a basic understanding of pin tumbler locks. Having said this the pin tumbler section was thorough and informative, and I definitely learnt lots of new things.
At the end of the pin tumbler chapter there is a ten-minute bit on various other techniques for opening pin tumbler locks. I thought this could have been in an extra chapter so I have decided to put it in a new paragraph:
· Using padlock shims and how they work.
· Shimming doors with a credit card.
· Using a pick gun and how they work.
The third section is on advanced pin tumblers. This covers master keyed locks, rounded and bevelled locks and high security pins. The high security pins covered are mushroom pins, spool pins and serrated pins. Even though this was a relatively short chapter I still found it useful.
The last chapter is a short one on wafer locks. As in all the previous chapters, how to identify a wafer lock and how they work are mentioned first. Double sided and single sided wafer locks are both talked about. Tryout keys are also given their little section.
Overall I would say that this DVD is very, very good. The computer generated 3D animations are second to none as are the explanations in the voice over. The only problem with The Visual Guide to Lock Picking is the price. Me only being thirteen I think £20 is quite a lot of money. Adding the three pounds for postage the DVD comes to £23. Considering the DVD only lasts for about an hour it is a bit on the steep side, having said that the other Videos and DVD’s cost around £35.
If you have just started to pick locks or you want to increase your knowledge on the subject, I would recommend the Visual Guide to Lock Picking DVD without a doubt.
Thank you for reading my review.
Patrick101
I am free of all prejudices. I hate everybody equally.
). It could be a faulty disc, i have not ruled that out. But thanks, i have been checking the web for only one day. I will keep at it! 