safety pin

[Gangerli]

Hi there everybody!

I'm still a beginner with lock picking, typing my message from Hungary, Europe. Well, I could't get my hands on a set of lock picks so far(I guess I'll make a couple...), since I don't own a MasterCard or anything alike, I had to mess around with a safety pin for a start(I'm really young and still in High School). I knew it was waaay harder, and according to most, if not all, professional sources, picking a lock with one tool is impossible on most occassions. Well, interestingly, I succeeded, opened a padlock (40mm Topex Hardened or whatsis) with a bent safety pin. Even more interesting, my first try was appr. 20 seconds, but the second try(which I recorded) consumed a nasty 1-1.5 second to pick open.
This doesn'T prove that I'm a lockpicking phenomen, or anything about unnecessity of torque wrenches. It makes it clear, that a cheap lock DOES NOT lock AT ALL. Way to go. Topex.
Here is the video:

http://users.atw.hu/gangerli/MyMovie.wmv

is there somebody who could tell me about european lockpick distributors, or any professionals? I'd really appreciate it. Thx!
keep up, everybody!
happy picking!

[Minion]

Umm, that's a paperclip.

And such locks probably only have 2 or 3 pins and have keyways that are too small to fit a tensor and a pick.

Anyway, I would suggest that you read the MIT guide to lockpicking.

I'm not in EU, so I don't know about the distributors.

[Gangerli]

Hi

Okay Okay, sorry about my english, yeah...paperclip... well, yeah it's a simple lock.
Yup, I read that one. It's just that I can't get lockpicks around here...

[Gangerli]

the appendix of the MIT guide is very good, I've been thinking about some custom picks, but first I need to get a grinding machine...or get close to one : )

[SFGOON]

Just so you know, you can make an excellent tension wrench by properly bending a safety pin.

[Eyes_Only]

My first pick was made from a bent safety pin, really flimsy but it does the job (extremely well too). You can take out Master No. 3 padlocks like nothing with a safety pin pick once you get used to it.

[sublime progie]

yeah but then again you can take out a master three with a well placed flick

[quickpicks]

the metal inserts from windscreen wiper blades work good for tension wrenches and hacksaw blades are perfect for homebrew lockpicks.
streetsweeper bristles can be used to make picks too. Here is an image of two bogota style snakes/rakes I made a few weeks ago using street sweeper bristles

[Gangerli]

wow, they sure look nice.
my "latest" question is that where can I get such bristles?

[Shrub]

The answer is in the question,

the metal inserts from windscreen wiper blades work good for tension wrenches

This tells you all you need to know but just so you are certain,

If you look at a windscreen wiper blade, (windsheild wiper) you will notice 2 metal strips either side of the rubber, take the metal strips out by just pulling them, sometimes they are stuck in a bit so you may need to use pliers to pull them out.