Does /diy/ into lockpicking?

I would like to get into lockpicking. Just saw the new video from bosnianbill,h e reviewed a learning kit, but I don't know if it's worth it.

What toolkit would you recommend?

>>940547
I'm just now getting into it myself (my picks haven't even arrived yet), but I ordered this to start off with
http://www.lockpicktools.com/8-piece-set-prh/
Alongside a practice lock to work on.

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i pick but i haven't picked(heh) it up for a while.
last thread there was a huge shitshow about breakins and nigger accusations for some reason.
I've seen several peaceful hobbypicking threads on here so there is no need to justify it to trolls.

I'm a novice out of practice at best, but this is my take on it.
get a cheap pick set on DX or something, my first set was supercheap and worked fine.
now i got a southord set, hasn't upped my game much 2bh.
proper tension rods where the best part of the kit for me.

getting a cutaway lock is what helped me get started.
you might think seeing inside the lock is cheating but it will help you learn.
you can tape over the opening, then look if you get stuck.

pic: old pic of my 'pick basket'

I've been doing it for a few years, but not much recently since i dont want to buy new locks to practice on.
This guy is right though >>941177. If your starting out then get a cheap set from a chinese retailer and it will usually have most of what you need. Only downside is they never have picks for european (smaller) locks, so it's best to get some of that stuff sepperatly.

I need a kit. To be honest all I did was learn the basic premise and a bobby pin that I keep in my wallet has been plenty.

>>940537
Watch BosnianBill on youtube. Him shitting on masterlock is truly hilarious.

this pdf is great. i removed the password BS with a webservice

fuck, 4chan wont let me post.
try this https://www.dropbox.com/s/kgg4v3znmw59pnz/Lockpicking%20Detail%20Overkill.pdf?dl=0

>>941287
this along with the MIT lockpicking guide, a cutaway lock, a basic set of tools, and a few long lonely nights is all you need to get started.

Watch the BosnianBill youtube videos too, they are great.

When you've learned the basic of 4 - 5 pin tumbler locks, you've just become the most handy man you know.

I regally repair locks for friends now. 90% broken keys, 10% lost keys. Broken keys is less "lock picking" and more knowing how to take apart locks / doors. Lost keys is 100% picking, and thankfully masterlocks are a complete joke (and what every uses).

Most often, I am asked to help pick shitty desk or file cabinet locks at my office. Everyone is fuckin amazed when you do it quickly.

>>941291
>thankfully masterlocks are a complete joke (and what every uses).
haha.
I'm Norwegian, meaning literally everyone uses trioving, of which i've opened only 2 locks, all six pins.
loose locks, not mounted in doors.

is picking harder when picking an actual door? i guess the posture and angle is a bit of trouble

>>941309
yes, it is harder on a door, or even cabinet / desk. Can't move or rotate the lock, and you can't always get the right tension / torque applied.

That said, most desks & filing cabinets have shit / easy locks that can be raked fairly quickly.

Theres a pic somewhere about making your own picks from street bristles, can't find it tho

>>941326
it's here, and those bristles are as solid material for making picks / torque wrentches.

fuckin 4chan won't let me post.... but if you google lock pick street sweeper the first link is to the hackaday page.

>>941316
>That said, most desks & filing cabinets have shit / easy locks that can be raked fairly quickly.

yeh, haven't tried much or raking yet, but my forst locks were a bunch of wafer office drawer locks and keyed automation switches.
very easy.
like said, i havent picked in a while, but id like some medium difficulty locks,
i find locks to either be very difficult or so easy it doesn't help me get better.
any tips on that front?

>>941329
tfw all the streetsweepers use some kind of plastic brushes here.

>>941380
if that's the case, the metal inside windshield wipers is pretty good (careful tho, they are under tension, so when taking apart be safe!)

or bicycle tire spokes, they just need to be flatted / hammered out.

You know what else is great, but requires metal files, hacksaw blades. Their flat & wide shape lends to a very nice handle.

>>941382
>bicycle tire spokes
i got an old bike with loose spokes, might try that.
thanks.

i got some a decent kit, but i could always use more tension wrench

>>941379
once you can easily crush the basic locks (masterlock type) it's all about learning to get a better "feel" for your tools and just putting in the time.

Have you visited this site? gregmiller dot net slash locks

Really, I consider myself to be an armature, but that's cause once I "mastered" the cheap locks, I didn't have a need, or really a desire, to push my skills to more difficult locks.

I work in tech, and found this skill to be...
1) helpful around the office
2) calming almost meditation-type of activity
3) useful with friends & family

I'm not trying to steal shit, or be a hoodlum, so I didn't feel a strong need to advance. Also, being able to quickly look at a lock and say "I can rake it" or "I can cut it off" really saves time.

>>941177
I got a travel kit off Amazon when I learned how (fold out picks like a hex set with a slot for the tension wrench). I had an old 6 pin schlage outer door lock that I attached to a board and practiced on that, instead of the cutout/clear lock, which I think was better due to the wear (not because I couldn't see what was going on). I've never had much success raking, but I could open every door in my house in about a minute with the hooks. I definitely agree with getting a cheap set over shelling out the cash for something more professional because they'll work about as well and beginners won't know what to do with most of the picks anyway. I've seen people use dental tools too, when their state had restrictions on lockpicking tools.

I'm nearly a decent picker, but I can't find a good and cheap pinning kit to re-pin my locks.
Any suggestions? I need one with security pins.

>>941995

You need the whole kit or just spools, mushrooms, etc.?

Also I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone might have. Been in the locksmith/access control field for a decade.

>>942001
I'd rather have the whole kit, except for master pins and shit, but I would be happy with just spools and other security pins.

>>942003

Lockpicks.com sells a security top pin kit. Other than that you MAY be able to find individual packs of security pins online.

>>942020
>Lockpicks.com
Ah, found it. It wasn't in the pin kit category.
http://www.lockpicks.com/high-security-pin-kit.html
$55 seems like a decent price.

What an intriguing thread topic, gentlemen.

>my picks finally arrived
Time to fail at cracking open this practice lock.

>>942034

Yeah. I did a glancery search and found that the only individual security pins for sale online that I could find were for American Padlock. These pins have a much smaller diameter than standard pins and obviously wouldn't work.

>>942044

I always wanted to be a locksmith, even growing up. Finally got lucky and began an apprenticeship in college. Anyways, when I was 16 I got my first pick set and locked an exterior shed door with a standard entry function knobset. The key was gone so my mom basically said you need to get it open or you're paying for a locksmith. Long story short, you can't start off any worse than I did.

>>942081
That's a touching story anon. I'll remember it when I crack this thing open.

>>940537

>Brought my lock picking set inside once (usually leave it in the car)
>Locked myself out about 15 minutes later.

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Going to start posting some things you guys might find "neat" that I've come across these past few years.

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The inside of a Best 45H mortise lock. Popular in schools, hospitals, and other government buildings.

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Inside of an old Herring Hall Marvin vault door. Had to repair combination lock because it was taking them too long to dial it open.

>>942353

Forgot to add, that semi-circle of rubbed brass on the bolt? That's from the release pin. See how there is a spring attached to it and the bolt? You press the release pin (while locked inside the vault) and it pivots the bolt out of the way and allows the handle (the black piece to the left of it) to rotate.

A common bypass on older vaults is to drill a small hole next to this and use a small probe to manually move the bolt, thus allowing entry.

Sounds easy right? The trouble is knowing where to put that hole.

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Retrofiting a Von Duprin PS914 power supply into an older box. The chucklefucks that originally installed the system had no sense of cable management. Shit was lying all over ceiling tiles, etc. If you're ever doing low voltage work, you place your wires as high as possible, away from everything else (including ballasts), and secured in place using plenum rated zip ties.

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Miwa deadbolt.

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Measuring to drill for access to the control lug of the interchangeable core.

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Construction cores. These are used by construction companies as temporary cores once the locks are installed so they can utilize the doors/locks. They are color coded for simplicity but many different colors exit. The "lime green" color is the most popular.

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Part of my shop at work. I use the hell out of my Dremel mini-press. Great for cleaning up parts, drilling small holes (roll pins or access holes), etc.

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An International panic bar disassembled. These are very popular on aluminum store fronts.

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A bunch of door frames ready to be installed.

>>942355
>>942359
>>942368
>>942373
>>942376
>>942379
>>942365
tnkhsa
for the pics , very interesting

>>942081
If you search the website for "spool" or "serrated", they have products without picture.
100 each, but no other information.

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My EDC kit.
The rest is in storage.

>>942368
Damn, that's a lot of interchangeable cores. Can you tell us more about them?
Like how much do they cost, how secure are they?

dont need a kit, just some screwdrivers and some needles/ hair pins ect

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B014PET8W2/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1454879972&sr=8-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=lock+pick+set

Is this a good set to start with? Seems like a good deal since the transparent locks alone are roughly $10 on ebay.

>>943129
The picks look like shit from the picture, but you can't really gauge steel quality from a picture.
All the picks you really need to start learning are: a hook; a half-diamond; a sort of rake, maybe a snake rake.
The transparent lock is good if you can't picture the way a lock works in your head. Don't rely on being able to see the pins, that'll stunt your learning.

If you do buy this kit, you'll probably need to make a few more tension tools.

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I use to carry a single pick and tension wrench, but this is much easier. It stores the picks in the body, the clip is the tension wrench and puts together like an exacto-knife. Otherwise it's useless to make your own picks, given the availability of extremely high quality ones at cheap prices.

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>>943115

They cost me low $20s through a distributor. Depends on keyway and finish. That's just for the core though, not the lock or cylinder housing it.

They're easily picked and drilled but they're offer great key control which is why they're found in a lot of colleges/universities, public schools, military and government, and other institutions. Their ease of pulling a core out and putting a new one in means rekeying is quick and easy; no disassembly required.

I almost used them on my house but I could not find the right finish to match my door knobs and I wasn't going to install a commercial knob or lever to match the deadbolt.

Pic related; pin kit for interchangeable cores plus one for standard cylinders.

>>943163
$20 for one?
Interchangeable cores have different pin diameter/sizes?
Yeah, I've definitely seen interchangeable cores on my campus before.

>>943175

Yes. ~$20 for one. They last forever and can be rekeyed many, many times.

Same pin diameter but different lengths.

>>943135
Are there specific brands or something to look for? Everyone in the thread just said get a cheap set first.

>>943203
http://www.lockpicking101.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=39809

I've pissed around with the Best locks for a good part of 20 years. Can pin a core that will open with 4 keys in about 5 minutes. Never had any luck picking them past 5 barrels.

Pissed around with a Fire King file cabinet with a Medico lock for 30 minutes the other day before I broke out the drill. Bastards sneak in hardened pins that slow down the drill/beaver method of lock picking.

Surprised muself a couple years ago and was able to pick open a couple of tubular locks I found in less than an hour of playing. Agree with others it can be relaxing to a point

>>943135
I've never had much luck with rakes. It just usually takes me longer than using hooks/half diamond and I definitely favor the hooks. Just about all the youtube videos I watched with raking had the pins on the bottom, which seems like cheating to me. I wanted to see some technique for getting through a false set. It also seems like everyone demonstrates on nice, lubricated locks that are clean as fuck without pins that stick more than others. Weird.

Anyway, I suppose I should have my wife get me a decent set for my birthday/anniversary because now I want to try raking again.

>>944313
To me raking always had a limit. And that was spool pins, which is not a far limit.
So skipping learning how to rake won't be a big loss.

/r/toool
/r/lockpicking

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>>944375
Kill yourself.