Friday, September 27, 2013

Day 6

I kept practicing with the clear lock today.


I seem to have the same problem still. I always seem to over set the first pin but after I get that one set, I can fumble around and get the lock open.

I am not able to get it completely without looking at the pins but I am getting a lot better at single pin picking.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Day 5

Sorry this is a little bit late...

I practiced a little bit more with single pin picking.

I can do it much faster now when I am looking at the pins, and I also started trying not to look and see how far I can get.

I kept over setting my first pin, but if I could get that one set, I could once again get 2 or 3 pins up. This is exactly what happened when I was first learning, so I am confident that I will be able to get past it!

Also, if you like my blog, or find it useful, please give it a +1 and share it with your friends! More visitors gives me more inspiration! If I get enough people viewing / following my blog, I may even do some giveaways!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Day 4

I did a little bit more practice today. I can get the lock open a lot quicker now, but I still have to look at the pins to be able to pick it.

I noticed after I set 2 or 3 pins, I need to go back and lightly push each one up again before I can set the 4th or 5th pin. I'm not sure why this happens, but either the pins won't set or the cylinder won't rotate if I don't do this.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Day 3

So today I spent about an hour practicing some more single pin picking.

My hand cramped up pretty bad from holding the lock and the tension wrench for 15 minutes, so I had to spread out my practice. I would like to figure out a way to mount my lock(s) somewhere so I don't have to hold it when I am picking. This would save my hand and give me a more realistic environment.


Today I was able to get all 5 pins up on my lock. I realized I was over setting some of the pins so I couldn't turn the cylinder. After a little bit of trial and error, I saw that the amount of tension you put on the wrench has an effect on how well I am able to pick.



I also found a really good read if anyone else is interested in picking up this hobby.
The book is Lock Picking: Detail Overkill by Mike Gibson.
You can find it free online here. The password is evva3ks.
This book is really helpful and taught me a lot! If you're looking on improving your skills, read it!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Day 2

I got my clear lock today, it's actually really helpful.


They let me see what happens when the pins are aligned and how different keys effect the pins. I grabbed this lock and my picks and started trying single pin picking.

It's nice to be able to see what I am doing, but I know that that's not practical in real picking, but it's helpful to start.

I started out by getting a feel for which pins are binding and tried setting them. I got a good feel for pressure for the tension wrench and I get to see which pick is best for certain things.

I wasn't able to successfully pick this lock today, but I was able to get 3 pins up. I just can't seem to get the last two to stay.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Day 1

First day.

I spent most of this time just messing with the different tools, seeing what does that and just fumbling around with the tools and a cheap $15 kwikset deadbolt I bought.

I tried picking the lock but it didn't seem to work out. I could get some of the pins to stick but I couldn't get more than 2.
I read a little bit and saw that most people start out just raking the lock, so I tried that.
I started off using a full rake and the tension wrench.
My first attempt took several minutes, but I was finally able to get the lock open.

I spend a few hours practicing and got my times down from 5 minutes to about a minute, and now I can open the lock with one or two rocking motions. As I got better, I found that I could also rake the lock with a c rake, which felt like if gave me more control. It's a good start, but also a rather lousy lock.



I tried the same technique on a master padlock but I couldn't get more then 3 pins up, and even that was hard.

I also ordered some clear locks so that I can practice picking and so I will be able to see what I am doing.


Introduction

Lockpicking. It seems to be a controversial topic, but it has always interested me. I have tried to get started before, but I never had the correct tools (paperclips do not make great lock picks.)I just recently bought a cheap lockpick set, as it was on sale and I figured, "why not start now?" So I picked this little guy up and got started...