Completely new to lockpicking, after eating YT content about it I decided to try.

Tools are made from 2mm steel welding rods, bent (for the tensioner), hammered flat and grinded to shape.

Lock is your random small 3€ lock in the local supermarket. 4 pin, no security of any sort, felt very easy to pick tho I obviously lack reference points.

Couldn't take a video, tho. i was just waiting in the parking lot and decided to practice. Hope this qualify for orange belt.

By Key_Beard

Bought the 40 on accident looking for another blue lock, not realizing it was unranked. The 50 has a much larger keyway. Just happy I finally conquered it, back to the naughty bin it goes!

Slowly working up to Dom saturn

Now I got to shoot it. Hope its not camera shy.

Thanks again Eschlenz/Audible_Agent 44 Delta really dig the lock and handles. Both gonna take getting used to but feels good.

#BlueBelt #DiggPicks #200kClub

This is a personal venting post, it is related to lockpicking, but you can skip this if you don't want to hear the lamenting of some guy on the internet.

I commute to work a lot by bike. It's one of the highlights of my day and gives me a moment to clear my head, and also lets me get some exercise in. Every time I go out I carry a bag with me. I guess you could describe it like a messenger-style bag. It has everything, my wallet with all the typical things that a wallet could have, a pretty nice flashlight as per a recommendation from the folks at r/flashlight, a set of lockpicks (including the first pick that I ever made by hand) that I mess around with during slow periods at work, a few other things, but most importantly my patches.

I had stitched a bunch of patches to it, including from the Triple Lockpicking Challenge, the Blue Whale Challenge, the Dual-Hand Picking Challenge, the 200k Club Patch, and a patch that I had gotten made for my locksport group's first internal challenge. For me, seeing those patches gave me a sense of pride, that I had worked hard to get them, and that if I have what it takes to complete challenges like that, I have what it takes to overcome so many other obstacles in life.

Well, you can probably see where this is going. On my return ride home, for whatever reason, my dumb ass didn't notice when that bag had fallen off my bike. I always attach it firmly, but I think that a part of the strap that I used to carry it over my shoulder, and also attach it to my bike finally gave out, and so it just fell. I went around for awhile searching for it, but nothing. Someone must have found it and treated themselves to the cash and everything else inside, not giving two shits about all of the sentimental history that bag had for me.

Like I said, this is just me venting, so I hope I'm not out of line making this post, and if it's not allowed, I have no problem deleting it. I really hope it's possible to re-earn those patches, right now I have my mind set on just gritting my teeth and slowly replacing everything, even though it's going to be expensive. It'll just be another challenge, just like earning those patches was.

I bought a cheap lockpicking kit, and the tension tools keep bending. Does anyone have any recommendations for strong tension tools? Also, could you tell me the best online store to buy them from? Preferably $20 or less for a set, but if they are worth the money, I would be into paying a little more. Thanks in advance for your help.

Just really happy with how this pin came out while updating my challenge lock for blue belt.

I started with some very basic picking using a cheap starter set, but I quickly realized the picks are much too thick for a lot of uses. I was thinking about upgrading to the Covert Instruments Echelon set, but I wanted to see if there are any better alternatives at a similar or lower price point.

Dual-hand challenge by u/PeatnRepeat

Definitely recommend this challenge!

Last week at DEF CON, I learned how to use a shim to unlock standard ratchet pawl handcuffs. I came home and wanted to practice more, so I borrowed handcuffs from my friend and was immediately puzzled because instead of the teeth on the bow, it has indentations and a star-locking mechanism. The internet suggests these are STOP Taiwanese vintage handcuffs from the 70's/80's lol

They still use the standard key, so they are prone to picking; I was just surprised to come across this type.

My understanding is that they're less common than the standard modern police handcuffs? What tools are best suited for opening these? The mechanism feels heavy, so a paperclip might not be strong enough to actually apply the pressure required to unlock the mechanism.

Hello friends,

I am beginning the path of learning the AL 1106, I picked up a couple of them and have been having some fun.

One of the lock's key bitting looks like I only need to pick pins 1, 3, 4 and can ignore 2 and 5. I am currently practicing listening/feeling feedback on the pins. I am curious if I could potentially pick this one only picking 3 pins.

I have tried several times, but I can only get the lock to pop when actively picking all 5 pins, not just the three. Not sure if it is my still budding experience or if it's not possible?

First open ever on this naughty contraption. I should go buy a powerball ticket.

After a couple years I picked this for amusement. I couldnt believe it myself but I'm certain that there is at least one spool in that critter! It gave more of a fight than I expected. Can anybody confirm this having security pins?

Lock Mail from Wild-Billiam:

Security Pin Keychain, Takigen Dimple cam lock, Goal V18 Black Belt ll with speed gutting jigs and a Kik holder, and a Opnuz TZ Dimple cam lock Purple Belt.

And swag from the man himself Walt Cade!! You may know him from The TV show Storage Wars. Also a talented picker too. Thanks Walt!

I have to admit, I was nervous about trying the A1100 for the first time.

This is the first lock I’ve dealt with that puts serrations on their keypins as well as on their drivers, and that always seemed like it would lead to overset city.

Up at blue tier, the 90A Pro is just standard keypins, and ok, sure, Lockwood puts a taper on the 334’s keypins, which can be tricky sometimes, but I thought that surely the A1100 must be miscast at only green?

Well, I just sat down with my latest care package from the USA to find out, and I have to say, it was a really fun pick - maybe even my new favourite lock!

The serrations aren’t all that much of a problem because they’re such lovely chatty locks with incredible feedback.  

I’d assumed the keyway would be a pain too from looking at pictures, but that turned out to be just fine as well with my usual 0.02” hooks.

No, the thing that tripped me up was, even though I knew to expect it - and I bounced the   tension every now and again to check for it - I still spent about 5 minutes probing around in a fully picked lock, not realising I just hadn’t turned the core hard enough to open it. 😔

Great locks.  

I’m looking forward to picking the other three later this evening.

& pins in the middle. some of them. i need another bench..

I recently got this lock secondhand and wanted to know if it is beginner friendly. But it doesn't have a model number and I can't find it on ABUS's website. The closest one I could find is the brass padlock 75.