Re: Newbie for Newbie
Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 4:13 amI think this is a great idea and there is much wise counsel to be absorbed there. My only disagreement regards the fifth-listed motive for learning to pick locks:
and the reasons against this:
I agree that lock picking ability generally doesn't impress women but I don't agree that all locks are mechanicalyy and conceptually simple. Your description is relevant only to plain-vanilla pin tumbler locks. You need to broaden your horizons and look at some of the cutaway high security locks that Han Fey prepares, analyses and photographs. Consider these sample http://toool.nl/images/f/f9/Cutaway1.pdf. I like the EVVA MCS; refer here http://www.evva.com/products/mechanical-locking-systems/mcs-locking-system/technology/en/ and http://books.google.com.au/books?id=1WeVeMMGQKEC&lpg=PA459&ots=jobDWpAqbA&dq=evva%20mcs&pg=PA461#v=onepage&q=evva%20mcs&f=false. There are four magnetic rotors in the cylinder and each consists of a samarium-cobalt magnet. The key also contains magnets and these cause the little rotors to spin when it is inserted into the cylinder. Is that cool?! I think there is plenty in the high-security locks to appeal to those that have a fondness for mechanically complicated things (this is a good reference on [url]high-security locks http://books.google.com.au/books?id=1We ... cs&f=false[/url]). The devices that pick and/or decode these high-security locks are also quite mechanically complicated. If you can get access to LSS+ (http://www.security.org/lss-tour.htm especially the Government edition) you can see all of the amazing tools John Falle (Here's a small sample: http://ericschmiedl.com/locks/index3.html) has invented.
So I would say that lock picking can also offer much for those that are fascinated with complicated mechanics.
I'm offering this as constructive criticism so I hope I'm coming across as an overbearing arsehole (my sincere apologies if I am). I hope you continue updating your blog as I too am a neophyte.
PS:- In the state that I am in if you are not a locksmith and by some bad luck you are searched by police (which they can now do to anyone around trainstations and nightclub/bar/pub precincts) and you are found to be carrying lock picks you can be charged with "travelling equipped to commit burglary" (or some such wording, I don't have the Act handy). Also, in an obscure pamphlet on lockpicking, curiously titled Something New About Lockpicking: Why the Hell it Didn't Work With You? the author advises against being open about your lockpicking excpet with your close friends and relatives. His reasoning is that if you divulge your lockpicking to either your neighbours or fellow employees and there is a theft or burglary their minds will jump at you being the culprit.
I really like working hands-on with complicated mechanical stuff.
and the reasons against this:
If you really like working hands-on with complicated mechanical stuff, buy a car or a motorcycle. They make noise, they have explosions, and girls think they’re sexy. I have yet to experience the time when I picked a lock in front of a girl and it got me laid. This won’t do that for you. Locks also aren’t terribly complicated mechanically. The few moving parts they have are incredibly simplistic. It consists of a housing for the pins, the top pin, the key pin, and a spring. Yes, that’s it. That’s all there is to it. No matter what form these items come in, this is what makes a lock a lock. There are really only four basic parts. It’s true that using your hands to manipulate objects is kind of cool, but if that’s your thing you’re going to find locks to be very elementary and boring before long, so again this is not a good choice for a hobby.
I agree that lock picking ability generally doesn't impress women but I don't agree that all locks are mechanicalyy and conceptually simple. Your description is relevant only to plain-vanilla pin tumbler locks. You need to broaden your horizons and look at some of the cutaway high security locks that Han Fey prepares, analyses and photographs. Consider these sample http://toool.nl/images/f/f9/Cutaway1.pdf. I like the EVVA MCS; refer here http://www.evva.com/products/mechanical-locking-systems/mcs-locking-system/technology/en/ and http://books.google.com.au/books?id=1WeVeMMGQKEC&lpg=PA459&ots=jobDWpAqbA&dq=evva%20mcs&pg=PA461#v=onepage&q=evva%20mcs&f=false. There are four magnetic rotors in the cylinder and each consists of a samarium-cobalt magnet. The key also contains magnets and these cause the little rotors to spin when it is inserted into the cylinder. Is that cool?! I think there is plenty in the high-security locks to appeal to those that have a fondness for mechanically complicated things (this is a good reference on [url]high-security locks http://books.google.com.au/books?id=1We ... cs&f=false[/url]). The devices that pick and/or decode these high-security locks are also quite mechanically complicated. If you can get access to LSS+ (http://www.security.org/lss-tour.htm especially the Government edition) you can see all of the amazing tools John Falle (Here's a small sample: http://ericschmiedl.com/locks/index3.html) has invented.
So I would say that lock picking can also offer much for those that are fascinated with complicated mechanics.
I'm offering this as constructive criticism so I hope I'm coming across as an overbearing arsehole (my sincere apologies if I am). I hope you continue updating your blog as I too am a neophyte.
PS:- In the state that I am in if you are not a locksmith and by some bad luck you are searched by police (which they can now do to anyone around trainstations and nightclub/bar/pub precincts) and you are found to be carrying lock picks you can be charged with "travelling equipped to commit burglary" (or some such wording, I don't have the Act handy). Also, in an obscure pamphlet on lockpicking, curiously titled Something New About Lockpicking: Why the Hell it Didn't Work With You? the author advises against being open about your lockpicking excpet with your close friends and relatives. His reasoning is that if you divulge your lockpicking to either your neighbours or fellow employees and there is a theft or burglary their minds will jump at you being the culprit.
you must not be doin it right