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Hi everybody, I'm Chad from Ohio. I stumbled onto an article about locksport about 6 months ago and got curious, bought some picks, and now I simply can't stop. I've completely lost my mind for locks of all kinds, and decided to make a career out of it. I'm nearly finished with an online Locksmithing course (Ashbury College) and prepping for my ALoA certification test, and spending the rest of my time soaking up YouTube videos and anything else I can find. I am amazed and humbled by those of you who have shared what you know there and here, and thankful that you've done so as it's made this trip possible. I've learned so much, and at the same time such a small bit of what's to know. I hope I can prove myself worthy of your efforts.

So far I've mostly been picking (not a day goes by) and have burned my way thru most of the affordable padlocks and deadbolts I can get my hands on. I have no trouble with anything they sell at the big box hardware stores now, and actually think security pins make things easier. Next step is commercial high-security locks... I've recently picked up an Assa Twin, Medeco BiAxial, and a Schlage Primus (the older one, not everest), and I've been giving them dirty looks but haven't dug in yet. I'm afraid once I start with those, I won't sleep for a week.

I'm also starting to play with safe combination locks, mostly thanks to the tutorials and write-ups here. S&G 6741 is in the mail ($10 on ebay!), and I got a ridiculous bargain on a gun safe from work that we didn't have a combination for (it's a Field & Stream branded Stack-on firesafe), so I'll have those to play with in short order. Big thanks to Oldfast, Daggers, and the other spinners who have shared so much here (I actually know where to start, now) and to tumbl3r for pointing me here.

Really looking forward to getting to know you all better, learning more about the industry in general, and feeding this new addiction... it's hungry.

Thanks for having me.

Welcome!

Read, Practice, Rinse, Repeat.

... Then upgrade ....

Hi there madsamurai. I live about 2 miles due north of the Dayton Mall, so I know your neck of the woods pretty well. Welcome to the dark side, as one member fondly puts it! If I can be of any help don't hesitate to ask. My name is Mark, again, welcome.

Hi Mark, I had actually seen some of your posts earlier tonight and noticed that you were close by... maybe we can grab lunch sometime? I'd love to hear your thoughts about the local locksmith market, what kinds of career opportunities I might find around here, what specific skills are particularly valuable, etc. I'm still trying to decide what direction I want to go with this; there seem to be a lot of options, and they each have some appeal. Let me know if you're up for that. Thanks for the welcome!

macgng: that's exactly the philosophy I've taken up... reading everything I can find, picking until my fingers are raw, taking everything apart... my desk is almost entirely covered in lock stuff. I can't get enough of it, but I'm going broke! Seriously, this is worse than drugs...

Welcome to the board mate, once the lock bug hits you it hits hard. Great to have you here.

Welcome from Cleveland!

Welcome to another person that got "bit" by the bug. Lot of fun and you never stop learning. Glad to have you.

Steve

Glad to have you. I got bit via the Jolly Roger Cookbook a long time ago and now I make locktools for a (type of) living and assess vulnerabilities in locks for some pretty big companies. It's a big field, I am sure you will have lots of fun. I did not get a lot of sleep the week I picked my Assa Twin, I would recommend not starting.

Its so awesome to see so many passionate people when it comes to locksmithing! i started (SNIP: Business spam link removed) for that exact reason, and its great when you hire guys that you can tell have the same passion as you!

Welcome, Chad! Great to see you here my friend! For venturing into the hi-sec locks, I found the writings xeo has done to be immensely helpful! He just has a real knack for articulating complex processes and concepts so that they can be easily understood. For spinning, it sounds like you've already found the "Oldfast Safe Chronicles". Those provided me with my initial inspiration to get started with safe locks. I had been posting my manipulations, but don't have anything new up. You remind me that I should spend some time with a dial and get something new up there, LOL.

Anyhow, welcome! I'm sure that like I did, you'll find this group to be some of the kindest, most friendly and talented group of folks you've ever known.

Thanks for the warm welcome, everyone. It's really something special to find a group like this... I can see I'll be spending a lot of time here.

Great to see you, too, tumbl3r! Thanks again for pointing me this way, I'm having a great time here already. Yes, Oldfast's Chronicles and other posts have been enlightening, to say the least. I honestly thought safe locks was an area I wouldn't be able to get into until I was "indoctrinated" into the industry, so you've opened a huge door (rabbit hole) for me. My S&G 6741 arrives tomorrow, and I can't wait to start spinning and graphing. The high-security tumbler locks are intimidating, and I keep putting them off... not sure why. I have picked at the Assa Twin a few times, but took a break to do more research on them. Your method of tapping and jiggling those side pins sounds like it should help, so I'm gonna take another stab at it soon. The Medeco is going to require some serious commitment. I took out all but a single pin and managed it in about 5 minutes, and thought "this isn't so bad," but I put a second pin back in and it took almost an hour to get them both set. So now I have an idea what I'm up against and have been reading and watching videos looking for some insight, but it's probably time to man up and get a pick back in there.

A big WELCOME to you Chad. I'm Mike. Glad you're here.

And how exciting?! Very happy for you and your new journey/career path.
You're off and runnin' with a vengeance too! You have the drive no doubt.
And that beard of yours.... looks very trustworthy to me So that'll help.

Big welcome from around this side.

I see you have been bitten badly

Like the others have said it's a big and fascinating field with heaps of interesting things to learn.

For a bit of diversion have a go at making your own picks. You don't need a lot of equipment and you will be surprised at what some of them will do but then again, maybe just deal with one addiction at a time. Check out "Home brew"

Anyway, again, welcome to the home of "Lock tragics"

PS I bet the beard is coming in handy with the weather you are having at the moment.