Looking to try a higher security lock

[twenglish 1]

I am able to easily open both of my american locks, what would the next step up be? found some 7 pin best cores on ebay for a cheap price, of the two 7 pinners i have looked at one has the CX keyway and the other has the H Which would you recommend i start with? or would a completely different lock be better?

EDIT: Did some reaseach on the best interchangable cores and it would make it espcially challenging because of the dual shear lines for the operating and control keys

[Papa Gleb]

Hey Twenglish, there is actually a thread listing all of the locks in order. The thread is divided into pin tumblers, combination, disc retainer, and some more categories which all start with the easiest lock and so on.

I also rushed to get my very first 7 pin Best but was a bit disappointed because they are almost always pinned with standard pins. Yes some Best locks do have security pins but good luck finding those. I would recommend moving to Germany now that you settled in American. Abus is an amazing company with some very fun locks to pick.

Also keep in mind the not all American locks are pinned the same. Some have all serrated, some have all spools some have a mix and some have spoolrated which personally are my weakness but TONS of fun. I would still getting a Best padlock just because there are two shear lines to attack and sometime you get one but not the other which can be fun and a challenge.

[twenglish 1]

The best locks i have looked at are just the cores, but i am interested in the challenge associated with the dual shear lines, i have two american 5200 locks, one has 3 deep spools no serrations and the other one has all 5 serrated key pins and 2 serrated spool drivers and the other 3 are serrated, deep serrations at that

[Papa Gleb]

There is a challenge in the double shear line plus standard pins can often be much harder than security pins but sitting here having several american, abus and best locks I would say the american and abus are very fun, best can be fun but it can also turn into frustration. I have a best padlock that I can pick open in under a minute but can not for my life get the core out and believe me when I say I tried literally hundreds of time. I had that padlock with every where I went and at the first chance I had I would pull the picks out. I tried raking, rocking, etc, all of the picks that I own (a good assortement of rakes) and still nothing. Till this day I can not get the core out. I was in the process of sending it over to someone from here to play with but I moved on before I actually sent it.

BTW spoolrated pins are no where near by comparison to spools or serrated pins. I have a small american 60 that decides it self when it will be picked open. Get a good false set, pick one pin then boom they all drop. Till today that is my most challenging lock out of all the locks that I have picked open.

You can always get both an Abus and a Best. Surely you can find sweet deals for both on ebay.

[pmaxey83]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ABUS-LOCK-34-55 ... 19fab2ff9b

An Abus 34/55 is a great lock, I feel the key way and tolerances make them tougher than an American.

[twenglish 1]

I actually have that very lock on my ebay watch list, and with my one american, the one with two standard drivers and 3 spool drivers, i have noticed that if i set the two standard pins first, the very deep false set becomes a problem, it makes it very hard to set the spools because the 5200 has no spring tension on the plug and i release all tension and the spool pins wont move that last little bit to set, i managed to get it a few times by setting both standards but i had to twist my pick to get the core to rotate back enough to set the spools, i can pick this lock in under a minute if i pick the binding standard pin, then the spools and end with the final standard pin, now i realize this wont always be an option but it has worked many times on this lock

[Doogs]

You don't necessarily need to leave Americans you could try an 1100 seies and look for a more challenging bitting with hi-lo-hi-lo. Something like that should prove challenging and you can start rounding out the collection. The newer Best's can be a challenge. The
Abus are nice due to the keyway but again look for a nasty bitting to get the most out of it.

Another option is to invest in a high security pinning kit and re-pin your Americans. You may be able to find one (lock) with a bag of mixed pins on eBay. Also you can switch the pins around on the locks you already have to make them a bit more of a challenge until you get something else.

[Papa Gleb]

Yep that is the exact Abus I was talking about. Believe me its not your average lock. It has such a strong spring on the plug so when you let off just a hair or two of tension to set the pins that spring lets off a few more hairs for you resulting in dropping all the pins plus that Y1 keyway can be a real b*tch.

The 5200 you have is the US version right? All US version locks have a dead core and key retaining which is actually GOOD because if you can master picking security pins with a dead core, a spring loaded core will be a joke.

[twenglish 1]

I just ordered an American 1100, I also though about repinning the 5200s I have, and yes they are both the US version, both have dead cores and I must say it really makes the spools alot tougher, with a spring loaded core you release tension to set the spools but the dead core I have the problem of releasing all tension and it still not being enough to set them sometimes, a couple brinks locks I have, 2 laminated and my brinks disk lock have spools and I can set them so easily