16 months off/on, and I have FINALLY picked my first Abus!!

[hellslave]

I know 16 months is an incredibly long time to take in order to pick a lock, but I had long breaks from picking during that time, as well as other locks to play with. But to finally get one of the two Abus locks I have, feels AMAZING!



EDIT:

When it rains, it pours! JUST popped the other one!

[Neilau]

Congratulations.

They are a fun lock to pick and not that easy (at first).

They feel quite different to other pin tumbler locks. Almost like the pins are made of aluminum.

Now that you have the feel for them, close them up and do it again. They will be much easier next time.

Knowing that you can do it really helps.

[Deadlock]

Hats off to you, and that's a fact. Abus are still Kryptonite to me. I can get plenty of clicks, but no false set.

I've got an Abus rim cylinder, so the latest plan is to take it apart and progressively pin it. When (If!) I can pick it with all pins, I'll give the padlock (65/45) another go.

[twenglish 1]

I can do the Brady lockout tagout safety lock which is an abus with ease but I cannot get get my abus 34/55, don't have the right pick for the tight keyway, got a false set a few times but by looking at the key a few pins gotta go up pretty high and my pick won't reach, waiting for my Peterson gem and number 7 one of those should do the trick

[hellslave]

In the time since I posted this, I've only been able to open one of the locks a second time. That's it. I think my issue is that I can't really feel the counter-rotation when I hit a spool. That, and hand fatigue; hurts like hell. One of these days, I'll get around to buying/making a decent TOK wrench, and see if that makes things any easier.

[Neilau]

Just to clear up my previous post.

I was only referring to the Titalum pad locks. They do have a really different feel from any other cylinder I have played with.

I haven't "played" with many Abus locks like rim cylinders. Actually, the only other Abus I've played with was a discus and that was a real disappointment.

As for Hellslave's problem, stick with it. They are not that easy but you have done it before so you can do it again.

Don't continue when your hand gets sore. Have a break.

Maybe you need to lighten up a bit on the torsion. A common problem it that you tend to increase the torsion, unconsciously. A sure sign of this is a sore hand.

Lighten up.

[hellslave]

It's not my tensioning hand that gets sore, it's my picking hand. But still, I think you may be right in my needing to lighten it up a bit.

[DroppedTensionWrench]

Great job!

[Neilau]

The more torsion you use the harder you have to work the pick.

It's a common problem. I still find myself "tightening up" and have to ease off. It seems that the longer you are working on the lock the more the torsion creeps up (frustration ? ).

Some people use very heavy torsion but that is usually on very high tolerance locks. The Titallium pad locks that I have opened have needed moderate to just light of moderate torsion and like I said the feel is very different on these locks.

I think I might sacrifice one of mine and open it up to see just what is going on inside.

It took me quite a few openings to get to the point that I could open them fairly quickly. I put them away and about six months later got them out and found that I almost had to start over again. The bitting also plays an important role in the difficulty factor of these (and other) locks. You might have to use a slightly deeper hook if you have a low high situation.

[hellslave]

Update:

So I've gotten to the point where I can pop one of them in about 45 seconds to a minute, every time. But the other has me over a barrel; it just doesn't want to play nicely. Ugh! I've got a couple other locks to take a break with, but these are the most fun. :/