Fri Dec 04, 2015 9:21 pm
Training Lock Reviews
Not sure what y'all think about training locks, but I have one that I've started learning on and a couple more on the way, so I thought I'd do a review or two.
So! Let's kick this thing off
. I have some repinnable cutaways from LearnLockPicking on the way, but they're still stuck in the US at the moment as as I didn't have any European locks anyway, I decided to head onto eBay and see what there is around. The following Euro lock is from a UK seller called locks-away on eBay UK - I ordered this lock at 10am on one day and it was with me 10am the next day, so I can vouch for this company's speed if you're in a rush and based in the UK!
The package was £17.99 with free shipping and for that you get a cutaway Euro cylinder (half size, without the cam), hex key and bag of pins. Oh, and a key! The cutaway cylinder has been modified to take set screws at the bottom of each pin chamber to make it east to re-pin. The lock itself is supplied with 6 standard pins installed, and the bag contains an assortment of standard pins (driver and key), and some spools.
I also ordered a small pinning tray from the same company. It has been cut from a single piece of clear acrylic and feels very sturdy and heavy, it has also been fitted with 4 small feet which is a nice touch. The tray includes 5x6 pin dimples (sadly they are all round so nowhere to put the springs - for repinning this lock I actually used the indentations in my Sparrows pinning mat, another recent purchase), two cutouts for cylinders, a long thin slot for tweezers and a square area.
All the stuff:
Lock de-pinned (took me about 5 mins, YMMV but it's very easy):
Clamped up in the vice:
I've pinned mine up with one standard pin at the front and am working on getting a feel for binding / non binding pins as an exercise. I'm finding it quite tricky due to the restricted keyway access (it's a Yale style Euro cylinder with the little flick at the top of the keyway and the warding is pretty deep - even using my SouthOrd euro pick set (C2010) I'm struggling to get a hook in there). That said, this is typical of UK locks so it's pointless to learn on large keyways here!
Overall I'm very happy with the quality of the product for the cost and I'm looking forward to comparing it with the US set when that arrives!
As a little update, I did manage to crack this recently with all 6 pins in. First kinda-proper pick (if you count being able to see the pins) XD
So! Let's kick this thing off
. I have some repinnable cutaways from LearnLockPicking on the way, but they're still stuck in the US at the moment as as I didn't have any European locks anyway, I decided to head onto eBay and see what there is around. The following Euro lock is from a UK seller called locks-away on eBay UK - I ordered this lock at 10am on one day and it was with me 10am the next day, so I can vouch for this company's speed if you're in a rush and based in the UK!The package was £17.99 with free shipping and for that you get a cutaway Euro cylinder (half size, without the cam), hex key and bag of pins. Oh, and a key! The cutaway cylinder has been modified to take set screws at the bottom of each pin chamber to make it east to re-pin. The lock itself is supplied with 6 standard pins installed, and the bag contains an assortment of standard pins (driver and key), and some spools.
I also ordered a small pinning tray from the same company. It has been cut from a single piece of clear acrylic and feels very sturdy and heavy, it has also been fitted with 4 small feet which is a nice touch. The tray includes 5x6 pin dimples (sadly they are all round so nowhere to put the springs - for repinning this lock I actually used the indentations in my Sparrows pinning mat, another recent purchase), two cutouts for cylinders, a long thin slot for tweezers and a square area.
All the stuff:
Lock de-pinned (took me about 5 mins, YMMV but it's very easy):
Clamped up in the vice:
I've pinned mine up with one standard pin at the front and am working on getting a feel for binding / non binding pins as an exercise. I'm finding it quite tricky due to the restricted keyway access (it's a Yale style Euro cylinder with the little flick at the top of the keyway and the warding is pretty deep - even using my SouthOrd euro pick set (C2010) I'm struggling to get a hook in there). That said, this is typical of UK locks so it's pointless to learn on large keyways here!
Overall I'm very happy with the quality of the product for the cost and I'm looking forward to comparing it with the US set when that arrives!
As a little update, I did manage to crack this recently with all 6 pins in. First kinda-proper pick (if you count being able to see the pins) XD