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I though it would be interesting to share, to which locks you go to on a confidence crisis?

I'll start. I go to my American Padlock 5200. I am constantly repining it to different configurations of serrated and/or spoorated , with serrated key pins .
I also go to a kwikset and a no branded pin tumbler I own, but those are mostly to play with different tension and picking styles, than confidence building.

Fun fact, not more than 3 weeks ago, I said to GWiens2001 (he is the padlock's previous owner): "Yeah, ok! They can be picked (still not by me at the time), but even an experience picker would need too much time to pick these in a real life situation!"
Then he showed me this video:


I believe this is a member here, but I don't know who

Anyway, thanks to his inspiration, and Gordon's lessons , I am now capable of saying they are my confidence locks. So here's my public thank you!



What about y'all?

That is my video. I've picked LOTS of those... probably over 100. They are still my absolute favorite lock to pick with Medeco Classic being a close second. When I get bored I usually take out some random Medecos and American Locks to mess around with.

It's yours? Damn, I nailed it! thanks for the inspiration Xeo! And the help on the chat too

You have more than a youtube channel?

Anchor Las.


People do rarely know them and their finish is the best I have ever seen. They have 2 discs more then the Abus Granit. The keys do not have a real restriction but are built to last a lifetime. Their locks range from CEN Grade 2 up to CEN Grade 6. Oh and they are not as expensive then the Abloy. In my opinion you are you also paying for the name when buy an Abloy padlock, not with Anchor Las though.

I just love them

Aww, shucks fgarci07. It was no big deal.

I have received a lot of tips from lots of people, too. Glad I could help.

My confidence locks are three Schlage KIK cylinders, each loaded with different security driver pins and the newer brass Master #140 padlocks that have spools. Easy stuff, except if you keep it by the bed for 'wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night' picking and grab a KIK to pick in the dark and put the tension wrench in the wrong end of the KIK cylinder.

Gordon

Yes, not all of them will like you to stick your tool on their rear end. Get your mind out of the gutter. NOW!

I'll change the subject before this gets messy

does it matter which end you tension from? seems like it would still work the same.

Mark me down too for Americans being one of my favorites

A note on "confindence locks"... sometimes I'll pick up what I think is going to be a condfidence builder,
and it ends up giving me a hell of a time LOL. It saps my confidence because it SHOULD be so simple! hahA!

@Rai - it does matter with a Schlage. That retaining cap on the back takes a fair bit of keyway space away. Add a tension wrench, and there just ain't the space in the keyway you are used to having.

@fgarci03 - but the water is so nice here in the gutter!

Gordon

Mike, that is sooo true!
+1 to that!

Most any wafer lock, like filing cabinet and desk locks. (yeah, I know, TOO easy!) Master padlocks, some older Americans, and pretty much any Chinese cheapo's.

Yale Y300 for me. 5 spools, but I can pick it every time. (Sometimes it does take longer than usual...)

I honestly find spools kind of 'easy'. Serrated pins still kick my ass though.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=6905&hilit=american+padlock

Try this. Oldfast wrote a beautifull paper on serrated pins. It will sure help you. I once though they were too difficult for me, untill I found they can be quite easy to overcome!

Ha - I've read it, and they still kick my ass, lol!

I'll get it eventually. I feel like I've been spending too much time making picks, and not enough using them.

And all I can say in reply to that video of Oldfast picking 6 Americans in under 3 minutes is - wow.

I only have one American that I have been able to pick - a 1970's (not sure of exact year) brass military model.

If I know a lock is mostly spools, I'll apply tension, then drag a hook across the pins to get a bunch of false sets. I'll then feel around for the pin that causes counter-rotation, set it, then feel around for the next one, etc...

Spools, to me, give a pretty good indication of exactly what needs to be done and which pin it needs to be done to. Serrated pins all just feel the same to me...