Feeling defeated
I was called out to a house where the owners had locked themselves out. It takes me about 20 minutes to get there, and I arrive to find them waiting for me in their car. According to the man they usually use the front door, so I started by trying to pick it. It was a mortise lock with an old Sargent cylinder. The cylinder seemed to be really stiff and I could barely get a single pin to set. Also the mortise lock was really loose in the door so it jiggled around a lot. Both the latch and the deadbolt were locked on it.
After a few minutes I moved on to the side door which had a night latch and a Sargent rim cylinder of the same keyway. It would not pick either. I even tried jimmying it open, but my shim got caught on the copper weatherstripping. After about 15 or 20 minutes the lady was getting tired of waiting, and said she would just call someone else. I offered that I could drill it as a last resort, but wouldn't have the exact cylinder to replace it with today. They declined.
I feel very defeated and frustrated at myself. I know I'm not the best lock picker ever, but I'm not too bad. I don't know if I was distracted or cold or why I couldn't get it. What would you guys do in that situation? How long would you spend on a stubborn lock?
I'm going to try to find an old Sargent cylinder around, then if I had to drill one I could just give them a replacement. (Sorry to make it such a long story)