Members Say Hi

[Omegamortis]

Hi, I'm Fredrik from Sweden.

I'm new to lock picking, but i fell in love with it after just 2-3 locks. I started with a cheap chinese set of lock picks about 2 months ago and started picking. I almost immediately felt that this was "my thing", and wanted more locks.

Said and done, I bought more locks at a local store and picked away. After seeing numerous videos by lockpickers on youtube, I decided to buy better picks. I now own 5-6 picks from Multipick and 4-5 picks from Southord.

I'm still a novice on lockpicking, I have only been picking padlocks so far. A couple of unbranded, Cocraft, ETC and such and 3 ABUS padlocks to be exact. I'm always on a look out for new locks and looking forward to improving my skill.

[Oldfast]

Welcome Fredrik... I'm Mike. Hope to cya around often.
Truly a wonderful place here with lots of good people.
No doubt you'll find the fuel you're looking for here.

[einherjer]

A bit late, but Hi! My name is Kim I. Startet picking locks when I bought a pickset and acryl padlock from a friend. (bought it more as a favour, cause my friend buys a lot of shit from china (dh-gate/ali a.o.) and then sells most of it)
Then I got a brilliant idea to browse Youtube to see if there was some teaching videos on lockpicking. Found Bosniabill... first video - Been picking locks ever since.

( Now I use (almost) all my free time picking locks and alot of my money buying locks and cool stuff and I love IT!!)

[Oldfast]

Welcome Kim. Sounds like you're hooked!

[Canis Lupis]

Hey there, name's Lon. Received a Southord Jacknife pick set as a gift and unleashed my amateur fingers on an old master lock I had laying around. 7 days later, no joy but I think I found my new hobby. I've since ordered some practice locks, a multi-angle vice & a couple of foundation type picks to learn on. Looking forward to starting the journey.

[Oldfast]

Hello & Welcome Lon. I'm Mike

[L4R3L2]

.....better known as Terry.

I've always been mechanically inclined. Worked the trades as an electroplater, electrician, plumber, anything that needed done in construction, but mostly carpentry.
Was always fascinated by locks and how they worked (amongst many other interests), but it wasn't until the mid-1990s I was solicited and hired by a large property management company. One of my functions while there was as a resident locksmith, first being apprenticed by an elder employee. I did a lot of rekeying, key cutting, installations, and picking. It was amazing how often a tenant would skip town and leave us with a front door lock they had rekeyed without authorization.

One time I remember most was a nasty eviction. I felt really uncomfortable about that one. The entry locks had been rekeyed, and we didn't have a key. Notices had been sent out, and the Sheriff was called to oversee final eviction at the deadline. I had a military surplus bulletproof vest at the time, a bulky one with plates to stop rifle bullets, and I remember making a stop by my place to pick it up. I was wearing it under my street jacket when I showed up. I must have looked like the Michelin Man, haha! Anyway, I picked the locks while the Sheriff watched, with my body contorted around the corner of the jamb instead of straight in front of the door. The tenants were already gone. Phew!

I was provided with a nice pick set, but I preferred to use my own home-made set, made from an allen key and a steel bristle I found in the gutter from a street sweeper brush.

I hadn't been involved with locksmithing since, until recently I became interested in safe dial locks. I've acquired several "toys" to play with, and in my search for information I was led here through Oldfast's excellent Chronicles thread. Searching these forums I found many excellent threads with great learning opportunities, that I decided to join so I could ask questions and maybe offer some meager input from time to time as well. My interests are always in flux, with some becoming lifelong fancies. I'm not sure how long these devices will keep me entertained, but I am really enjoying the experience, and it seems there's no end to techniques and methods to master, not to mention the various lock brands and designs to tackle (It might be time to move along from S&Gs for a change). It seems like I've graduated from the Rubic's Cube

[Oldfast]

Fantastic! A big WELCOME to you Terry. I'm Mike

Love the photo. Particularly those thick wooden blocks you've mounted to.
I have a few locks I've procrastinated on mounting because I should really
use something thicker like you've done there.

Have you tackled that 8400? I have a few, but haven't taken the leap yet.

[L4R3L2]

Fantastic! A big WELCOME to you Terry. I'm Mike

Love the photo. Particularly those thick wooden blocks you've mounted to.
I have a few locks I've procrastinated on mounting because I should really
use something thicker like you've done there.

Have you tackled that 8400? I have a few, but haven't taken the leap yet.

Nice to finally meet you, Mike. I've been reading a LOT of your contributions, and really appreciate the many, many hours of work you have put in here. I can't imagine the letdown you must have felt when crapbucket pulled the rugs out from under our feet, but I'm glad your photos show once again. I've switched to imgur. It's a much better and faster site than crumbucket ever was any way.

The 6730MP/8400s and 8500s will have to wait a while for manipulation, if ever! I'm really just getting started on the Group 2s! I have one 6730 that I swear was a Group 2M in a previous life. AWL shows absolutely nothing, AWR shows promise, but only after mapping the low areas and redoing the rotation w. 2 wheels in the low zone. Only then do gates appear. I haven't gotten to an earnest session with that one yet; I just felt her out- 1st or 2nd base stuff. But, 20-plus-hour-(cumulative)-manipulation-by-an-experienced-manipulator locks are a bit beyond my abilities at this point. Maybe someday. I think I'd try a 4 wheeler long before hitting the Group 1s.

The blocks are S4S 4x6 lumber, with a finished thickness of 4 3/8". They were perfect for mounting the unused/uncut spindle lengths.

Hopefully we'll meet up again on one of your threads when I figure out what my questions were. I found that as soon as I had a question, it was answered later on in the thread, so the only remaining questions are few, maybe none. I'll figure it out. I'm also looking forward to meeting some of the other members here I've been following as well.

Thanks for the welcome!

[Oldfast]

Photobucket, yeah... *shakes head*, lol. That site was/and is so bogged down it's truly a wonder anyone can accomplish much of anything with their pictures, let alone want to try. It would take me forEVER to simply crop & resize a photo - and then, it would turn out blurry when I had started with a nice clean image.

They had lost me long before the $400/yr. deal. Ultimately, it was my own fault for putting so much into one place. Admittedly, I'm starting to do the same thing with imgur though. Ah well, things come & go. Some of my more serious writings that I've devoted years to are now stored on my computer as well as a couple other places... so I AM getting a LITTLE smarter anyway. lol

The S4S lumber you've specified: Thank you!! I'm going to look into that.
Some of the older locks I have sitting around have a spindle a mile long.
Would be really nice to finally mount 'em up and take 'em for a spin.

I agree with you on the MP and MR locks - I still have plenty to learn within the Group 2 realm. If/when you get to that point though, you've probably seen some of the members here have done some really interesting work with some of these types of locks. I'll be seeing ya around for sure!

[Chuck999]

What's up everyone my name is Chuck. I'm kind of new to picking I've been doing it about a year honestly I fell in love with it the first time I seen a video on YouTube of Bosnian bill. And was fascinated so I decided to go on eBay and get a cheap picks set and practiced. As I got a little better I started getting better equipment and better pics I usually order from sparrows or lockpickshop. but anyway I'm always trying to learn new things and techniques! It seems like I can never have enough pics or equipment though... LOL.

[unkqty]

hello.
my brother is really the family locksmith/keymaker/safe master.
i'm just a hobbyist and retired army security guy.
-jesse

[Oldfast]

Welcome Jesse. Mike. Glad you're here!

I assume your brother turned you onto locks then?
Any particular facet of this hobby that interests you?

[NorthernLock]

Hi,
A number of weeks ago I found myself in a situation, the batteries in my small digital safe died, with my holiday to america just days away and my passports and dollars inside, I thought no problem I'll just open it with the back up key.

After spending some time unsuccessfully looking for the safe key, I decided to take a look on YouTube to see if there was an alternative way to open the safe.

To my amazement there were so many easy ways to enter the safe,
starting with just simply banging on top or inserting a wire inside to press the reset button.

One method that caught my eye was picking with 2 hair clips!

So with images of James Bond in my head, I decided to pick the lock,
Wow, 15 minutes later I was in! and so the interest in lock-picking was born.

I've graduated to picking small padlocks but as yet nothing else.

I will be extremely thankful for any help or advice from forum members that'll increase my lock-picking skills.

Kind regards

Max

[Ecco303]

Hey guys. Brand new here and to locks really. What has sparked my interest is a 2 tonne Chubb safe i recently purchased. I have no idea how to get into it. It’s been locked for ten years and I really want to use it. After being quoted over $2000 for a safe tech to drill it open which is money I don’t have I thought hey why not try to crack it myself, so here I am!
Hopefully I’ll be able to put a post up about it soon

Cheers!
Stephen.