What have you picked today

[scudo]

Well on Easter Sunday i managed a couple of easy locks, a bit of a family reunion with my sons at one of their houses for lunch. I had already managed his electronic safe and a padlock so the challenge was on with the agreement if I screwed his locks I had to replace. (I know dont do a working lock) So with an audience of 5 they said go for it. I managed his patio door (euro style) and his garage door (wafer), I didnt manage his back door but 2 out of three I was pleased with although I did rake them rather than SPP as I couldnt let my ego take a hit

Still wish I could manage that Sal/40 though

[jupiter11d7]

Found this Brinks lock sitting in the garage at home. Never picked it before because I didn't have anything long enough to tension with until I got the new set.

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Pretty easy pick, still something different though.

[Oldfast]

Some spools.... no? Nice pickin'

[jharveee]

Serrated Pin.JPG

Starting in on Serrated Pins.
Using Super Max 7 practice lock.
Feel comfortable with one serrated and three spools....
How to progress?
More pins?
More serrated pins?
Suggestions welcome.
Thanks

[mercurial]

Starting in on Serrated Pins.
Using Super Max 7 practice lock.
Feel comfortable with one serrated and three spools....
How to progress?
More pins?
More serrated pins?
Suggestions welcome.
Thanks

Nice picking, well done. I'm just getting into serrated pins too, with some American 1105s - quite challenging! I'm really looking forward to getting one of MrWizard's practice locks, when finances permit.

The first thing I would suggest, before moving to more pins in the lock would be experimenting with some different & more difficult bittings. You're already succeeding with a challenging low-high-low-high pattern, so I'd suggest making the lows lower & the highs higher, and also trying combinations such as a low-low-low-high. Then I would start adding more pin stacks. I can't remember if that practice lock comes with serrated bottom pins, but if you have some, try adding them to a pin stack containing a serrated driver.

If you are lucky enough to have somebody who will pin the lock for you, that is good because you won't know what type of pins each pin stack contains, or the bitting pattern.

Hope that helps.

...Mark

PS (avoiding double post) :

Received my first Medeco cylinders today & just picked my first one, a 5pin KIK. I thought it might've been a fluke, but I've picked it several times since. Admittedly, it is a very easy bitting, but still a great feeling (and a surprise), when that plug turned.

I must thank Xeo for his guide & the other members who have contributed tips & techniques for Medecos.

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[jharveee]

Nice picking Mercurial!
Thanks for sharing your ideas on my progressing.
Didn't see any serrated key pins in the package that came with my practice lock.

Does that KIK Medeco you picked have the rotating pins and side bar in it?
Saw them on sale here on the forum a while ago, almost bought one.

[mercurial]

Nice picking Mercurial!
Thanks for sharing your ideas on my progressing.
Didn't see any serrated key pins in the package that came with my practice lock.

Does that KIK Medeco you picked have the rotating pins and side bar in it?
Saw them on sale here on the forum a while ago, almost bought one.

Yes, it is a 'Classic' (ie not BiAxial or M3) Medeco, with sidebar & rotating pins. I bought mine(a couple Medeco Classics, and a few cam locks) here on the forum.

In case you aren't aware, the Medeco cam lock is different to the others I've mentioned, it has no driver pins - only key pins, which control both height & rotation, and a sidebar. It works very much like a Bilock, but only has one row of pins. I don't have much experience of either the cam locks or regular Medecos, but I've often seen it stated that the camlocks are generally more difficult to pick. This makes sense - when picking a standard Medeco, you can deal with the sidebar(pin rotation) and the shear line(pin lifting) separately. With a Medeco camlock, you must contend with both simultaneously.

The Medeco Keymark series of cylinders have no sidebar, they are a standard pin tumbler lock, however they are notorious for their narrow & difficult to navigate paracentric keyways.

If you have a Dremel or a drill, you can use it as an improvised lathe : put a key pin in the chuck & use the corner of a file to make your own serrated key pins, and all manner of other shaped pins, too - some members here have made some amazing pins this way!

...Mark

[nsquidc]

Received my first Medeco cylinders today & just picked my first one, a 5pin KIK. I thought it might've been a fluke, but I've picked it several times since. Admittedly, it is a very easy bitting, but still a great feeling (and a surprise), when that plug turned.

I must thank Xeo for his guide & the other members who have contributed tips & techniques for Medecos.

Ok, that was way, way faster than my first pick of that cylinder. Are you *trying* to make me look bad??

[10ringo10]

Old 5 lever Padlock cleaned up and picked !

Not sure if there is any anti-pick notched levers in this one as I have never come across this padlock before. ( WEP BRAND )

[rerun12]

sweet pickin there ringo. one of these days i need to trade for a lever lock, seems like theyd be fun to pop

[flywheel]

What have I picked or what have I opened? The results are 10:1

[mercurial]

Received my first Medeco cylinders today & just picked my first one, a 5pin KIK. I thought it might've been a fluke, but I've picked it several times since. Admittedly, it is a very easy bitting, but still a great feeling (and a surprise), when that plug turned.

I must thank Xeo for his guide & the other members who have contributed tips & techniques for Medecos.

Ok, that was way, way faster than my first pick of that cylinder. Are you *trying* to make me look bad??

I'm quite surprised at how fast it opened, the first time the plug turned, I had a fright, I really wasn't expecting it & I really thought it was blind luck, having never played with a Medeco before. Great confidence booster!

The 6 pin Medeco, however, remains undefeated.

I haven't popped any of those 1105's yet, either. I think I need to do some progressive pinning.

The 5 pin Medeco just seems to like me - I am NOT a freakishly good picker & I can open it faster than locks that shouldn't put up as much of a fight. There are (theoretically) easier locks still in my naughty bucket.

...Mark

[flywheel]

When I think Yale I think extremely thin paracentric keyways that, quite honestly, intimidate me. Luckily, I didn't have that problem this time.

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[jharveee]

Serrated Pin 2.JPG

Starting to look more like the American padlock I want to pick.
Up to 5 pins
2 serrated pins
3 spools.

[jharveee]

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Just got some used BEST knobs. Two with cores and one without.
Was hoping to get lucky and pick to control.
Not so.
Have some Peterson IC tension wrenches I'll try next.