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Picked Half of a Bilock

PostPosted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 7:30 pm
by droshi
Just got my eBay lot a couple days ago. Haven't had a lot of time to sort through everything, but this was one of the most exciting locks pictured. It's an old 1st gen BiLock (must be very old as the center U shape tab is actually fully milled down the center as a bar, not just a small tab like the new ones are). Unfortunately a couple of the pin springs don't work, one was broken and several others are wore out and tend to rotate in the chamber getting the key pin stuck.
This was pinned up with half the pins (6) on just the left side. With only 1 sidebar. Also note, none of the key-pins were master-slotted, so this will be about as hard to pick as they come I believe.
Having said that, this is still a hard lock to pick. I feel like I've gotten the feel for these, but they are one of the few locks that require light tension and sometimes counter-rotation to get out of a false gate. Kind of like a 12 pin Medeco where you would just have to rotate, but here we are just lifting.

Overall it's a fun lock, and I'm much more impressed with it after playing with one than I was just seeing it online. I was thinking it would pick a lot like a 12 pin lock, but I can see that isn't the case at all.
BTW if anyone knows where I can buy pin springs I would appreciate it. I've put in a request to SecuritySnobs to see if they can help me out.

For anyone having trouble with these, I've figured out that the sidebar "wiggle" test works on these too. If it's stuck and not clicky, it needs to be picked, even if you can't lift it with all the force in the world. This means you're in a false gate and you need to apply a little manual counter-rotation.

Also, starting out with a shallow hook and working up to a gem makes a big difference getting around any low-cut pins.

Now I'm on the lookout for some Gen2 locks, let me know if anyone has a good source for non-retail cylinders only for picking. I've heard BiLock sends locks to pickers to prove how good they are, but I haven't been able to get ahold of anyone there for that type of thing. If someone has contact info please let me know!

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Re: Picked Half of a Bilock

PostPosted: Sun Jan 29, 2017 9:14 pm
by MHM
Yup, that's a first gen one, never seen it as a KiK though. The one I have is a standard rim cyl which are by far more common.

They do crop up here in NZ from time to time but are far more common in Aussie as you'd expect. There's a locksmith in the town where I live who is the agent for them and there are a few of the more modern variants cropping up on commercial premises where the decision-maker has a bit of a clue (or upon whom the locksmith has done a good sales job, one or the other.) And before you ask, no unfortunately he doesn't have any lying about - I got mine from a building recycler.

Nice picking, any chance of a shot of the internals?

Michael.

Edited to add: 102 is a keyway designator, dunno why they felt the need to plaster it all over the plug but it was stamped at the factory. Mastered ones have much smaller and irregular letter/numbers stamped on the front as you'd expect.

Re: Picked Half of a Bilock

PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 4:37 pm
by droshi
Couldn't figure out how to attach them directly from my phone, but here they are. Pin 2 displays my problem, sometimes a pin gets jammed up, when taken apart that spring has rotated sideways.

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Re: Picked Half of a Bilock

PostPosted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 4:57 pm
by MHM
Ooooh that's looking a bit nasty isn't it? Those springs really have not held up well.

Re: Picked Half of a Bilock

PostPosted: Tue Jan 31, 2017 8:54 pm
by droshi
Pack of 2500 springs is $190 and normally only sold to dealers....guess these locks aren't made to be serviced? Or only by a dealer and not by the end user? Guess I'll keep looking for something easier for me to service myself in my own home. Unpickable super-locks sound great to have on the front door, but if a spring breaks makes me wonder just what kind of service I could expect from the manufacturer. Maybe each make is different?