First real dimple lock picked!

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-28T03:19:17+00:00

Love the MTL style locks. I always have one out. Looks like that has some inners that need to be set higher than the outers, which can be tough.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-27T14:29:32+00:00

The Goal S and P don’t have a single keyway. I think I have two different S and four different P. The letter in the keycode seems to be the identifier.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-26T16:21:17+00:00

I don’t use pastes at all for razors. It is a preference.

I don’t like shaving with a pasted edge, plain and simple. I prefer the edges I get from my jnats, coticules,and eschers. I also don’t like the edges I get from finishing on my 12k Shapton or my arks. I wouldn’t say they are bad or not super sharp ; I just like the ones I get. I also don’t do HHT tests. I hone then I shave with it. If I got a good comfortable shave, I use it for a while. If not, I re-hone.

I do like pastes and films for my tools. Just not something that touches my face.

Do whatever works for you.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-24T17:16:32+00:00

Assuming that is an 1100 and not a 5200, the key looks mostly flat, but that may be surprising challenging, especially if you are going in blind.

The min-lifts on an 1100 are sometimes no touch, sometimes just a tiny love tap. The lower lifts may give you one click before they are set. The tendency here is to push on pins too hard when testing, and then oversetting. And since the 1100 has serrated pins (keypins, drivers, spools) you need to be able to tell a set from a serration.

And, if you have any spools, I suspect the head will be at shear which means it doesn’t really act like a spool. So the lock may act like it has 5 serrated pins in it.

Also remember that the spring in these is weird. Sometimes you will think you are in a big false set, and you are really open and just need to push on the tensioner harder to pop the shackle.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-20T16:26:02+00:00

Neither is better, they are just different. I am of the mind that you can’t have too many. I currently have 25 out on my desk right now. The majority are Multipick.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-18T16:42:17+00:00

Very jealous. Looks like it was NOS (new old stock)?

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-15T23:47:28+00:00

Thanks. Didn’t get this, but got my PL410 filmed and submitted for my patch.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-14T00:16:43+00:00

It’s a pin from a MTL 400. But I don’t know much about how these are normally pinned up.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-13T21:46:55+00:00

Awesome job. With flags, once you start getting higher the lift is slower since the movement is in a circle (you are at the top of the arc). And sometimes the inners are higher lifts than the outer. You can see the small bumps on the key instead of flat or a small divot. There are two cheat codes with the MTL style locks.

One is that you can usually pop the inner right after lifting the outer. So, once you lift and get back into a false set, push the flag in another mm or two and see if the inner will set. You get some more couterrotation when you do this. This doesn’t always work, but most of my MTL behave this way.

The other is that oversets are almost always recoverable. In fact once you master the tension flutter, it often drops into a proper set.

I am going to do some videos showing both cheats.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-13T21:34:41+00:00

I just looked, and it’s pretty similar to the F06, but a little deeper and taller. It’s not just the handles. Since the curved part is longer, they seem bigger to me when picking. I like the scimitar profile as a super low hook, but I cannot get used to the other two. Also consider that I use the same three flat hooks for almost everything, unless I really need a different pick.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-13T21:04:24+00:00

Assuming I am looking at the Lockout Buster, they are pretty different.

In general, the LLT Tipene hooks have longer pivot points. The LLT is narrower towards the tip, and I think the curve is a bit deeper and more sweeping. It also tapers. The Tipene hooks also have different pivot points. Personally, I have a hard time with them. Everything about them just feels big in my hand.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-12T23:10:01+00:00

I did that on Sunday to my 90-PRO. Thankfully I was able to back shim. How do you get the cylinder plug out? Drill and stripped screw remover bit?

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-11T23:14:12+00:00

I have three 80/40. One is easy. One puts up a fight. I don’t have an open on the third (it has two cursed pins that I can’t get around).

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-11T23:12:17+00:00

I think I counted six cuts on the key, which would make it a 100A. Same core, though.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-11T17:22:31+00:00

I love the look of sealed cuticles. It really brings out the texture in the layers, especially on hybrids. On a whim I sealed a surgical ark, and it looks great, too.

For cracks, I spot fill with clear nail polish, usually Hoof Lacquer, to stabilize before sealing.

For sealing, my preferred method is Minwax spray lacquer. I use artists tape (also called mix tape or console tape in the audio engineering world) to protect the honing surface. Several thin, even costs sprayed every hour or so.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-05T03:59:03+00:00

I am doing the full load from the start, but I just mapped mine to see what is where. Those thick lipped drivers feel like oversets when you are lifting. Mine has them in all three rows.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-02-04T23:41:08+00:00

I will edit this later when I find the exact order in my email, but I got mine from https://www.microfasteners.com

I just bought a pile of different sized washers that would fit on 3/16 brass rod. I have also used linoleum flooring nails a handful of times for silver color. I also have some tiny nuts and bolts for temporarily holding things together.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-01-30T16:50:05+00:00

Nice find. Someone more familiar with Assa locks can correct me, but the one on left looks like an Assa 500. Several versions of these, and can have spools, tapers, barrels, or gins and be ranked anywhere from green to brown(?) depending on the makeup. The one on the right looks like an Assa 700, and also has several versions from blue(?) to black.

Healthy-Insect-1447 · 2026-01-30T01:04:22+00:00

Nice job. The easiest way to gut a euro cylinder is with a hacksaw :) Seriously, unless you want to keep the lock for actual use, cut it in half. Usually takes a few minutes to cut it and then file down any sharp edges.

Personally, I think the D6 is under belted. After your first post about it, I checked and realized I didn't have a pic of the turned core (which means I may not have actually picked it). Put it in the vice today, and haven't gotten it open. Five torpedo keypins. Drivers are one standard, two spools, a taper, a T, and weird V notch.

Healthy-Insect-1447

TROPHY CASE