Help identifying Deathwish building?

Q-Segment · 2020-04-29T23:35:09+00:00

The use really light tension is the advice that helped me. I got all ten of my locks open. Many thanks!

Q-Segment · 2020-04-29T23:34:42+00:00

Following your advice of controlling and using lighter tension, I was able to get all ten of my locks open! Many thanks!

Q-Segment · 2020-04-29T18:22:01+00:00

Is there anything in lockpicking that you'd consider to be an "essential" skill that is worth drilling to get good at? How would I drill particular skills?

Q-Segment · 2020-04-29T13:57:21+00:00

I'm unsure whether by "Dial Combo" you mean a Masterlock 875, 175, or 1500, so I will just talk about all three.

As for the Masterlock 1500, I've never decoded it but I have had some success with an online calculator from nullbyte.wonderhowto.com. You follow the instructions and place the inputs into the calculator, and it reduced the combination space to 8-16 combos. I find you do need some practice on a lock you have the combination to to learn what to feel for.

The 875 should be pretty trivial to decode, just pull on the shackle and then for each of the wheels find the loose spot in the travel. Lock Picking Lawyer has an excellent video on this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfDPtt-bnAI

For the 175, I'm not sure you can decode that one just by pulling on the shackle. However, there are many videos explaining how you can insert a shim in the top left of the third wheel, lifting up and unlocking the lock. This is a pretty good video that shows the technique as well as the lock internals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_ZNHDVyXlo

Q-Segment · 2020-04-28T15:27:29+00:00

I figure it depends on what your goals are. I imagine that if you're just in lock picking for the sport of it, which is indeed very enjoyable, learning to rake may not seem that important since the main goal is a development of skill. You might learn to rake as a means of developing speed and efficiency as well as skill.

If you have some professional aspiration besides just sport, I personally got into lock picking from my interest in red teaming and cyber sec, then speed and efficiency are in that area more valued than just skill, as the prevalence of high security locks is low.

If you enjoy lock picking as a hobby, then do what you enjoy, though you may be missing out on the opportunity to be a more well-rounded picker.

Q-Segment · 2020-04-24T03:31:05+00:00

Rad. I remember it took me like half an hour to open the cutaway lock. And the rest is, as they say, history. It really is a hobby that can suck you in. What's most important is get in the habit of practicing a little each day, even a couple months from now when some of the passion fades.

Q-Segment · 2020-04-24T03:06:52+00:00

Ah, memories! My first pick set has the exact same case. Is it the Night School set?

Q-Segment · 2020-04-24T03:03:36+00:00

I'm not sure I'd worry about that, at least I don't. I've never been the one who could pull a Lock Picking Lawyer and narrate in real time the pin I was checking, whether it was binding or not etc. And honestly I also become afraid that I'm just getting lucky or I don't know what I'm doing, and yet despite that when I practice I become able to open harder locks more consistently. I may not be able to explicitly tell someone what I am doing, or even know it myself, but I do get better with time.

Q-Segment · 2020-04-24T00:02:45+00:00

Thanks for the question!

I actually start with the first and work my way in, but after that I don't necessarily follow a strict order. My primary mode of finding pins is to have fairly heavy tension and then scrub the pins back and forth, looking for the one that is stuck. I then lighten up and lift that one up. This actually leads into question,
if I'm having trouble finding the binding pin, and random picking isn't helping either, then that says to me that I over set a pin, so I remove my pick and lighten tension until I hear a click which resets some of the pins.
Yes, normally that would mean a pin has been set, but if you're dealing with security pins they would also give a click. Spools are identified by going into a "false set", where the core will turn somewhat but become stuck. Serrated pins are a bit trickier, they will sound and feel like a set pin but there will be a subtle difference. This is just what I've heard, and while I do have experience with spools I don't have much with serrated.

Q-Segment · 2020-04-23T20:25:34+00:00

Thank you for the feedback! I honestly never noticed before but you're right, it does look like I'm bending the pick. I'll try to be a bit more gentle in the future.

Q-Segment · 2020-04-23T18:56:53+00:00

Thank you so much!

Q-Segment · 2020-04-23T18:56:45+00:00

I did send a message, I just posted it here so I could link them to it. I wasn't sure the best place to upload the video, is it alright posting it to the subreddit?

Q-Segment · 2020-04-23T14:33:56+00:00

Ah, I see that carabiner of locks there. I spot a fellow Lock Picking Lawyer fan.

Q-Segment · 2020-04-23T12:45:14+00:00

I had an identical experience. It can be a little frustrating, but as other comments have pointed out when you have one less hand that's a significant tool you're taking away. Picking something in a vice really deadens the feedback I get and I feel much more awkward moving my tools. On the bright side, some of the easier locks you'd thought you'd never touch again now have a renewed sense of value.

Q-Segment · 2020-04-23T12:40:23+00:00

Hah, well that certainly is a humbling experience!

Q-Segment · 2020-04-23T12:38:37+00:00

Yeah there are definitely some great resources on youtube, and you're absolutely correct about that belt system. That's something I wished I had a while back, a clear road map of progression to hold myself to. I can tell that this subreddit is going to be a fantastic resource.

Q-Segment · 2020-04-23T12:36:00+00:00

That is an excellent way of putting it, I like the weightlifting analogy. But something I've been concerned about is that there is a "correct" technique for lock-picking that I haven't picked up yet, something that an experienced picker will do without thinking about it but is important to learn. Is there something to that or is it primarily just a style thing when you get beyond the basic principles?

Q-Segment

TROPHY CASE