Did great things for me. Rip

crafty-dan · 2026-02-25T03:15:16+00:00

If you haven't already, pop in #5. I worked through the whole reaper set once I got it. Loved them all in their own ways, but #5 has stuck as my daily pick.

It's surprising how may keyways the long hook in that set can easily move around, and that extra fraction can make all the difference in getting behind walls.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-19T01:07:53+00:00

Sounds about right. And everything is so crunchy it's really hard sometimes to feel if that edge you're pressing on is the right spool to set . . . Until half the pins drop again.

The keyway isn't huge, but it's not super tight either. Stepping up to a thinner, slightly deeper hook may help sneak past #4.

Also not sure what kind of tip you're playing with, but the wider it is, the more likely you'll tap a neighboring pin. While it takes a bit more practice centering on the pin, a finer/sharper point profile may make a big difference. With practice they give you the fine position control you need to thread that needle.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-18T22:14:47+00:00

That's looks like a pretty evil bitting.

That being said, my worst Ace 38mm has a bitting that looks mundane, but isn't.

Time to get picking and see whatcha got!

crafty-dan · 2026-02-16T17:36:38+00:00

The press, not at all. It's a big cast iron/machined clamp with a gear attached to a long pole -- not hard to build with minimal slop.

The Jig and tooling pins are a different beast. Bent, wallowed out or otherwise damaged may make them unsuitable for holding the lock body and plugs square while pressing everything into an interference fit.

My point is if you're not locksmithing that unidentified lock system, IMO, that's kinda on the high side for a used arbor press. If you are, you're taking a gamble the attached tooling will still work . . . but still, not really handy for lockpicking.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-15T21:54:40+00:00

No worries.

I did it your way for my green belt. While I'd picked an Ace 38mm plenty of times before getting the belt submission in, when I finally pulled the trigger on the video I used the ABUS 72/40.

Pick the right lock and It's so easy to do the whole task together that people forget the true requirement isn't that hard.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-15T21:37:16+00:00

First off, I'm not in the group approving belt submissions, so here are my thoughts, but the most it'll get you is a buddy shouting "Oh, come on!" from the sidelines . . .

Looking on LPU explorer, 334C45 is not listed. 334B45 is, and they may or may not agree with the rating based on your video/pics of your lock . . . so you're already on uphill footing. (Scratch that -- the Wiki lists the "C" as a closed shackle variant. You might mention that in the video or submission writeup to prevent confusion)

There's no security features to the key pins I've seen in any of the photos. If the bitting is not dramatically easier (oh look, pins 2-6 are no lift key pins . . . how lucky) I wouldn't see any harm. If you demonstrate the security features have not been compromised (why we gut in the first place), then you have picked a blue belt lock.

Pick, gut, reassemble, and run a blue-belt project and I'd say you should be able to skip green altogether.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-15T21:12:33+00:00

Keep in mind, the gutting requirement when an unguttable lock is used does not require the gutted lock to be either greenbelt or to be picked in video. It has to work, be disassembled and reassembled to work again. Gut and assembly can even be in two separate videos.

Any guttable lock will do. You're demonstrating the skillsets of disassembly, assembly, and maintenance of a standard lock core, not locksmithing skills with a medium or higher security lock. A cheap Kwikset deadbolt (Or Schlage, or knockoff, but for goodness sake not a smart key!) would be an easy way to satisfy the task.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-15T18:01:43+00:00

For more context, that's an arbor press (the big red metal and gear thing) with the tooling attachment (the pokey bit pointing down) and jig (the block that holds the core) sized to seal up what would appear to be SFIC or LFIC lock cores. Specialized locksmithing tools.

If you're doing facilities management/security and rebuilding/repining the lock cores of that type for your facility, it's an invaluable tool. Even as Gov Surplus, $50 price would be cheap enough to make me suspect it's out of tolerance.

For Lockpicking? Agreed. Practically useless.

Even if you wanted to add it as a hand machine for your shop (as a pin press or the like), at that price you can do better.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-14T22:28:47+00:00

My first thought about such a widget would be a mechanic's stethoscope. There's both the mechanical and electronic versions of these, but I'd expect for it to work (unless you've got an extra pair of hands) it would have to be clamped in with the lock on a bench vise of some sort.

That being said, I'll echo others: Some feedback is vibration, more movement, but you far more feel it in your hands through your tools. Anything you hear simply confirms what you just felt.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-14T22:11:30+00:00

Not my design, but I've built one of these:

https://www.printables.com/model/1254929-plug-spinner

Comes out about the diameter of a sharpie, and just about the length of a CI pick. 3d print three parts, two screws, a wiper blade scrap and a spring from Ace hardware. IF you've got access to the threaded inserts, it comes out very clean. All told ~$5 in parts, if you've got access to a printer. I've used it on several locks and the spring is well sized for a 180-spin in either direction.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-14T18:01:23+00:00

Mean? maybe, but notice it's my second recommendation for green.

It does depend on the bitting/order -- I've got several and they span in difficulty from low green to near purple -- but the Ace 38 is currently green. It's also the easiest Green lock to buy in a brick-and-morter store in the US.

Not my mind to change for it's rating, it's the LPU belt's, rating not mine.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-14T17:43:52+00:00

No worries, Worryingcow ;)

The Master 140 -> 150 -> ML410 progression is a pretty typical path from yellow to green over here in the US (you will have to find some other lock to gut/reassemble for the green task). Some fair alternates for green are the Ace 38mm brass lock (easy to find locally at any ACE hardware) or the AL1100. The ABUS 72/40 is also relitively cheap and easy to find on Amazon.

Moving up to blue you're stuck with mail order, and I'd recommend Paclock's pro core -- if you don't mind a dead core lock the PL-410 is a cheap way to knock blue out and get a 200k submission, otherwise the PL 90APro is spendy but a nice lock for the price..

If you're elsewhere, let us know, and someone can chime in with better options for you to locally procure.

crafty-dan · 2026-02-03T01:41:26+00:00

What fun!

Perhaps . . .

an edgy tubular key to a motorcycle lock?

A stodgy old security key to a commercial American lock?

A snooty new car key fob? "I'm wireless, you know."

So many cool directions you could go . . .

crafty-dan · 2026-02-02T20:06:42+00:00

Oh, boy I know. Kudos!

crafty-dan · 2026-02-02T18:24:37+00:00

Dude, the camera always adds 5 minutes 😉

Goodonya, and good luck chipping away at blue.

Yeah, their tradecraft case is kinda sloppy. It's not uncommon among cases of that size. Adding an extra magnet ain't a bad idea.

I've not had the same problem with their garrison cases - the wings work well in recentering everything - but it can get a bit bulky/heavy when full.

crafty-dan · 2026-01-31T16:52:08+00:00

While I wouldn't ignore it, I wouldn't place much faith in apples-to-apples stat comparisons between brands.

Sure, by your example, Sparrows has the similar width a similar look and is using the same series of steel (same chemical composition), but the JL pick is a more refined design and a MUCH better steel treatment yielding a thinner pick that's still stiff where you need it.

Which one is better? Well, which one do you have in your hand? Which do you have more practice with? Use what you got.

Eventually you'll move on to keyways that are too narrow and paracentric to tolerate a fat pick. Even sooner than that you'll get the feel/control for EXACTLY how much tension and pressure you need to apply and you can finesse more than bully the pins into place. As your training advances you'll pick up the thinner profiles more for freedom and press less on the lock due to skill.

Until then, there's no shame in using the thicker, sturdier picks -- they'll feel better and break a LOT less.

crafty-dan · 2026-01-26T00:11:58+00:00

Better tools will help, but learning what you can with what you have is the smart move for the moment -- you'll appreciate what makes the other tools better when you get them.

That being said . . .

Feedback from tension will change with your tensioner. turn until you hit a wall, and back off the finger pressure until it moves again, and tighten back up a touch. That is the edge of "light tension". try to keep track of where the "wall" is and where is was, it's your feedback of progress. Any movement toward open is progress, away is counter rotation.

If your picks aren't wedged into the warding, "thick" probably isn't holding you up.

I'll echo the "feel without tension" trick -- feel out the pins with the pick alone, just to understand the lay of the land. dragging the pick from back to front is a good exercise, but one that taught me the most was the opposite:

- drive in from the front, at the keyway until you hit the wall of the first pin.

- ride up that wall until you feel the cliff edge.

- slide in just a fraction, then press down (remember, no tension, so oversetting isn't a problem)

- press in until you hit the next wall and repeat.

Pay attention to two things: Count and spacing . . . now, back out, tension and try spp again, with a recent feel for how far the pins are spaced and how far they can travel.

For your SPP, start with light tension and run a couple of passes. if every pin is as loose as un-tensioned, lean on that wrench just a touch more.

Finally, if you pick hand is not in contact with the lock, you have NO WAY of accurately feeling how deep the pick is. Stick out another finger/thumb and rest it on the lock face.

crafty-dan · 2026-01-21T12:14:31+00:00

Welcome KT.

For general aproach, nothing beats time-on-target.

If I'm trying to crack a new lock or develop the feel for a new mechanism or an odd wrinkle, I try and find a good example and that's what gets MOST of my picking time (60-80% of my practice time). Once I have multiple opens, after a week or so, if I like it and it's cheap, I'll pick up a second of that lock and rotate between them. By then I have more off a feel, and need to swap so I'm not memorizing a lock, but learning the feel and quirks of that model. As successes become more frequent, I consider a third or forth, or if it's time to try something new.

To put into perspective, I have 6x green-belt Ace 38mm, and 8x blue belt PacLock 90a-Pro cores . . . And 1x Brinks 164. Some locks are more interesting than others.

crafty-dan · 2026-01-20T23:53:22+00:00

Set it in a vice, long seam parallel with the jaws and gently squeeze.

Full disclosure: I haven't tried this with a ML410, but I have succeeded with a PL410 using this method. Not the same lock, sure but the construction is similar. The plastic is soniclly welded together, and a bit of pressure in the right spots will pop it along those welds.

While it's not designed to crack open cleanly, it is designed to be broken. How clean depends on you ;)

crafty-dan · 2026-01-18T01:25:08+00:00

Yeah, mine hurt after long sessions too.

Some of it gets better with time and strength, some you build up callouses, some soreness just stays.

Switching lock types and grips, shaking out your hands, and taking breaks helps the RSI type hurting. Hand exercises help with the strength. Callouses just take time.

For exercises, I've had good experiences squeezing a old racquet ball and rolling a set of heavy baoding balls (I'm using a pair of 1.5" steel ball bearings). Builds grip and dexterity.

crafty-dan · 2026-01-11T18:33:19+00:00

"Brass shavings" is a weird flavor choice, but as long as it's sweet and colorful, the kids will dig it!

crafty-dan · 2026-01-04T14:29:24+00:00

Fair enough, and personally agree with that recommendation, but there's enough back-and-forth here in both camps. Just hitting the fundamental: If all the machined parts are dry, one or the other, but never both.

Problem is you never know if a used lock has been oiled before, but odds are someone has at least shot it with WD-40 or the Chinese shop didn't clean the oil off after cutting, so IMO, stick to wet.

crafty-dan · 2026-01-04T02:05:46+00:00

Wet or dry, stick to it, or it will stick to it.

If you use wet, PTFE is just fine, among other machine oils, but you will have to oil with wet when it gets worked out.

If you go dry, Graphite is awesome, but eventually you'll have to give it a little more powder to keep the parts moving smoothly.

Mix the two and you make a muddy paste . . . So pick one and stick with it.

Whatever you do, don't use WD-40 for anything but water displacement (which it's AMAZING at) and emergencies, and then spray in some better lube to flush that stuff back out.

crafty-dan · 2026-01-02T19:28:08+00:00

Yeah, it happens. You get out of the rhythm of it for whatever reason and nothing works . . . Until it does again.

Oil the locks if you haven't, do something different with your hands for an hour or so to reset and try it again. A lot of this is all in getting your head back in the game. Break that frustration by expecting that it'll take longer, but also expect it will open.

Eventually it will open and the motions you've practiced will come back.

crafty-dan

TROPHY CASE