Obviously a huge part of becoming skillful in any endeavor is Practice . . . with, as noted, a capital ‘P’. This is no less true with lock picking, the fundamental skill universally attributed to the locksmith profession. In fact, it is simply impossible to acquire lock picking skill, let alone sharpen it, without something to practice on.
Up until fairly recently there was precious little available for locksmiths or students to practice on, after exhausting all the obvious resources. You can only pick the locks in your home so many times without it becoming non-productive, and most folks frown upon strangers wandering up their homes or businesses to pick their locks. When I started the web site LockPickersMall.com, there were perhaps two choices on the Internet and they had limited use and even more limited ordering options. It was due to this void that I decided to create affordable, well crafted Practice Locks and complete lock picking practice kits to offer my customers.
The current popularity of lock picking Practice Locks may or may not be a result of that decision — if it is I’m proud as punch. The important thing is that the market exists now whereas before it was at best a novelty item on some (very few) locksmith supply sites.
Yet I still get emails from customers who are confused as to what to buy, and whether to buy at all. It warrants some discussion:
As mentioned at the top of this article, it is incredibly important to have locks on which to practice lock picking. That fact alone answers the ’should I buy’ query. Yes, you should. If you are just learning to pick locks, especially, you should equip yourself not only with a good set of lock picks but also at least three Practice Locks (unless you choose to purchase one and rekey it when you want to increase your picking challenge — I’ll discuss that option in a moment). There should be one Practice Lock that is only partially pinned, to act as a starter cylinder. I recommend a 3-pinned lock, as a 1- or 2-pinned lock is just too easy to pick and will be of very short term use. The other two should be 5-pinned locks, one with a fairly easy combination and the other with a much more difficult combination. Progress from the 3-pinned lock to the easiest of the 5-pinned and then on to the more difficult cylinder. Whether you should invest in a Cut-Away version depends on how you feel about your state of comprehenstion with regard to the mechanical aspects of lock picking. If you fully understand what is going on within the lock cylinder and you know something about how pin tumbler locks work in the first place, maybe you don’t really need one.
On the other hand, if you are truly new to the world of locks and locksmithing, and you are mystified by the whole process, obtaining a good quality cut-away lock will provide a wealth of instant education the first time you slide a working key into it. You will be able to see clearly what is going on in that mysterious lock cylinder when a key is inserted that allows the lock to turn. And inserting a blank or an incorrect key will teach you even more. Same goes for your lock picking attempts. When you can see inside the lock, as you can with a good cut-away lock, you can monitor how you’re doing with your picking technique in a different way than you can if you’re working with ’standard’ practice locks.
Therefore I heartily recommend beginning students (and/or hobbyists, of course) invest in a 5-pin Cut-Away Practice Lock along with a couple of standard types. Another option is to purchase a product LockPickersMall.com recently introduced called an ‘EZ ReKey Practice Lock’ and make it the cut-away version. That way you have one lock cylinder that doubles for dozens and dozens of common practice locks.
The Practice Locks we offer at our web site, under our name, are of the key-in-knob variety. This is something of a misnomer, however, because these cylinders are also used in about 95% of the deadbolts you find on both homes and businesses. They are of excellent quality and will give the student meaningful experience. We offer them in both Kwikset and Schlage keyways because these two keyways are the most commonly encountered by the working locksmith (commercial locksmithing, however, brings the locksmith into close contact with a wider variety of keyways).
Mortise cylinders are sometimes used as Practice Locks and they are no easier and no harder to pick than key-in-knob cylinders because they are constructed exactly the same except that their outer ’shell’ is much larger and heavier. It is, in fact, due to the bulkiness and weight of mortise cylinders that we choose to produce our Practice Locks from key-in-knob cylinders.
It is also necessary at some point to do some serious practicing on wafer locks, as they are very common in businesses. They are found in cabinet locks, desk locks and cam locks. For the most part, common wafer locks are easier to pick than are pin tumbler locks, with some notable exceptions. So-called ‘Illinois’ locks are special high security wafer designs that use a true double sided key — as opposed to double sided ‘convenience’ keys. They are devils to pick and even harder to fit keys to. Picking is accomplished with special double sided picks, such as SouthOrd’s DSS-4 pick set. It doesn’t hurt to work such a lock into your practice routine!
In conclusion, then, I believe Practice Locks are as important to the development of lock picking skills as are lock picks. Unlike a few years ago, there are now dozens of kinds to choose from and a good many Practice Lock Stands are available now to make using them much easier.
Thanks for reading!
George Robertson, Administrator
