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New to dial lock manipulation, but not to locksport

PostPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2020 1:29 pm
by JonnyPhenomenon
Hello keypicking gnomes. My name is Jonny, and I am an IT teacher up in Maine, USA.

I have just started dial lock manipulation a few days ago, when the boss brought an old Herring Hall Marvin safe to my classroom and asked me to crack it for him. - (he picked it up at a yard sale for 5$ and told me if I could get it open, we would split whatever it was that is jiggling around in side of it. )

So I did some reading, asked a few questions on some forums here and there, ordered a shiny new S&G group 2 lock and mounted it to a perspex stand so I could see how these things worked and get some practice manipulating under my belt.

I haven't cracked the HHM yet, but I have become fairly proficient at opening the S&G!

Before I discovered the joy of combo lock manipulation, I have done my share of picking. Part of my curriculum involves a lot about network security, and part of that is focused on physical security as well. Your network is only as secure as the door to your network closet, so penetration testing is a must for any business who wants to validate their security.
To which, I show my students the vulnerabilities of conventional key locks, and how easily a person can turn a regular key into a master key just by filing down the right teeth. I have also shown them how easy it is to make a copy of a master key just from a photograph of a master, by snapping a photo of the keys on the maintenance guys belt, and using a keyguage to estimate the depth of each tooth. Of course, I teach my students to use their powers for good, instead of evil, so my administrators are ok with it.

Now with a little bit of dial lock manipulation under my belt, I can show them a little bit about this process as well.

- Sometimes you just need to find ways of getting the students excited and engaged, before you sneak in a lesson that they will be able to learn!

Re: New to dial lock manipulation, but not to locksport

PostPosted: Sat Oct 10, 2020 2:30 pm
by femurat
JonnyPhenomenon wrote:- Sometimes you just need to find ways of getting the students excited and engaged, before you sneak in a lesson that they will be able to learn!


Well said!

Manipulating requires more time and training than picking, but you already know that.
I wrote a tutorial here on the forum to get people started with manipulation. The concept is the same even if the lock is different. You can follow it and see if it helps them.

viewtopic.php?f=58&t=5949

Cheers :)

Re: New to dial lock manipulation, but not to locksport

PostPosted: Tue Oct 13, 2020 10:27 am
by JonnyPhenomenon
femurat wrote:
JonnyPhenomenon wrote:- Sometimes you just need to find ways of getting the students excited and engaged, before you sneak in a lesson that they will be able to learn!


Well said!

Manipulating requires more time and training than picking, but you already know that.
I wrote a tutorial here on the forum to get people started with manipulation. The concept is the same even if the lock is different. You can follow it and see if it helps them.

http://keypicking.com/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=5949

Cheers :)


Great tutorial Femurat. thanks for linking me to it.