What to pick next

[Haze]

I've got a ton of locks, almost all regular pin tumblers. I want to improve my skills and find new challenges but I don't really know what to look into next. I've picked about 95% of my locks and I've mastered all of those that I've been able to get into. I have several Americans, Master safety lockout locks with the plastic body, six pin schlages etc. That's basically where I'm at. I have one dimple lock which is a Yale 4 pin I think. I want to get into higher security and more dimple locks, locks with sidebars etc. What do you guys recommend I buy next? Also if you have anything laying around that would be a good challenge I might be interested in buying, although I am on a somewhat limited budget at the moment.

[droshi]

You can't beat a cheap $20-30 Medeco on eBay to get into high security. I'd look for a biaxial. You don't even need a key to progressively pin them if it's a cylinder.

[mercurial]

If you have reasonable dimple lock picks, then the pin-in-pin Mul-T-Locks (Mul-T-Lock classic, Mul-T-Lock interactive) would be a good start & usually easier than Medeco. That said, Medeco is a great suggestion too, they can be had reasonably cheaply & given your skill level, you will succeed in picking them if you apply yourself.

...Mark

[Patrick Star]

Get some good European pin tumblers. EVVA, ASSA/Ruko, etc.

[droshi]

Another lock to consider is any Primus. I found them harder sidebar picks than Medeco, or even my ASSA Twin, but they can sometimes be had cheap.

The main thing if you're on a budget is to watch eBay, though sometimes the locks you get can be a little bit of a miss with replaced parts etc. I just got a cheap MT5+ recently and only 1 chamber was pin-in-pin.

[whizdumb]

If you're looking to get into dimples, Might I recommend the ABUS 75/50 or 75IB/50. Great little padlocks and a decently tricky pick. Also I highly recommend the Spooxe Dimple Pick Kit (Yes it's a bit pricey). Super well made/modified dimple picks. This should start you off nicely. After the small ABUSes I'd move onto the Mul-T-Locks. They can be super fun! Cheers

[droshi]

If you're looking to get into dimples, Might I recommend the ABUS 75/50 or 75IB/50. Great little padlocks and a decently tricky pick. Also I highly recommend the Spooxe Dimple Pick Kit (Yes it's a bit pricey). Super well made/modified dimple picks. This should start you off nicely. After the small ABUSes I'd move onto the Mul-T-Locks. They can be super fun! Cheers

Another idea for dimples is to just get a MTL with a key and progressively pin it. My first dimple lock was a MTL Interactive with 4 spools, and it was certainly a challenge without a key to progressively pin, but I think if I had a key it would have been a great learning lock. Depends on what you want to go for really.

Also, the SpooXe kit is made from the GOSO set. It's certainly very nicely done, but if you want to refine your own, you can save some money as long as you have a bench grinder, or at least a dremel.

[Alaphablue]

Best sfic

[NKT]

Just whatever you can get your hands on cheap or free! Don't overthink it.

[Haze]

Thanks for the great suggestions. I found this medeco on ebay, is it good for my purposes? I don't know much about them and the different types such as m3, biaxial, etc.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/262944823804?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

[Patrick Star]

The Medeco pin tumblers (Original, Biaxial and M3) are all very similar when it comes to picking. The major difference being that M3 has a slider that has to be depressed for the sidebar to engage.
Medeco also has cam locks, which use a very different design.

Medecos are certainly lots of fun, but IMNSHO, once you get the sidebar picked the actual pin tumbler mechanism isn't anything special. Very standard though fairly high precision and with a couple of mushroom pins thrown in. You should definitely get one (or a couple), but plan on getting something else as well. EVVA might be a good start - tight profiles and tricky spools that really love to drop as you set them. Certainly harder than the pin tumbler part of the Medeco mechanism.