Lock Slayer's Journal

[rerun12]

nice job fgarci03.. god it feels good to open a lock thats been giving problems doesnt it? great thread! my next lock assassination is goin in the journal!!

[fgarci03]

Oh yes it does!
My next target is a Marks Hi-Sec, the one with 6 pins and sliders. Been set aside for a while, now I think it's time to get back to it. Will post more info on this

Thanks

[xeo]

Murderous job Mr. Tables

[Oldfast]

[fgarci03]

Finally!

Although I don't consider this a skilled picking, as I picked the sidebar clumbsily and was a lucky shot.. But first time it popped!

[keymaster1053]

Finally!

Although I don't consider this a skilled picking, as I picked the sidebar clumbsily and was a lucky shot.. But first time it popped!

We don't ask "How?" we just ask "How Many?"

[Oldfast]

Devilish little bastards



Waterbury's are actually really neat locks! I wish I had more than just these couple.
Really small, thin, tight keyways force you to work off the ward on the left. Couple that
with some extreme high/low bittings, and ya got yourself a nice little battle on your hands.

I had already posted this, and we had a bit of discussion on 'em here.
Thought I'd just add it here since it's about my only other 'picked' picture.

[Oldfast]

Thanks Neilau!!!



Sent all the way from down under VERY kind of you to think of me Neil.
And, thanks for gettin' me pickin' again! It's been awhile (maybe months even).
Been playing with combos & spinnin' safe locks... but not much time for that either.
Couldn't believe how quickly my tensioning hand would fatigue. I'd better get in shape! lol

Anyway, I know you're very curious, so here's how it went...
1st opening: approx. 5 minutes
2nd opening: less than 20 seconds
3rd opening: better part of 10 minutes

Initially, I worked with a mixture of a short hook & a half diamond while tensioning from the top.
Eventually I ditched the hook altogether and found the half diamond more than adequate.
Later, I found the best results when tensioning from the bottom (opposite the pins).

I've now picked this lock a dozen times or so. Most of the time, pin 4 was the end-note.
However, I did have a couple times when pin 1 was the final pin that opened the lock.
If this lock gave ya some grief, don't let it get to you too much, really! You see how
much my times varied? It can be a tricky lock... the spools sometimes turning into
a game of bop-em'.... next thing ya know, you're jumping all over the place.

On a sidenote: I decided to try picking it upsidedown (which is actually rightsideup for this lock).
Just as if it were locked onto and hanging from something - the pins are at the bottom of the
keyway, closest to the ground. I had an awful time! Fumbling around for what seemed
to be FAR too long before I finally popped it. Thanks so much again! Lockwood
is one of those brands I haven't been able to play with all too much.

[xeo]

Wow, killer bitting on that waterbury. Those can be so annoying. Awesome posts as always Mike.

[Neilau]

Oldfast

5 minutes !!!!!!

BUGGER !!!!

You are my hero

Well, I've still got a couple more --- so out with the half diamond...........

I've also been practicing with one of the Wizards practice locks so that should help with feel.

I think that I have been getting frustrated with them and need to calm down and approach them more slowly.

Anyway thanks, you have given me hope.

It was worth it to see it opened.

Well done.

PS. nice locks for "made in China" . You can see why I was SOOOOO disappointed with the ABUS. It just fell open when I looked at it.

Again, I'm impressed.

PPS. For everyone that might be wondering. I have been trying for YEARS to open these little buggers . So I sent one to Oldfast to see if they were really that difficult or if it was just me.

Just me

[Oldfast]

@Xeo... can't help but love the Waterbury's. And, there's some serrated pins in the US one

I think that I have been getting frustrated with them and need to calm down and approach them more slowly.

That may be exactly it. I found this lock was most apt to fall open within the first few minutes of picking it up...
while I still had a fresh mind & muscles. The more I fatigued, the more likely I seemed to go in circles with it.

Well, I've still got a couple more --- so out with the half diamond...........

You can also try a short hook if you tension from the top. It doesn't look like it at a glance,
but the keyway will allow you to lever right off the bottom with plenty of room to spare.

If it's any consolation, I have two Brinks disc locks, and one of them can really send me for a loop sometimes.
It can really be frustrating after quite a bit of time has elapsed and I'm thinking "I should be better than this!"

[Neilau]

:mrgreen:

TA DAAAA !!!

Finally !!!!

LW1.jpg

But wait -- there’s more

LW2.jpg

Big thanks to Oldfast for his advice, encouragement and showing that it could be done.

Also, a big thanks to Mr. Wizard for his wonderful practice lock. Loaded with spool pins and many hours of practice have given me a good feel of the spools.

For anyone that is not familiar with this narrative, I have been battling with these babies for a few years with no success. They are made to very fine tolerances (unlike Masters and ABUS disks) and have devilish little spools.

Boy that felt good when the tensioner started to turn……

I’m going to leave them opened for a little while before I close them and try again.

Just to savor the success.

A quick word on the pick. I made it more as a joke but it has turned into my "go to" for SPP. Bade from bicycle spoke and is very strong and works very well.

[xeo]

Excellent work! Those are Lockwoods too!

[Neilau]

Yes.

I have a couple of them and all of them have beaten me for years so I sent one to Oldfast as he once said that a difficult lock turns him on.

So I thought I'd give him a real boner for Christmas !!

And he cracked it in five minutes, first time (twenty mins. third time).!!!

Gave me a spur on and I sat down last night and Very seriously went to work on them.

Finally cracked them.

Now my naughty box only has one bad boy in it.

Cheers.

[UnlockD]

2 locks I picked tonight - nothing special/impressive, but there are locks I've struggled with for some time. The Abus, because of the tiny, thin keyway, and the Herculock (which I can bypass in seconds) because I struggled to find a good amount of tension to apply.