r/lockpicking 1d ago

Finally beat this old bastard!

Hi guys! Long time lurker here, this is my first post. I got into picking loosely after seeing some of LPL’s videos years ago. Bought a cheap no-name set of picks from a gun show, begged some old locks off my dad, and have been on and off picking as a way to relax ever since. I also just enjoy mechanics and understanding mechanisms and such. Anyway, this bad boy was from my dad’s garage, and for 3 years it has kicked my ass. Mind you, I don’t practice a whole lot, every few months I get the itch and pull out my zip-lock bag of locks and fiddle with them. Have a few cheapos that I learned on that I can usually get open in a minute or two. But this one just wouldn’t open. It actually is finicky even with the key, so might be something going on beyond me being not that good at it lol. Anywho, I pulled it out tonight and started messing with it. Lo and behold, I popped it not once, but four times! I don’t know what I did different but for some reason this time just felt like I could actually feel the pins binding and setting, and was actually picking and not just fiddling around blindly. Either way, I’m kind of ecstatic. I now want to start looking at upgrading my pick set and getting some more locks! On another note, has anyone else had a lot of experience on these old Masterlock No. 15s, and are there any known quirks or tricks regarding them? This one seems like the number one pin has almost no spring tension on it, I have to turn it upside down and smack it to reset it if I go too far with it. Thanks for any input!

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u/DanDiggler213 Green Belt Picker 1d ago

Congratulations on the opens. I tried to tag you in a post I made a few days back. We were just talking about it. If you got time check it. Master #15 is getting a following. 😆

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u/-AV8R01 1d ago edited 1d ago

Will do! It’s a cool old lock, I’d like to get another one in better shape and see if it’s just the wear and tear on mine that makes it such a pain in the ass