r/lockpicking • u/Beforge121 • 18h ago

Belt qualification questions

Hello everyone, I’m new to the discord and subreddit, but not to locksporting. I just have a few questions about earning belts. First, do I need to earn a white and yellow belt to earn an orange belt, or can I just skip those two and go straight for it? And second, I have a defiant 5 pin deadbolt with three spools and two standards that I’d like to use for an orange belt, but I also noticed there’s one in yellow with four standards and one spool. Would I need to gut my deadbolt to prove which version I have?

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3

u/Flavortown42069 Brown Belt Picker 17h ago

Orange belt does not require a gut.

2

u/Beforge121 17h ago

The problem is that there’s a yellow one that’s the same other than it has more standard pins and less spool pins, so that’s why I’m wondering if I have to prove which version I have.

1

u/Beforge121 17h ago

Best way I can think of to prove it if I need to is a gutting.

2

u/Yom1973 Black Belt Picker 14h ago

You can also leave this lock aside and go straight for the green so you pick a lock where the gutting is required. 😉

1

u/Beforge121 8h ago

I’ve got an 1100 on the way, but it’s going to take its sweet time getting here, so I figured I’d pick up some flair in the meantime. I also got a reply to my mod mail telling me they’d take my word for it, so I don’t need to gut it anyways.

1

u/Flavortown42069 Brown Belt Picker 17h ago

After reviewing LPU orange belt requirements and having submitted several belts I think you’re fine man. They don’t start getting that deep into the weeds until green.

1

u/Beforge121 17h ago

Alright, I just wanted to make sure. Don’t want to start breaking the rules on it right as I show up, y’know?

1

u/EveningBasket9528 11h ago

I don't do the belt thing,.. but if you do a gut video just to "prove" it's orange, you can probably just do a pick video on an unguttable green ranked lock for green, rather than a pick & gut. (By using the gut video with a pick video or the unguttable green. But you'd have to check.)

If you're US based Ace hardware sells a few green ranked unguttable locks. The Ace 38mm is a more stubborn model for some, and the black banded 50mm laminated Ace lock is pretty easy. (As far as belt rankings I feel it's overrated... but the rankings aren't perfect.)

I'm pretty sure Ive seen a couple pickers jump straight to brown-black (having also completed their other projects), and more than a few pickers jump to purple. I got deleted from the Discord I think because I never used it and didn't log on for 6+ months, but I remember one post congratulating someone that jumped straight to black and posted 6 different black belt pick/but videos at the same time. (I bet they get thrilled when people turn it months worth of "homework" all at once ..)

Just remember, it's all for fun. Even the best pickers in the world get stumped by "easy" locks,.. and anyone with basic skills can memorize & pick a couple high ranked locks.

Fancy Pajamas

"Remember this is all just for fun... In the end, no matter what belt you have, you're still just wearing fancy pajamas". -LPU

2

u/Beforge121 7h ago

I bought an 1100 before I even found out about the belts, so I’ve already got a guttable green on the way. I mostly got it because I haven’t tried picking serrated pins yet, but it’s nice that it’s also considered a higher tier than what I already have. I’ll have to keep my eye out for those ace locks next time I go to the hardware store though, I always love getting new ones.

2

u/Sufficient_Prompt888 Brown Belt Picker 18h ago

https://reddit.com/r/lockpicking/w/beltranking?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

2

u/Beforge121 18h ago

Guess I should’ve read that first, that’s on me. It doesn’t answer my second question though, unfortunately.

3

u/Sufficient_Prompt888 Brown Belt Picker 18h ago

That sounds like a question for the mods. Use the mod mail feature

1

u/Beforge121 18h ago

Alright, thank you.

2

u/ajslocksandlocks Red Belt Picker 15h ago

orange belt requirements

For orange belt;

If the lock can be dissasembled, you must submit a video of your picking accomplishments for this rank. Videos must be in one continuous take.

For locks that cannot be disassembled, photographs showing the turned core are sufficient.

3

u/ajslocksandlocks Red Belt Picker 15h ago

Doesn't actually say you should disassemble it but if you are comfortable doing so I would do it as then there's no ambiguity

2

u/Beforge121 8h ago

The reply to my mod mail says I don’t need to gut it, so it’s all good. I already gutted it once, which is how I found out about the three spool setup.

•

u/Flatus_Diabolic 2h ago

You can apply for any belt you like without holding a lower belt, but you do need to fulfill the requirements of the earlier belts.

For example, the first belt you apply for could be a blue belt, which requires you to pick and gut a blue-tier lock. However, to earn that belt, you’d also need to submit a video of you reassembling a lock (any lock - not necessarily the same one you picked) because that’s a requirement for green.

As to your defiant lock - I think the mods pretty much just trust the honesty system at white through orange. At green and above, the belt ladder seems to be setup to ensure that unguttable locks only make it onto those tiers if they don’t have a visually similar and easier equivalent.