20-Pieces Lock Picking Set with Transparent Training Padlock
20-Pieces Lock Picking Set with Transparent Training Padlock and Credit Card Lock Pick Set by LockCowboy | Bonus E-Guide for Beginner and Pro Locksmiths
Why Choose Us?
Lock picking is our hobby AND profession. We put our tools to the test daily and know them inside out.
We love picking locks and want you to feel the same. If you’re not 100% happy, we are not either, and we’ll do whatever it takes to help you pick that lock!
| Weight: | 340 g |
| Size: | 20 pieces |
| Dimensions: | 17.5 x 12.6 x 3.4 cm; 340 Grams |
| Model: | AB-114 |
| Part: | AB-114 |
| Colour: | Silver, Black |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Required: | No |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | OnTimeFox |
| Dimensions: | 17.5 x 12.6 x 3.4 cm; 340 Grams |
| Quantity: | 1 |
| Size: | 20 pieces |
They he finger prints on them and where used and somehow bent and rusty.
Still work so it’s a 4 star and managed to crack the lock in 5 seconds using the rake with the tensor tool
I may be useless at picking rocks, but I’ve managed to pop a couple of locks open with this legally of course and it works loads of different tools in the pack and a nifty little portable pack as well. The transparent padlock is a great draining tool
Nice set of picks, rakes, and selection of tension tools, and transparent training lock. The training lock perhaps a bit too easy to pick, but anyone wanting to get started with learning lock picking likely to be happy.
The see through is really good as it gives you a visual to mechanism so you have a good idea what’s happening when you try a real lock
This is a perfect learning kit . it feels solid and I have been practicing a little before i got this. and I can say with little effort I was able to unlock all the padlocks I tried at work with the raking tool.
“tip .. rock back and forth don’t push and pull .. it works faster. (the raking tool I mean)
recommend this very much for beginner’s.
I had a practice lock I pretty much broke before I got this and was able to pick it open no problem .
I’ve bought a transparent training lock so I could teach others of the wonders of a pocket size puzzles you can often get for free as folk tends to loose their keys. That lock was useless for teaching as you could barely open it with the keys. This lock is perfect for teaching beginners as it opens in 5 seconds to 3 min depending on luck and amount of beer you’ve had. Strongly recommend it to get folk into it… but bring more locks of different difficulties in case you want them to learn anything.
For the tools, I’m happy with the quality and variety. Looks and feels like the ones i got from Toool (NL) which lasted for years with little show of wear and tear… One rake has been slightly bent, but I blame that on my 120kg drunk gorilla friend who I can only assume tried to use it as a saw to cut the lock in half with brute force.
The tension tools in the main package are good, would have preferred the smaller one to be a bit thinner at least on one side so to give you more options on which one to use.
The credit card set is fun as a novelty.. I need to test it on a real lock but it looks fine.. the tension tool in there is however horrible. Bad grip, slips out too easily and is just a waste of space.. It’s a fun gimmick, but I think I’ll wrap it as a Christmas present or give it as a price for best student in class. It doesn’t close properly and for concealment it’s rubbish. All those things would fit in: business card holders, magic markers and perhaps even a lipstick/mascara container. But.. the tools inside are decent, part from the tension tool.
All in all.. this is value for money even if you throw away the credit card box, dremel the little tension tool on one side and break a rake or two. Just make sure you get more locks as you will master this one quickly.
Update: I’ve given another star for the prompt and courteous response from them!
The e-guides provided were the first step, but I strongly recommend watching videos on YouTube by ‘LockPickingLawyer’, ‘Bosnianbill’ and ‘Lock Noob’ – I have watched several hours of their videos in the last week and you pick up techniques and a far better understanding of exactly what’s happening when you pick a lock.
Unfortunately I was a little heavy handed with and broke the ‘city rake’ pick and the keyhole on the padlock had widened a smudge over 1mm due to too much tension. I e-mailed customer support asking if they sell replacement parts, which they don’t, but they did send me a complete replacement set – thank you!
The credit card tool’s tension bar is the most effective in the set, as you can use it for ‘top of the key-way’ tension (TOK) – the other tension bars are for ‘bottom of the key-way’ tension (BOK) and are reasonably flexible which I’ve found to be a bit of a hindrance when learning, as you need to be able to feel what’s happening inside the lock.
You can definitely tell this set has been used well over the last week – the padlock is getting increasingly difficult to open and some of the picks and tension bars are slightly bent. I am a little worried about snapping the credit card tool’s tension bar soon, as it’s started to bend. I found ‘Lock noob’ has a very good video explaining how much tension you should be using and I recommend searching for that and watching it.
I also recommend watching some videos on how to ‘rake’ properly. Some people just jab the pick in the lock up and down until it opens and this can easily snap the picks in this set. It’s good to understand the technique before trying it.
Overall I am happy with my experience – this was my first time picking locks and this product enabled me to get that leaping start. The general feel of the kit is a little hard-edged and I’ll need to take some sand paper to a couple of the picks in the new set to smooth the edges, but for 13.97 I was not expecting true top of the range products. I’m sure I could find far worse products for much more money!
I do feel that the quality of this kit could be significantly improved by not twisting the larger tension wrench (to maintain it’s rigidity) and finding a way to improve the strength of the credit card tool’s tension wrench (or providing a strong ‘TOK’ tension wrench with the rest).
I would recommend this product to people who are looking to learn how to pick locks, but who are unable to commit a lot of money to get themselves going. Just be aware at how much force you use, but if you do break something send them an e-mail and I’m sure it’ll get sorted – LockCowboy seem to really stand behind their product, which is great!
I have attached some images comparing the new, unused set, and the set I’ve used fairly heavily for the last week.
I had got interested in lock picking via YouTube and i chose this kit to get me going, it arrived next day with Prime.
What you get in the box is a clear padlock, a pouch of picks and a fake credit card with other picks and tensioning tools.
The clear padlock is actually a beautiful thing, really high quality, all the internals visible but it really does look amazing and has a proper heavy steel hoop too with brass internals.
The pouch of picks is really high quality also, I was impressed. There is a vast array of shapes in there. What aren’t so good are the tensioning tools that come with the pouch, they are very slim and sharp, however the tensioning tool that comes in the credit card box is excellent and is the one I use as it has 2 ends and seemingly allows me to tension anything.
I was able to pick open the clear lock without much difficulty, obviously helped by seeing the pin locations and the shear line developing, but it’s still good to get a feel for the pins and the tell-tale clicks when under tension.
I moved on to attempt an old lock I have at home which I long since lost the key for. After 2 days of trying I defeated it with a raking attack and I was very pleased with myself too!
I think for the outlay this is a no brainer for anyone wanting to get into picking locks, personally I see locks as perfect little puzzles waiting to be solved and if you are adept enough, you can qualify as a locksmith!
I recommend this to anyone with an interest in how locks work, I will certainly be adding more picks to my collection and trying other locks.
============
INTRODUCTION
============
I have been watching lock picking videos on YouTube over the past few months and thought it looked interested so I went to Amazon to pick up a set. I’ve never tried lockpicking before, so I am an amateur in practice. I found this set and thought it would be a good starting point as there was an acrylic see through lock so that I could “see” what I feel during lock picking. This set cost 13.97 at time of writing and includes the following items:
– 12 assorted lock picks (0.023″ thickness)
– 2 tension bars (0.023″ thickness)
– 1 auto tension bar
– Credit card sized box including 4 lock picks (0.025″ thickness) and 1 tension bar (0.032″ thickness)
– 1 acrylic padlock with two keys
– 1 faux leather pouch
– Leaflet
============
ITEMS
============
There are an assortment of picks included, but these can generally be summarised into three categories: tension bars, rakes and hooks.
Most of the picks are nicely finished, but you can see that there are some rough edges on some of the picks. Unfortunately, the roughest edge is on one of the simple hooks I used the most and it does rough your fingers up if you use it for more than ten minutes. I’d recommend using a high grit sandpaper to smooth the edges over.
The acrylic padlock can be opened using the supplied keys and you can see the driver pins moving over the shear line when the key is inserted. This gives you an idea of where the pins should sit during lock picking.
The credit card sleeve fits the four smaller lock picks and the 0.032″ tension bar. The package thickness is about 3-4 credit cards thick. The picks included, although shorter in length, are 0.025″ thick, which is thicker than the full length picks by 0.002″. I’ll explain why this is important later on.
Two ebooks are given via URL on the reverse side of the leaflet, and I must say these are excellent. They will give you a good fundamental idea on the concept of locks and how to pick them (either using the rake pick and method or SPP method).
============
LOCK PICKING
============
Based on my picking of the acrylic lock and some other locks I had laying around, I had a much higher success rate using the SPP method over the raking method. Therefore, my review is going to focus around using this method. See one of the attached pictures for “favourite items”, which are essentially the items I had most success with. They are:
– 0.032″ tension bar
– 0.023″ city rake
– 0.023″ hooks
See one of the pictures attached where I compared the two thickness tension bars (0.032″ versus 0.023″). You can see that the thicker bar fills the gap better, which allows for better grip when rotating the bar. The thinner bar wobbles too much and came out of the keyway too many times. In addition, it was very awkward to hold the 0.023″ bar whereas the 0.032″ bar was much easier to hold in the lock. The thinner bar also deformed quite easily so required constant bending back into shape.
The two 0.023″ hooks worked much better than the 0.025″ hooks as the longer handles made it much easier to manipulate when you’re deeper into the keyway and because they’re thinner, it gives you more room to navigate.
The practice lock given is easy to work with, having a wide keyway and responsive pins. I would use this lock purely as a proof of concept and nothing more, since other locks do not feel the same.
What about the picks I didn’t use? I did try all the picks to some extent and whether it’s my method or not, I just didn’t find them useful at all. The bogota’s are meant to be slid over the pins multiple times to slide them into position, but I just couldn’t get any pins to set. The city rake proved to be more successful and I could feel pins set using this tool. The snowman was near useless as you cannot feel the pins accurately and it cannot push pins all the way up if they are deep. I did not get to use the key extractor. The wide hook (if that’s what it’s called) felt too wide and would often jam or set multiple pins at the same time. The half diamonds were OK, you can accurately feel the pins but due to their size you cannot set each pin individually, and you will struggle to get the right angle on the deeper 5th/6th pins. I had no use of the auto-tension bar with this kit, I think this is designed for car doors??
============
SUMMARY
============
In conclusion, I’d highly rate this product if you’re looking to have a bit of fun, learn something new, or have a friend who is an avid spy-fan. If you’re looking to get into locksports (like me), then I’d recommend taking a pass on this kit and put a little bit of extra cash into a better quality lockpick set (e.g. Sparrow, Peterson). Some of the picks are rough and may require some finishing to make them smooth and there’s only 4 tools, in my opinion, that are actually worth using. That makes this set a little bit expensive just for these items, hence the recommendation to go for a higher quality kit.
Ever fancied becoming James Bond, a cat burglar or simply a great lock picker just for fun, or even to get yourself back in to your home, office or to impress your friends, well this is definitely the set to buy, I spent a few hours reviewing various sellers and manufacturers of lock picks before deciding which one to buy.
This all inclusive kit by “The LockCowboy” comes with a 20-piece lock pick set,, they are well presented in a case and seems to include everything you could possible need become a “locksmith”, and I love the inclusive transparent practice lock, which comes with keys, and it allows you to see just how a lock works on the inside.
The picks etc come well packaged in a sturdy cardboard bow and contains a lock, crochet hooks, and a leather bag. The James Bond credit card kit (which I initially though made this a set for kids) is actually cool and has a mini set of five tools inside, I love it because to most people they would think it was just some kiddies play credit card from a spy set or something, but it is in fact very functional and yes it will actually fit into your wallet. You get a couple of great e-guides (books) to help get you started and hopefully take you and your skills from novice to advanced to maybe even a pro level locksmith.
Lock picking is a skill, mainly practised by locksmiths (the people who open doors when you cant) it is an advanced skill that requires patience, practice and lots of training. It is also a sport and a great way to impress friends at parties etc. these lock picking tools are of great quality and if used properly I believe will last you a long time, in fact they believe in them so much that offer a lifetime guarantee.
I’m not experienced but i do have a friend who is a professional, he had a look and said that this set is very comprehensive, so I felt my research time had paid off. My friend said that this gives you everything you need in order to learn the trade and laughed at my trying this followed by am I going to have competition lol, he has fifteen years experience on me so I don’t think that will be happening any time soon.
So to summarise this professional lock pick set includes the following: A 15-Piece Lock Pick Set with Case (this fits nicely in your pocket), a cool 5-piece James Bond credit card that is wallet sized, a see through (Transparent Cutaway Padlock) complete with Keys. A beginners quick start e-guide with a couple of videos and illustrations and an advanced MIT guide to lock picking.
Personally having fun trying this out, looking forward to trying to crack a load of old locks that we have in the garage 🙂 hope you have as much fun as I am having, enjoy the set and share your experiences.
PS. I forgot to mention that the e-guides are emailed to your account, simply click “Your Account” scroll down to “Buyer/Seller Messages” and you will find them there attached as a PDF, have to say the staff are very good, polite and like to ensure you have a great service.
PPS. Just in case your wondering I chose this item after reviewing similar items, and was happy to pay for a great product.
The set arrives in a small brown box that is labeled with the ‘Lock Cowboy’ logo. Inside the box there is a plastic box containing the practice lock, a pouch that holds a selection of picks and a simulation credit card, that holds another small set of picks.
The practice lock comes in a nice case, that also holds a set of key, (pictured). The lock feels very sturdy and the acrylic is very clear. The ability to see internal mechanism aids in two ways. Firstly it enables you to understand how a lock of this type works, which is most important. Secondly when learning, it enables you to see what pin you are pressing on with a pick, and what position it is in. After a day of practicing, i can now pick this lock without looking. I would assume that this lock, despite having 6 pins, is still relativity easy, compared to other locks, I doubt i am just really good.
The picks are of adequate quality, although the machining of the handle can be a little rough. This presents no real problem, and shouldn’t discourage you from buying this product, but as seen in some of the pictures, i have placed heat shrink around some of the handles. There are 12 picks/rakes and two tension bars.
The credit card style holder for the smaller picks, is unlikely to fool anyone. It is at least twice as think as a standard card, but needs to be in order to hold the picks inside. Also the name on the card is ‘James Bond’, which is a slight give away. It does tho serve it’s purpose of providing a way to store a small collection of picks in your wallet. ( I would suggest researching for yourself the relevant laws in your country regarding carrying such tools on your person).
The case for the main set of picks, is simply a pocket/pouch, that they sit in, unlike other sets that are held in a fold out wallet style. The is fine for occasional use, but it makes it fiddly to select the correct pick you wish to use quickly each time.