Progressive Picking – Training Locks

Some people place a lot of stock in learning lockpicking visually… you see sites selling “cutaway” or “see through” locks for training purposes. While we think that cutaway locks have a purpose (and some of the well-made ones are really beautiful works, indeed) these are more suited to learning how locks function than to learning how to pick them open.

Learning to pick is a skill achieved by feel more than by sight. One of the best ways to learn lockpicking is to practice with cylinders of increasing difficulty. Our progressive kits are made using “copies” of the same lock… most of which have had pin stacks removed. So you start out by getting a feel for the lock with just one pin stack, then you try two pins, then three, etc… by the time you’ve reached five and six pins, you’re picking like a pro!

These progressive kits are available in a basic configuration (a simple one through six bitting) and an advanced configuration (which incorporates pick-resistant spooled driver pins) and are now being produced by Kaba Ilco.