Path to Black: PeaceWeapon

Hello Peace Lovers, today it’s my turn to suggest a possible Path to Black.

This Path will be including some of the locks I used to get to Black belt, but not always at the same belt level, one of the main reasons being some have changed belts in the meanwhile – yes I might be getting a bit ancient…

I mostly spend my time on the Lockpickers United Discord, that’s associated with this sub, and where most of these locks can be found for very accessible prices from other lockpickers and sellers on the Bazaar Forum channel.

As a quick disclaimer – coughcough and cough shameless cough promo coughcough – theis path includes some of the locks I usually have available in the box to blue I put together for new pickers, but I also added a few other alternatives that I feel can be good choices for the different belts and different picking preferences. I’ll keep mostly to pin tumblers and dimples, though.

YELLOW: Master Lock 140

I actually skipped yellow, and went straight to orange belt, but the small 4 pin Master Lock 140 is a great option for a beginner looking to learn pick positioning with forgiving tolerances. Some of these padlocks have only standard drivers, but lately they have been found having 3 spools and a lighly serrated driver pin, making it also great to learn how to pick spools.

ORANGE: Abus 55/50

Assuming you learned how to pick spools already, Abus 55/50 is a 5 pin padlock that will add better tolerances to an extra pin. If you get the paracentric “yale” style keyway, that challenge is even greater. Many other Abus padlocks would make good alternatives, like the 65/40. Just avoid the 55/40 with “yale” keyway, it’s too restrictive for most tools a beginner usually has access to. Speaking of Yale, Yale Y110/40 is also a great choice, considering you have proper tools.

The option I went with when I started was the Master Lock 150. At the time, very shallow spools didn’t make for an interesting pick, but I’ve heard newer versions are a bit better, and the wide keyway is great for pickers with thicker tools.

GREEN: American Lock 1100

The American Lock 1100 is a lock that will bring you a different type of challenge compared to the other ones. The 1100 forces a picker to learn how to pick serrated pins. In my personal path, the 1100 was my blue lock, and, although it was downgraded, it still is one of the most interesting widely available green belt locks to pick.

The Abus 74/40 is also a fun and challenging - albeit sometimes frustrating - lock, with great tolerances, and widely available,

Another good alternative is the Master Lock 410 LOTO, which I used for my green belt application, but not being guttable - unless in a destructive way - precludes it from being the best choice for this belt. Both this and the 1100 are harder to find outside of North America than the Abus.

BLUE: Yale 500

As I said above, the lock I used for my blue belt application is no longer an option for this belt. In my opinion, it’s at this level that one must expand the horizons to different security mechanisms and systems. So I’ll give you different options. The Yale 500 stays with the “spools and good tolerances” motif, but the added overmilling can be annoying if you don’t understand the feedback properly. DOM Plura takes it to another level with evil pins that have been cursed to keep you guessing what that feedback means. ASSA 500 with barrel drivers introduces a new feedback for a very effective anti-pick system. And for those entering the world of dimple locks, try DOM ix 5kg, very fun lock with the most interesting driver pins.

PURPLE: Medeco Biaxial or Original

Medeco Biaxial or Original, doesn’t really matter on this case, it introduces the double locking mechanism as a special challenge, and it can be so fun when you finally understand how it works! I strongly recommend trying it, learning how the keypins rotate and how to check when the sidebar is in the correct gate. Love this lock!

My second purple lock was a Yale Superior with 7 pins. It’s usually a fairly easy lock with lowsy feedback. Wouldn’t recommend it if you want to have fun.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to try barrel drivers yet, find an ASSA 600 or equivalent, this lock will teach much about feedback. As a dimple option, a Mul-t-lock with spooled drivers is popular and can a be very nice pick, but personally, I would prefer to pick the annoying TESA TX80 or the super fun Lockman Megacross.

BROWN: DOM ix 10

DOM ix 10 with fins was my brown lock at the time and was an interesting change. Although it’s mostly composed of standard pins, the weak feedback and tapered action pose a challenge that’s enough for it to be called brown belt, but is usually still a very accessible lock to pick. Just don’t be surprised you need to “gorilla tension” it, so make sure you have a strong tensioner.

If you want a fun lock, I’d recommend getting a Goal D9 or a Goal P. The former being fairly straightforward and fun pick for a high pin count lock, the latter a pin tumbler with good tolerances and a bunch of plug modifications, that relies very much on your ability to interpret the feedback and control the tension. Also, the “wrong” bitting can make it really hard to pick.

RED: DOM ix Saturn

In my own path to black, I used ASSA 700 as my red belt lock. It was since upgraded to black belt, so the next best one I would suggest, and a logical follow-up to the DOM ix 10, is the DOM ix Saturn. I would consider it a low level red belt lock, but still interesting and fun to pick. It adds torpedoes and spools to a good tolerance 10 pin lock.

If you want something more challenging, I would definitely suggest something like the Emhart or the ASSA 600 with gin drivers, the latter a nice, hard intro to float picking. As for the Emhart, the beautiful interlocked drivers and keypins make picking it an experience like none other, but you might have some trouble finding one – they are also great collector material.

BLACK: ASSA 700

For many lockpickers, ASSA 700 might be the first experience of float picking, and it can be a real pain to pick. The tapered pins can be very tricky to set and keep up, as you try to go for the trees and gins. To be a black belt, it must have at least 2 tree driver pins, which are dependent on bitting. One tip: either grub it, or never forget to use a shim, as the gin heads can get stuck in the anti-drill holes if you’re not careful when gutting and reassembling.

Other great choices for Black belt locks come from the ASSA Twin family of locks (example: ASSA Twin 6000 with gin spools or ASSA Twin Combi with barrels, that I used to get to black belt). The double locking mechanism can be very tricky to pick, depending on the model, but also very fun and very satisfying to get open.

In case you’re more of a dimple picker, DOM ix Twinstar is the perfect follow-up for the Saturn. If you’re a determined masochist… EVVA ICS might be for you. Just make sure you get very a snug tensioner to pick it. Both of these were also essential to my Black belt application.

Looking back, I might have exaggerated with the suggestions…. Nevertheless, hope this will help you choose your own path, and always remember to have fun picking your way to Black Belt!

See also

• Path to Black write-ups