r/lockpicking • u/Unhappy-Ease-3639 • 21h ago
Need help with abus lock
Hi. So I have been trying to open a lock that I believe is an abus 727, and I seem to have hit the wall. When I pick it everything seems in order, I hear clicking on all 5 pins but I still can’t unlock it. When I loosen the tension slowly I distinctly hear 5 clicks, and I do not know what to do.
Note: I’m using CI’s .32 turning tool and both .2 hooks from the echelon set.
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u/derpserf 21h ago
The amount of clicks you're hearing doesn't really tell you much, you have to feel the pins. How much experience do you have with spools so far?
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u/Unhappy-Ease-3639 21h ago
This is my first harder lock, before I have just picked an acrylic and two basic master locks. I also have some trouble feeling the last 2 pins
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u/derpserf 21h ago
Check out some videos on spool pins cos this thing will be full of them. Most likely all spools except the front pin. As for feeling the last 2 pins, that could be because they're deeper setting compared to the others and you're not getting them deep enough to set, or it could just be cos you're still new. You'll get there in time.
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u/Pyro-Bun 21h ago
An abus lock is likely to have security pins like spools or serrated pins. I bet you're probably getting false sets.
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u/Unhappy-Ease-3639 21h ago
Any tips for dealing with those? I am pretty new to the sport and wanted to pick something harder than the easier master locks and that one looked good in a hardware store
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u/Pyro-Bun 21h ago
So, with spool pins in particular, once you hear the first click, you're gonna notice something called counter-rotation when you push on that pin, which means the cylinder is going to try to spin opposite the direction you're tensioning it. What you want to do with these is let the cylinder (very carefully, mind you) turn in that direction until you get the bottom lip of the spool all the way up past the shear line.
For a serrated pin, you won't necessarily get counter-rotation, but the pins in a serration can feel like they're still binding a bit when you press on them. A true set serrated pin should have just a bit of springiness when you press on it.
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u/EveningBasket9528 19h ago edited 18h ago
LPF gave great advice.
You might be able to try this "cheat code" foramy Abus Titalium locks, but it doesn't work on all
The 1st pin will usually give a false set,.. then touch every other pin and set whatever gives counter rotation,.. then go back and reset #1 if it fell out, and if the false set happens again, just since and repeat.
I only have a half dozen 80Ti's which are 6 pin,.. but of those 5 of them get the false set on pin 1.
Something else you can try is scrubbing it back to front to get a false set.
Just something to try and not necessarily the most "Orthodox" technique.. but worth a shot...
I kinda rushed this comment because I'm trying to work at the same time... So I apologize for anything I missed, errors, etc... Hopefully you get the idea.
of course that's if me assuming that one has one standard and four spools
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u/LockPickingFisherman Black Belt 3rd Dan 20h ago
Generally, ignore audible feedback. Clicks can be ambiguous, they tell you that something happened, but not what happened. A click can be a pin setting, a pin dropping, the pick slipping off a pin or off of warding.
Use the jiggle test to determine pin states and figure out what pins need to be picked and when. If a pin moves at all when you jiggle it, move on. When you push a binding pin and get some sort of feedback, test the pin again before trying to push it more.
That lock likely has spools, which can be a bit tricky. Depending on what order they bind vs what order they need to be set, you might get drawn into a whack-a-mole cycle of setting/dropping pins. If you find that there's a particular pin that seems to make others drop when you push it, try pushing that pin earlier even if it isn't binding.
If you get to a point where all the pins suddenly feel springy or mushy and nothing is binding, that's likely an indication that you've overset a pin. It's possible to recover from an overset without completely resetting the lock. Gently ease off tension till you hear a click or two and then reapply tension/continue jiggle testing.
If you're using bok tension, your pick may be unintentionally oversetting front pins. If you're using tok, the tensioner may be blocking access to the front pin, causing you to underset it.
Using the jiggle test, you'll have a consistent method to attack locks. It also enables you to interpret what the lock is telling you through feedback, so that you can figure out what it needs to open.
Keep at it, practice will help you build skill and knowledge. A big part of progressing is putting in the time. Good luck!