.: Standard Practice Locks

Standard Practice Locks are important training aids designed to cut the learning curve in half for locksmith students or hobbyists who wish to attain or sharpen critical lock picking skills.  Practice Locks for the most part are no different than the lock cylinders found in hardware installed in homes and commercial buildings, with the exception that they have had any extraneous parts removed.

In addition, Standard Practice Locks offered through this web site are pinned according to levels of skill.  There are practice locks with only 1 or 2 tumblers, for the very newest of beginners, all the way up through 6-pinned locks with pick resistant spool pins.

The term 'standard' as it relates to this product serves to differentiate between the two basic types of practice lock . . . those that have been 'cut away' (milled) to expose much of the inner workings (called 'Cut-Away Practice Locks) and those that have not been milled ('Standard').

Mortise cylinders were at one time the most common variety of lock cylinder to be used as practice locks, but they have given way recently to the less bulky and also less expensive key-in-knob style.  It is, after all, this type of cylinder that one runs into the majority of the time, as they are found in about 99% of the keyed knobsets and almost all deadbolt locks on both residential and commercial doors.

A Standard Practice Lock with a Schlage keyway. Note that actual appearance of cylinder may differ somewhat from this photo, but only in very minor details.

This is a typical Standard Practice Lock (not 'cut away').  Note the numeral '3' stamped on the front of the pin bible (the upper chamber).  This identifies this as a 3-pinned Practice Lock.  In other words, it has been loaded with only 3 pin tumblers (in positions 1, 2 and 3). This would be an entry level practice lock by virtue of the number of tumblers.  The combination used could still be relatively difficult to pick if, for example, a combination such as 7-2-6 has been used.  This would be a #7 pin in the first chamber (a tall pin tumbler), a #2 in the second position (a very short pin) followed by another rather long pin in the 3rd position.  Such a 'saw tooth' pattern presents a real challenge to a lock picker. On the other hand, this lock might well be pinned 3-5-4 . . . nearly 'flat'.  If this is the case, this lock will not be difficult to pick even by a beginner. The beauty of these key-in-knob cylinders is that they are quite easy to rekey, using standard rekeying tools and procedures.  Therefore, with a few extra pins and springs, one can transform a single cylinder into literally thousands of new combinations.  There is no need to have working keys for new random combinations, as the whole point is to pick the lock instead of using a key.  Nevertheless, Standard Practice Locks are always supplied with a working key (which becomes a non-working key the first time the lock is rekeyed!). It is recommended that at least 3 or 4 Standard Practice Locks of varying pinnings and ideally representing both Schlage and Kwikset keyways be a part of every locksmith student's first kit, even if he or she intends to eventually learn to rekey them.  Most 'starter kits' will have a basic mix of practice locks.

	BUY STANDARD PRACTICE LOCKS with Schlage keyways $29.95 each 3-Pinned -   5-Pinned -			BUY STANDARD PRACTICE LOCKS with  Kwikset keyways $29.95 each 3-Pinned - 5-Pinned -
	6-Pinned -			6-Pinned -