#LearnLockpickingWithAlice lesson 9 (part two): Security pins and other cheeky buggers.

When you move on from Master No.1-8 laminated padlocks and the brandless Chinese padlocks that are based on them, you're going to start finding locks with spools. The first spools you're likely to encounter will be in the Master 140/141 and V-line locks (they're everywhere). In the video below I'm showing a Brinks 164 (which typically has two spools).

Spools will always be combined with at least one standard pin (or another full-bodied pin) otherwise the lock wobbles. Once you set the standard pin(s), the lock will drop into a "false set"—this is where the core turns a small amount and then gets stuck on the narrow part of the spool.

Once in a false set, your goal is to find the most "talkative" pin—the one that causes the core to try to rotate backwards as you push on it. This talkative pin will be one of the spools.

As you set that pin, the core will try to rotate backwards a small amount to accommodate fitting the spool's chonky little rump through the opening at the shear line. Just slowly ease off the tension as you push and let it happen. Once the spool sets, you'll either drop back into a false set, have to re-set a standard pin or two, or the lock will open.

The tricky part about spools is that they tend to unset other pins when you set them, which can lead to a game of whack-a-mole in a lock with multiple spools as one drops every time another gets set. To get put of this loop, try setting the spools in a different order, using slightly heavier tension and wiggling your pick a bit as you set it, or...

"Reverse Picking" (as I call it) — this is where you purposefully overset *all the pins* by using the shank of your pick to lift everything as high as it'll go *before applying tension*. Once you apply tension, lower your pick and probe around to see which pins didn't stay up (you'll come back to them). Now back off the tension until you hear/feel the first pin pop back down. Test it. What's binding? If something is binding, set it; if not, ease off the tension a bit more and repeat. With a little skill (and luck) you'll have defeated several pins right off the bat, and the one(s) that drop will get caught at the shear line. You can also gently rake the overset pins with your pick to dislodge them sometimes. When it works, it's kinda magical to bypass the security pins and only have to set one or two stragglers.