Sorry if this has been mentioned - You can use some thin washers (flat discs that are used when screwing things together) and place them between the lock and the tool. Two or three washers usually does the trick. Makes it much easier to hold the position of the tool correctly (no wobbling and tensions on the first disc only). Works free-hand as well. A few washers can be stored in the box the tool came in.
Thanks brother, I'll been following you for about 5 years. I like all your videos, but your training videos are outstanding. Thank you for your time. God Bless.
I belive when Bill was saying tensioning at the the end of the video he meant binding. Not to be confused with tensioning from a back disk like some abloy and kriptonite locks do. Hope im not misunderstanding here.
Thank you for this! I told the reddit folks to be patient and you would highlight some tips for us eventually. While I haven't successfully picked my Chinese DD lock I understand it's a entirely new skill set to develop. I know with guidance from yourself and LPL coupled with plenty of practice I will eventually get it. Thanks again Bill!
Now my pick has arrived after being stuck in customs waiting for my well hard earned cash, I'll pull out those DD locks in the drawer and have a play. Thank you for the tips Bill, much appreciated.
I just got my pick yesterday and 2 tips broke on me after couple of hours. One "broke" in half (It's spot welded, one side came off), the second tip just came off in one piece. I was seriously using them gently and am used to picking disc detainer locks with the cheap chinese tool that worked for me for months without breaking although i filed down the tip to make it super thin. I contacted sparrows about it, but I'm a bit disappointed. The rest of the tool is of great quality. Edit : Sparrows are producting new Tips they will sell separately (probably stronger), and will provide me a replacement. Very professional of them !
Jason, I'm sorry to hear that. The tips I have are quite durable, but it is inevitable that weak ones slip through the QC process at Sparrows. I'm sorry to hear that you got TWO of them. Hit Sparrows with an email and photos and hopefully they'll offer new tips.
@@bosnianbill Hi Bill glad to have a reply from you. Yes I edited my first post, they are trying to produce stronger tips from what they tell me, and will send me replacement in few weeks once finished. They'll also sell replacement tips aside from the pick itself. That's all I know so far. in the pick that you designed with LPL, the tip is made of ONE piece of metal or ? I guess one piece of Metal would be much stronger.
@@Jason_Music Also bear in mind that the Chinese pick tips you are used to using on Chinese locks were wider and meant to pick those locks. Your own idea of light tension is not the same for everyone. Anyone who picks locks is guilty of getting frustrated and then over using force to pick the lock and end up breaking tools. A novice to disc detainer locks is more prone to break a tool just like those who are novices to pin tumblers. Don't compare yourself to Bill or LPL because they have more experience and I think alot of people are still under the illusion that if they buy the tool they can easily pick the locks. Not at all. Alot of skill and practice will make you better and less likely to break tools. I can use cheap tools now and not break them because I have learnt to use them carefully but that only comes with alot of practice.
@@BD90.. Hi there ! Where do I even compare myself to Bill or LPL ?? Why do you even say that ? I'm just telling my experience. I've used and modify the classic cheap Chinese disc pick filing down the tip almost as thin as the sparrows' one, without breaking it on all my current locks with months of use. When I received the Sparrows' pick I tried it on the SAME locks, and as a matter of fact 2 tips broke. So, I definitely had prior experience with Disc detainer lockpicking, I knew those very locks and was gentle in my tensioning, but still, result is that 2 tips broke on me when my chinese disc pick is still intact to this day. In any case Sparrows will make stronger tips soon, and send me replacements. It's possible I just got unlucky and got a bad batch as Bill said.
Looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully sparrows will get the next run completed soon. I did break down and get a PanaVise similar to yours which I absolutely love.
I'm loving these DD tutorials you've been doing, I haven't attacked them yet but as soon as I can get my hands on one of these picks I'll give it a try. I put in a Sparrows order earlier this week and was really hoping I'd catch them with a couple in stock but I was still looking at $1M...I'll wait 😉👍
I'm a year late to the party but I just got my pick from Sparrows and after a couple of day of using it I have a tip/advice/complaint about it (depending on your POV.) The tension tip extends to far from the pick body making it difficult to tension only disc one and to keep the pick aligned with the axis of the cylinder. I don't have an extensive collection of DD locks but both of the cheap practice ones I have, I can not get the body of the pick to sit flush with the surface of the lock. This makes it harder to keep the pick aligned properly, leading to the difficulty you mention inserting and removing the pick tip. Also as you noted I end up fighting to keep the pick aligned on axis and can not control tension as well as I would like. The cause is that the pick shaft can't be retract any farther into the pick body since it bottoms out leaving the tension tip of the shaft still extending too far. The solution seems to be to cut off 4 or 5 mm from the end of the pick shaft. This allows the shaft to be recessed enough that the pick body can sit flush on the lock with the tensioning prongs engaging only the first disc. I am going to mention this to Sparrows also but coming from you it would carry more weight. If you agree with my idea, maybe you could mention it to Sparrows for future modification.
I happened to have an Abloy 88 Plus - that's not the lock you're looking for. ;) Another type of lock that might cause problems with this pick are ones with a really thick spinner in the front. You wont be able to tension it, the prongs are too short. If you have the machines and knowhow you could of course modify the tool, but I'm hoping Sparrows will make variants that you can buy as a complement.
Good advice, between you and LPL I have become pretty good so thank you. One thing I have trouble with is shopping online for disc detainer locks because if you type disc lock you get discus locks. Any online search advice would be appreciated for cheap DD locks
Most of these locks will say "Top Security" or something similar. But make sure you look at the key closely because other types of keyways (Pagoda, Smiley) also use this advertisement.
What if my lock doesn't tension till this number 4 disc the tool won't work. is there an affordable version of the silver bullet detention off of the back disc?
Just go to walmart and buy a bike lock. 90% are disc detainer. Even kryptonite bike locks are under 20 there. I just bought 3 kryptonite and 1 bell brand for $54.90. All DD core.
You cannot pick Abloys with this pick, unfortunately. Not even those with the Abloy Classic core, since they tension from either the rear of the lock or from a random disk.
Love your channel bill great knowledge brilliant teacher.. have you changed your microphone or something you sound different in your last few videos ??
A cutaway showing the disc cuts would necessitate removing the sidebar. Without a sidebar, I can't tension the lock, so while this is a great idea, it isn't practical. Instead, I'm trying to get a good clear plastic one where we can see everything. I bought a few on eBay from China, but all three of them have grease inside that obscures the discs and sidebar. I'm still looking....
@@idkidk4334 That WAS a really nice lock! Unfortunately, I loaned it (as well as a couple others AND my original DD picks) to someone but they never gave it all back. I would LOVE to buy another one if one shows up.
Hi Bill so do the discs lock in the clockwise direction or anti clockwise direction? I am yet to get a DD tool but i just had a DD lock given to me the other day.
Great question. In general, most disc detainer locks open in the clockwise direction and lock counterclockwise. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I can't think of any.
I definitely need to get a cheap-o Chinese lock to practice on. I think i bit off way more than I could chew with a Sure Plus and War-Lok brand locks. I can't seem to get anything working right. 😒😒😒
What do you mean at 8.05? I'm not sure how you would go about tensioning a lock from the bottom with that pick anyway. Sure you could tension it with the tip but have no way to pick those discs then. You need another kind of tool for that. And another type of disc detainer lock too
@@saschaschneider6355 Thank you, it was a bit confusing. I'm used to Abloy Classics, those tension from the bottom. I'm not expert I just trained to open those locks at home with some wire tools
@@jarivuorinen3878 I'm less than even a novice, I haven't picked a single DD lock yet - but despite that I know that the tool BB uses is not able to tension from the rear. I've been looking into different tools and their pros and cons and not being able to tension from the rear is one of the cons of the pick they've designed. And when he started picking he was surprised by the fact that this lock didn't bind on the rearmost discs first - which made the translation pretty simple
Bought 6 kryptonite locks. I've yet to get any of them open. part of it is that I'm not entirely sure what I'm feeling for. My hearing is not the greatest so I have to go by feel.
Love you Bill, but no one is is getting these in their mailbox because no one could buy one more than 5 minutes after their release. They are all on Ebay for $150+. Bang up job Sparrows.
in finland.. every door is ABLOY .. every second padlock.. abloy, abloy classic there, and more abloys and abus all over country. So we need ABLOY disc detainer pick "that LPL and BB made"
Got mine from Amazon for just under 10.00. it was a different brand than Bill had but the graphics and instructions on the back of his package was the same as mine. When you get one, before you open it take some time to appreciate the comical and poorly translated English instructions they are good for a laugh.
Because most of those non-Abloy, non-Gerda, non-Anchor Las locks come form those countries. No reason other than that. Let price be your guide for the beginner training locks. If you find an inexpensive lock made in (fill in country here), grab it and hope for the best.
For me, Bill did not come off in any way condescending, merely slightly worried that beginners might find the new tool to be a disappointment if the didn't know the small things he's been doing using it without explicitly spelling them out. I felt everything in the video may prove be useful to rank amateurs like myself.
Bill, you're the best, very talented great teacher and I love your honesty and sincerity. Truly the nicest picker on UA-cam 😊
Thanks Frank, kind words are...refreshing! 😀
Sorry if this has been mentioned - You can use some thin washers (flat discs that are used when screwing things together) and place them between the lock and the tool. Two or three washers usually does the trick. Makes it much easier to hold the position of the tool correctly (no wobbling and tensions on the first disc only). Works free-hand as well. A few washers can be stored in the box the tool came in.
Thanks brother, I'll been following you for about 5 years. I like all your videos, but your training videos are outstanding. Thank you for your time. God Bless.
From making picks. Making tools. Tips and tricks
Nice video. Could you make one showing what to do if the front disc isn't the tensioning disc?
I belive when Bill was saying tensioning at the the end of the video he meant binding. Not to be confused with tensioning from a back disk like some abloy and kriptonite locks do. Hope im not misunderstanding here.
I agree. I think that he meant to say "binding" rather than "tensioning"
Thank you for this! I told the reddit folks to be patient and you would highlight some tips for us eventually. While I haven't successfully picked my Chinese DD lock I understand it's a entirely new skill set to develop. I know with guidance from yourself and LPL coupled with plenty of practice I will eventually get it. Thanks again Bill!
Have you got any clear locks where we could actually see what's going on in there?
Good tips Bill! Appreciate the step by step explanation!
Now my pick has arrived after being stuck in customs waiting for my well hard earned cash, I'll pull out those DD locks in the drawer and have a play.
Thank you for the tips Bill, much appreciated.
Thumbs up for the way you said... ABLOY.
Pickers hate those.
Thanks for the tips Bill, now I just need Sparrows to make some more already
Master tips Bill. By the time the picks are available here in Australia, I'll need to watch it again. Lol
Dang! Just having your voice in the background and I got this sucker open! Thanks!!
I just got my pick yesterday and 2 tips broke on me after couple of hours. One "broke" in half (It's spot welded, one side came off), the second tip just came off in one piece. I was seriously using them gently and am used to picking disc detainer locks with the cheap chinese tool that worked for me for months without breaking although i filed down the tip to make it super thin. I contacted sparrows about it, but I'm a bit disappointed. The rest of the tool is of great quality.
Edit : Sparrows are producting new Tips they will sell separately (probably stronger), and will provide me a replacement. Very professional of them !
😂
Jason, I'm sorry to hear that. The tips I have are quite durable, but it is inevitable that weak ones slip through the QC process at Sparrows. I'm sorry to hear that you got TWO of them. Hit Sparrows with an email and photos and hopefully they'll offer new tips.
@@bosnianbill Hi Bill glad to have a reply from you. Yes I edited my first post, they are trying to produce stronger tips from what they tell me, and will send me replacement in few weeks once finished. They'll also sell replacement tips aside from the pick itself. That's all I know so far. in the pick that you designed with LPL, the tip is made of ONE piece of metal or ? I guess one piece of Metal would be much stronger.
@@Jason_Music Also bear in mind that the Chinese pick tips you are used to using on Chinese locks were wider and meant to pick those locks. Your own idea of light tension is not the same for everyone. Anyone who picks locks is guilty of getting frustrated and then over using force to pick the lock and end up breaking tools. A novice to disc detainer locks is more prone to break a tool just like those who are novices to pin tumblers. Don't compare yourself to Bill or LPL because they have more experience and I think alot of people are still under the illusion that if they buy the tool they can easily pick the locks. Not at all. Alot of skill and practice will make you better and less likely to break tools. I can use cheap tools now and not break them because I have learnt to use them carefully but that only comes with alot of practice.
@@BD90.. Hi there ! Where do I even compare myself to Bill or LPL ?? Why do you even say that ? I'm just telling my experience. I've used and modify the classic cheap Chinese disc pick filing down the tip almost as thin as the sparrows' one, without breaking it on all my current locks with months of use. When I received the Sparrows' pick I tried it on the SAME locks, and as a matter of fact 2 tips broke. So, I definitely had prior experience with Disc detainer lockpicking, I knew those very locks and was gentle in my tensioning, but still, result is that 2 tips broke on me when my chinese disc pick is still intact to this day. In any case Sparrows will make stronger tips soon, and send me replacements. It's possible I just got unlucky and got a bad batch as Bill said.
Looks like a lot of fun. Hopefully sparrows will get the next run completed soon. I did break down and get a PanaVise similar to yours which I absolutely love.
I'm loving these DD tutorials you've been doing, I haven't attacked them yet but as soon as I can get my hands on one of these picks I'll give it a try. I put in a Sparrows order earlier this week and was really hoping I'd catch them with a couple in stock but I was still looking at $1M...I'll wait 😉👍
And there is no way to preorder and reserve one when they come in.
@@oh8wingman That seemed odd to me, that's actually what I was looking for initially.
I've thought about buying the tool and trying a disc detainer lock, but it still looks like wizardry to me. More practice is needed.
Received the sparrows pick yesterday (Netherlands)
Great video! I agree with other commenters. Eagerly waiting availability of this pick again.
Gonna have to get that pick and give it a try
I'm a year late to the party but I just got my pick from Sparrows and after a couple of day of using it I have a tip/advice/complaint about it (depending on your POV.)
The tension tip extends to far from the pick body making it difficult to tension only disc one and to keep the pick aligned with the axis of the cylinder. I don't have an extensive collection of DD locks but both of the cheap practice ones I have, I can not get the body of the pick to sit flush with the surface of the lock. This makes it harder to keep the pick aligned properly, leading to the difficulty you mention inserting and removing the pick tip. Also as you noted I end up fighting to keep the pick aligned on axis and can not control tension as well as I would like. The cause is that the pick shaft can't be retract any farther into the pick body since it bottoms out leaving the tension tip of the shaft still extending too far. The solution seems to be to cut off 4 or 5 mm from the end of the pick shaft. This allows the shaft to be recessed enough that the pick body can sit flush on the lock with the tensioning prongs engaging only the first disc.
I am going to mention this to Sparrows also but coming from you it would carry more weight. If you agree with my idea, maybe you could mention it to Sparrows for future modification.
Just use washers as needed to space the body of the Pic away from the lock if you are having trouble freehanding it.
Nice 'back to basics' video mate. Cant wait for the next run on the pick from you and LPL. Hopefully I'll get one this time
Bill did and awesome learning video for beginners
I'm glad that the pick is sold out atm, else I'd be tempted to get into DD picking ;) It looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for the great video!
Thank you, Thank you! I was secretly hoping you would create this video on how to use this disc pick. =)
I happened to have an Abloy 88 Plus - that's not the lock you're looking for. ;) Another type of lock that might cause problems with this pick are ones with a really thick spinner in the front. You wont be able to tension it, the prongs are too short.
If you have the machines and knowhow you could of course modify the tool, but I'm hoping Sparrows will make variants that you can buy as a complement.
This is a tool that I really need, a very good friend, but unfortunately in Indonesia no one sells it
Fantastic lesson Bill I did learn something new thanks for the video. 😎💥💥💥💥💥
Thank you for the lesson
That's good tips bill!!!
Very informative, interested in picking up that tool
Good advice, between you and LPL I have become pretty good so thank you. One thing I have trouble with is shopping online for disc detainer locks because if you type disc lock you get discus locks. Any online search advice would be appreciated for cheap DD locks
Most of these locks will say "Top Security" or something similar. But make sure you look at the key closely because other types of keyways (Pagoda, Smiley) also use this advertisement.
@@richardbartholomew4358 Ya but I actually have one called Top Security LOL
The way you said abloy lol
Thank you for the tutorial. I await sparrows to be restocked.
These padlock brand "HPP" is also available in my country Indonesia
Great tutorial Bill ;o))))
Very useful thanks for posting. 👍🔐
What if my lock doesn't tension till this number 4 disc the tool won't work.
is there an affordable version of the silver bullet detention off of the back disc?
I've gotten a couple of DD padlocks cheap at bargain stores
Great vid. Thanks for all the great info. Kenneth.
HPP HAPPY PICKING PICKER LOL Good Job Bill 👍👊
What are you using to open locj
Great video can’t wait for my BB/LPL DD pick to arrive should be today 😄😄
These locks can sometimes be opened with the right sized comb pick.
Just go to walmart and buy a bike lock. 90% are disc detainer. Even kryptonite bike locks are under 20 there.
I just bought 3 kryptonite and 1 bell brand for $54.90. All DD core.
Now that you and LPL have made this tool any chance you guys could actually pick something like an abloy 350?
You cannot pick Abloys with this pick, unfortunately. Not even those with the Abloy Classic core, since they tension from either the rear of the lock or from a random disk.
Also the profile on this pick is wrong for Abloy.
Love your channel bill great knowledge brilliant teacher.. have you changed your microphone or something you sound different in your last few videos ??
A cut away would an awsome watch ;)
A cutaway showing the disc cuts would necessitate removing the sidebar. Without a sidebar, I can't tension the lock, so while this is a great idea, it isn't practical. Instead, I'm trying to get a good clear plastic one where we can see everything. I bought a few on eBay from China, but all three of them have grease inside that obscures the discs and sidebar. I'm still looking....
Don't you have that cuttaway abus lock? You showed it in "defeating Chinese disc detainers"
@@idkidk4334 That WAS a really nice lock! Unfortunately, I loaned it (as well as a couple others AND my original DD picks) to someone but they never gave it all back. I would LOVE to buy another one if one shows up.
@@bosnianbill Cheers Bill
Hi Bill so do the discs lock in the clockwise direction or anti clockwise direction?
I am yet to get a DD tool but i just had a DD lock given to me the other day.
Great question. In general, most disc detainer locks open in the clockwise direction and lock counterclockwise. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I can't think of any.
@@bosnianbill thank you.
both tips of my sparrow disc are broken already before this video out.... wish i could watch this video sooner lol
I definitely need to get a cheap-o Chinese lock to practice on. I think i bit off way more than I could chew with a Sure Plus and War-Lok brand locks. I can't seem to get anything working right. 😒😒😒
Good tutorial for us newbies. Received my new pick recently, should have thought ahead and bought a few locks first ☹️
Hey Bill, quick question? How would handle a lock where the key is cut on both sides?
John, MANY keys are cut on both sides, and they are identical so the user can put the key in either way without worrying about orientation.
Just waiting on stock.
What do you mean at 8.05? I'm not sure how you would go about tensioning a lock from the bottom with that pick anyway. Sure you could tension it with the tip but have no way to pick those discs then. You need another kind of tool for that. And another type of disc detainer lock too
he meant "binding", not tensioning
@@saschaschneider6355 Thank you, it was a bit confusing. I'm used to Abloy Classics, those tension from the bottom. I'm not expert I just trained to open those locks at home with some wire tools
@@jarivuorinen3878 I'm less than even a novice, I haven't picked a single DD lock yet - but despite that I know that the tool BB uses is not able to tension from the rear. I've been looking into different tools and their pros and cons and not being able to tension from the rear is one of the cons of the pick they've designed. And when he started picking he was surprised by the fact that this lock didn't bind on the rearmost discs first - which made the translation pretty simple
Bought 6 kryptonite locks. I've yet to get any of them open. part of it is that I'm not entirely sure what I'm feeling for. My hearing is not the greatest so I have to go by feel.
Love you Bill, but no one is is getting these in their mailbox because no one could buy one more than 5 minutes after their release. They are all on Ebay for $150+. Bang up job Sparrows.
in finland.. every door is ABLOY .. every second padlock.. abloy, abloy classic there, and more abloys and abus all over country. So we need ABLOY disc detainer pick "that LPL and BB made"
Just received mine this morning. Your video is right on time, thank you. Now I have to find a lock to try it on. :)
Got mine from Amazon for just under 10.00. it was a different brand than Bill had but the graphics and instructions on the back of his package was the same as mine. When you get one, before you open it take some time to appreciate the comical and poorly translated English instructions they are good for a laugh.
I let the lock talk to me and it told me to do terrible, unthinkable things. I'm not sure if it's the lock or if I have schizophrenia.
Why is it a plus to be made in Taiwan or China?
Because most of those non-Abloy, non-Gerda, non-Anchor Las locks come form those countries. No reason other than that. Let price be your guide for the beginner training locks. If you find an inexpensive lock made in (fill in country here), grab it and hope for the best.
Bang gembok west dong
Those locks are between $2 & $5 at any 2 dollar shop
If only someone would make a good pick for a disc detainer lock....
Hey, Bill, worst video yet. Please stop being condescending.
Sorry you perceived it that way, it was not my intent.
For me, Bill did not come off in any way condescending, merely slightly worried that beginners might find the new tool to be a disappointment if the didn't know the small things he's been doing using it without explicitly spelling them out. I felt everything in the video may prove be useful to rank amateurs like myself.
@@bosnianbill Sorry, but I think someone high jacked my name