I’ve picked a master lock (3 I believe). I also picked all the little cylinders that came with the lockpicks I ordered. Sparrow progressive. I even respinned one… Mostly due to accident.
Where do I get more locks? I think I just need the cylinders. What are these called? Where do I buy them from? I’m mostly looking for cheap and they don’t have to have a practical purpose. I’m just wanting to pick them for kicks.
How would one get a solid foundation with realistic locks? I’d like to learn, what equipment do I need?
Buy a basic set of lockpicks, buy some practice locks, watch a few YouTube videos on picking theory/technique, practice until you are competent. Southern Ordinance 14 piece set(pxs-14) is everything you should need for standard locks and then some. The rubber handles in that set are more comfortable for longer practice sessions while you are learning and using entirely too much force that will hurt your hand(with bare metal picks) until you learn what tension is appropriate.
Knowing how to single pin pick is foundational, knowing how to rake is handy. Once you know what you are doing then you can play with other pick profiles to suit your personal preference or style, but a hook and tension tool will defeat most standard locks.
The fun part, aside from feeling competent and helping people, is watching movies and TV while WTFing about how the hell they portray lock-picking.