Name: lock Noob
Age: Location: Southwest U.K.
Many of you will be familiar with Lock Noob and his awesome channel dedicated to new and intermediate lock pickers.
Here at PickPals, we thought we’d get to know him a little bit better with a little interrogation of our own.
We put out any questions you may have to the Australian Lock Sport Guild and got some great questions that we put to Lock Noob.
The answers are great reading and inspiration for your picking. Like how Lock Noob learnt to pick, his favourite locks to pick and where the future of security is heading.
1. How did you get into lock-picking and for how long have you been practicing?
“I got into lock picking accidentally, after buying a clear plastic padlock that came with 2 finger picks and a sort of z wrench turning tool, the type you also get in the ‘James Bond’ credit card set. I’d had a couple of drinks, was surfing YouTube and stumbled across some awful ‘tacticiool’ escape techniques video and it featured someone picking that type of lock. With my curiosity peaked, I went online and paid £10 for the set and have been lock picking ever since (which is about 5 1/2 years)”
2. What are your most favourite picks and why?
"My favourite pick is the Peterson Gem in 0.018. I’ve never worked with Peterson nor received anything from them for review, so I have no conflict of interest - it’s just a great profile, made of great steel with good feedback and a comfortable handle. BosnianBill first got me onto them and I’m really glad!" "I’m a big fan of the Southord 07b and 08b short and medium hooks in 0.023 Max yield steel too as they are pretty much the perfect profile shape and strength."
3. What is your favourite style of lockpicking?
“I love all techniques, but like many hobby pickers, I favour single pin picking as it’s the most engaging technique. It has a certain purity to it and if you can SPP a lock, you know you have done it with full control. I’m partial to a dial combination lock decoding too!”
4. What does your lockpicking kit contain?
“My everyday kit has a little bit of everything. I favour familiarity to function for the most part as I’m a creature of habit, but I love everything in there. I have Sparrows hooks, Southord hooks, Law Lock Tools rakes, Pickology rakes, Multipick ‘Lock Noob’ multipeak rakes, some Spooxe dimple flags, a Peterson Gem and a tonne of different tension tools for every situation. I also carry a Sparrows Gut Wrench and Goat Wrench because they are just so useful.”
Sparrows Goat Wrench 
Sparrows Gut Wrench 
Multipick ELITE 39 Lock Noob Essential Selection Kit
5. Who is your favourite celebrity lockpicker and why?
“Easy! BosnianBill! He is the teacher, mentor and blueprint for so many YouTube pickers, and that includes me. We all owe a lot to Bill for his contribution to the hobby and for promoting it over the years and bringing so many into it.”
6. Why would you recommend lockpicking to others?
“It is fantastic for people looking for a hobby that’s quiet, thoughtful and skilful. It is brilliant for your mental health and comes with an amazing community. It’s got a low bar of entry with an almost limitless skill ceiling. It combines engineering with puzzles and a bit of magic. Locks themselves are fascinating pieces of machinery that demonstrate the great innovation and skill of the designer. If you want to branch out in the hobby then you also get into 3D printing, metal casting, woodworking, designing, toolmaking… it’s something for everyone!”
7. How would you like to see the locksport community grow where you are?
“I would like to see more meet-ups post-pandemic and I’d love to see more people sharing their skills on youtube too.”
8. Do you have a channel or Instagram or a way others can reach you out?
Lock Noob is on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. See you there!
